Minnesota state senator John Hoffman took the stage Monday night in downtown Minneapolis at the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting.
It came a little more than two months after he and his wife were wounded in what authorities say was a politically motivated assassination attempt.
The 10-minute speech at the Hilton hotel in downtown Minneapolis was the senator's first public appearance since the shooting.
"We must re-commit ourselves to governance over grievance, to service over self, and to action over anger," said Senator Hoffman, his left arm still in a splint. "Terror in the night is not legislative reform. It's heinous."
Senator Hoffman is still recovering from the eight bullets wounds he suffered the early morning of June 14.
The shooting happened not long after House Speaker emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their home.
The man accused in both shootings remains in custody and faces the death penalty if convicted.
More than 400 elected Democratic party officials are attending the summer meeting