By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice
If you tuned in to President Donald J. Trump’s Address to the Nation on Tuesday, March 4, during a joint session of Congress, you might have gotten a glimpse of a number of lawmakers.
One could be U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, the representative from Colorado’s 8th District.
And seated next to him, you ask? That was Liz Hardy, who in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2022, tragically lost her middle daughter, Brooke. She consumed half of a counterfeit pill laced with a lethal amount of fentanyl. Brooke attempted to call 911 but could not give an address or reason for her call, and soon died.
“One time, half a pill, and life for our family changed forever,” Liz Hardy said. “If it were not for our faith in Christ, knowing we will see Brooke again one day, we could not survive this. We want her story to be told because too many of our loved ones are dying unnecessarily.”
Brooke was a beautiful, healthy, 25-year-old college graduate with a full-time and part-time job, no issues with depression, anxiety or addiction, and had her whole life laid ahead of her, a statement from Evans office reads.
“As a Colorado cop for 10 years, I witnessed firsthand how not supporting law enforcement enables traffickers and the flow of fentanyl into our communities,” Evans said. “I’m humbled to have Liz join me at the President’s Joint Address and I will always fight to rid our communities of this deadly poison that is wreaking havoc on our communities.”
Last month, Evans helped introduce the HALT Fentanyl Act, a measure to give law enforcement tools to address the fentanyl crisis, stop traffickers, and protect communities from the deadly impact of fentanyl and other illegal drugs.
The address aired live at 6 p.m. (Mountain) on news channels and various other outlets. It may be available for re-play for those who missed it live.