President Donald Trump on Thursday
awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to a married lesbian
wounded in an attack on a congressional baseball practice.
Capitol Police special agents Crystal
Griner and David Bailey are being recognized for their actions as a
gunman attacked Republican congressmen as they practiced for an
upcoming baseball charity game in Alexandria, Virginia.
The gunman, James T. Hodgkinson,
severely wounded House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, whom the agents
were protecting. Only Scalise, because he's in the Republican
leadership, had protection. Trump and his wife, Melania, visited
Griner and her wife, Tiffany Dyar, as she recovered in the hospital.
The ceremony took place at the East
Room in the White House a day after Trump announced a
ban on transgender troops and his Justice Department argued in an
amicus
brief that current law does not protect LGBT workers from
discrimination.
“They raced through the bullets,”
Trump
said. “That's exactly what they did. They raced through the
bullets and immediately engaged the gunman.”
“Despite their injuries, both
officers heroically continued to face down the gunman until they
brought him down. And he had rifles; they had handguns. That's a
big difference,” he added.
Scalise, who was transferred to a
rehabilitation center last week, said in a statement: “I cannot
think of a group of individuals more deserving of this award.”
Vice President Mike Pence, who opened
the ceremony, also praised the officers for their valor.