PROVIDENCE -- They won't have to speak a word, just be there, in view of the most powerful lawmakers of the nation, as President Obama gives the State of the Union address Tuesday.
For the last month, U.S. Rep. James Langevin had pressed his fellow legislators to give their guest passes to the State of the Union to victims of gun violence.
Langevin invited Jim Tyrell, whose sister Deborah was murdered inside her West End Market nine years ago. Rep. David N. Cicilline invited Cleora Francis-O'Connor, whose 17-year-old son Malik was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1997.
Francis-O'Connor, who became co-chairwoman of the Rhode Island chapter of the Million Mom March a few years after her son's murder, called the proposals "long overdue."
Tyrell will carry his sister's photo into the gallery.
On Twitter: Ready for tonight's State of the Union address? We'd like your comments as the speech goes on -- include @projo with the hashtag #stateofthe union or #SOTU.
You can also watch the address online at: http://www.wpri.com/generic/news/politics/whitehouse/state-of-the-union-live-stream