By Rep. Kristi Noem

One year ago this month, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and eighteen other people were shot during a public meeting.  Rep. Giffords was holding a “Congress On Your Corner” meeting with constituents in a supermarket parking lot near Tucson, Arizona.  Six of those shot that day died from their wounds, including Arizona District Court Chief Judge John Roll, one of Rep. Giffords' staffers, Gabe Zimmerman, and a nine-year-old child. 

While we mourn the victims who lost their lives, we must also marvel at the recovery Rep. Giffords is experiencing after a gunshot wound to the head.  I did not have the opportunity to get to know Rep. Giffords before she was shot, since the new Congress was just convening this time last year, but the event was a complete shock to every Member of Congress, Republican and Democrat, freshman and veteran alike. 

Vigorous debate is part and parcel with our national history, going all the way back to the debates our Founding Fathers had over whether to declare independence from the British.  But that debate should never turn to violence.  

As we mark the one-year anniversary of this tragic event and also begin tuning into the coming election season, it’s important to remember to remain civil.  As many of our mothers used to tell us, you can disagree without being disagreeable.  Whether it’s a conversation with a neighbor or an online debate via social media we can, and must, retain respect for our opposition.  We are all South Dakotans and we are all Americans and those are ties that will always remain stronger than any political affiliation or ideological viewpoint – no matter how strongly held.  Our nation has weathered many contentious debates and I have no doubt that we will weather many more as we strive to form a more perfect union.

Rep. Kristi Noem is South Dakota’s lone U.S. Representative, elected in November 2010.  She serves on the Agriculture, Education and Workforce and Natural Resources Committees.