HARTFORD–Ahead of the ninth anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Monday joined local gun violence prevention advocates to honor victims and survivors of gun violence, highlight successes of the anti-gun violence movement at the state and local levels, and push for commonsense gun violence prevention legislation at the federal level.

Newtown Action Alliance, Connecticut Community Violence Intervention Program, Connecticut Against Gun Violence, Moms Demand Action, and Mothers United Against Violence joined Murphy and Blumenthal in their call to honor the victims and survivors of gun violence with action. They also highlighted the $5 billion in the Build Back Better Act to invest in community violence intervention (CVI) programs that help break the cycle of violence. 

“I want to applaud those standing behind because we have been able to build an integrated anti-gun violence movement in Connecticut, a movement that connects those who lost children and parents in Sandy Hook with those that have endured decades of violence in neighborhoods throughout this state,” said Murphy. “[W]e know this is a question of when—not if—we pass federal legislation that will require universal background checks and get these dangerous assault weapons off the streets. But we know that for now, we need to make sure that this country doesn't lose its sense of outrage about what's going on in states. This happens in the United States and nowhere else…We choose to have the world's weakest gun laws. We choose to allow for these dangerous weapons of mass destruction to get into the hands of would-be killers. This is all a choice, and we can make a different choice.”

“Connecticut has been at the forefront of achieving really important, profoundly impactful measures,” said Blumenthal. “Connecticut’s laws should be mirrored at the national level – but Congress has failed to act, Congress has been complicit, and our colleagues have been remaining in the grip of the gun lobby. So we have begun the task of building a movement. Not a moment, a movement – and we are building a movement that will move America. We’re going to hold accountable elected representatives who have failed the majority of American people. We’re going back to Washington to say to Congress: do your job, that’s what the American people want.”

“Our hearts are still broken. Over 900,000 Americans have been shot & over 350,000 have been killed by guns since my neighbor killed 20 children and six educators in Sandy Hook Elementary School nine years ago. Gun violence is preventable. It’s time for Congress to love its children more than it loves the gun lobby and start passing lifesaving gun laws to protect our children and families. America’s 400 million civilian-owned guns have not made us safer. Until this issue becomes a true priority for Americans at the ballot box, more and more families and communities will join our tragic club,” said Po Murray, Newtown Action Alliance.

“Is this the best we’ve got in America where every 15 minutes someone is killed by a handgun? Is this the best we’ve got? I say not,” said Leonard Jahad of Connecticut Community Violence Intervention Program. “We have to do more. We're letting our most vulnerable commodity in America be affected by gun violence.”

“The absence of federal gun law reform, despite the tireless leadership of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation, does not render us powerless. Citizens have the power to drive change, especially at the state level. Civic engagement here in Connecticut is why we are a model for federal legislation, and have one of the lowest gun death rates in the country,” said Jeremy Stein, Executive Director of CT Against Gun Violence.

“No one should have to experience the same pain and trauma the Newtown community has endured over the past nine years, but for far too many, it has become a reality,” said Kate Roschmann, a volunteer with the Connecticut chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We are grateful to have leaders in the U.S. Senate who are fighting hard to honor survivors and victims with action and protect all people of Connecticut from gun violence. We cannot rest until all communities are safe from gun violence.”

“Mother’s United Against Violence has been at the forefront of gun violence for over 20 years and believes that the timing is now to make our urban cities safe and stand up against gun violence in every form,” said Deborah Davis, Mothers United Against Violence.

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