At the Texas Capitol, as House members opened this morning's session with their usual moment of prayer, State Representative Marva Beck (R-Houston) said today is both joyful and sad.
“We’re joyful that 911 has been put to rest with the capture and execution of bin Laden, we take a moment for the solitude to remember the people that fell on that day, to be grateful for the firefighters, the police, everyone that fought in that to pull survivors out and that died themselves,” Rep. Beck said.
Ben Philpott, who reports on the Legislature for KUT News and the Texas Tribune, said Senator John Whitmire (D- Houston) asked everyone to stand and give a standing ovation for everyone involved in taking down the al-Qaida leader.
Philpott said today is especially significant for one particular Texas lawmaker.
"We have a Senator Brian Birdwell, who was in the Pentagon when it was attacked, and so a lot of senators coming up to him today giving him hugs and kisses and just saying congratulations for kind of his own victory as well as what happened with the military troops yesterday," Philpott said.
Hear more from Philpott at the state Capitol by clicking the audio player.
