U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla on Friday, Feb. 3, announced that Monterey Park City Councilman Henry Lo, the former mayor of the city, will be his guest at the State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Lo was mayor amid the tragedy of the Jan. 21 massacre at Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where 11 were killed. He would be among the most high-profile local officials consoling the shaken city and leading it through the aftermath of the tragedy.
“As Monterey Park, Half Moon Bay, and too many other communities throughout California and across the country grieve the tragic loss of life from mass shootings, it’s an honor to be joined by Councilman Henry Lo at this year’s State of the Union address,” said Padilla said in a statement.
Padilla said Lo, who was the appointed mayor from Dec. 2021 to this month, was instrumental in honoring the lives of those we lost in Monterey Park and helping the community heal after such a devastating loss.”
“On what should have been a day of celebration for us, Monterey Park joined the long list of cities in America that have woken up to the tragic reality that a mass shooting has claimed the lives of its community members,” Lo said.
Also, Brandon Tsay, whose heroic action on the same night at his family’s Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra thwarted the gunman’s second attack, was invited to the address by President Joe Biden, who will speak to the nation inside a Capitol chamber that will include both houses of Congress and the justices of the Supreme Court.
Tsay’s actions drew praise from Biden, who called him personally from the White House to thank him for his bravery, echoing an invitation from Rep. Judy Chu, who represents the area in Congress.
The invitations come amid a push among Biden and Democrats for legislation that would curtain the ability to obtain the kind of weapon used in Monterey Park.
A bill authored by U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, of California, and Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, would ban…
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