Gov. Mike Pence had to react on the fly Tuesday night -- cutting parts of his speech as he was giving it due to time constraints.
Here is what you didn't hear that was planned:
"Our budget seeks resources for a comprehensive school safety review. Parents have a right to expect that our children are safe at school.
All of us were heartbroken after every parent's worst nightmare unfolded in Newtown, Connecticut. While others have rushed to the well-worn arguments over gun control, Hoosiers know this is not about access to firearms. It is about access to schools. Hoosiers have responsibilities to protect our kids and Hoosiers have rights. We will protect our kids, and we will protect our rights. Hoosiers know we can do both."
Pence also skipped a rather large section about state sovereignty.
"Let me close tonight by reflecting on something another speaker said from this podium more than 30 years ago. Addressing Indiana's General Assembly, President Ronald Reagan said, "the federal government is still operating on the outdated and...arrogant assumption that the states can't manage their own affairs." He predicted that the "great American experiment" would soon enter a new phase and that you, here in this room, would be the ones to carry this experiment forward and "offer the most creative solutions and most promising hopes for our nation."
As Hoosiers have shown over the past eight years, Reagan was right.
Hoosiers have found practical Indiana solutions to the challenges facing their communities. We have one of the most innovative healthcare programs in the country. We have implemented education reforms that are a model for the nation. And we have built our roads on time and under budget.
On these and other important matters, we must never stand by and let the federal government dictate our aims, our hopes, and our wishes for us. As your Governor, I will never stop standing for the rights of Indiana's people to run our schools, choose our healthcare and produce our energy the Indiana way."
To contact Niki Kelly email her at nkelly@jg.net or follow her on Twitter @nkellyatJG.
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