His request echoed the sentiments of many in the area of the three states, who responded to the horrific shooting with despair, anger, frustration and a sense of helplessness.
“What are we doing?” Murphy asked. “I’m here, on this floor, to beg, to literally get on my knees, to beg my colleagues. Find your way forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely. ”
The a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in UwaldeTexas, nearly 2,000 miles from Newtown, Connecticut, felt too familiar with residents and officials who saw much like the 2012 attack on a lone gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Murphy submitted to the Senate on Tuesday and demanded that lawmakers do what they failed to do after 20 children, mostly 6-7 years old, and six caregivers were killed there.
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Congress has failed to pass serious gun laws since the collapse of the bipartisan senate after that massacre.
“I just don’t understand why people here think we’re powerless,” Murphy said. – We are not like that.
Other local officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, also responded.
“I want to express my soul to family members at a Texas elementary school, the mass shooting,” he said. “These shootings happen too often and the reaction does not match the level of threat and danger we feel. Unacceptable. We will never give up our streets of violence.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he had a broken heart and that the U.S. was failing its children.
“Today, after last week’s shooting in Buffalo, another horrific and unacceptable act of gun violence claimed the lives of 14 innocent children at an elementary school in Texas,” he said. “As a father, my heart is broken for families suffering from this senseless, horrific tragedy. There is no greater responsibility than protecting our children – and our nation is failing this most basic ordeal. The American people await in irritation and terror when members of Congress they are sitting idly by, not adopting national weapons safety legislation … Let’s not procrastinate for another day ”.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont ordered the flags removed.
“We obviously have a gun problem in America,” he said. “There are more damn weapons on the streets than ever before, especially illegal weapons. We need to test our ability as a nation at the moment to strengthen public safety and health. I want to be clear – gun violence is a public health crisis. It commits lawmakers everywhere, be it Connecticut, Texas or the capital of our country, to come to a point in addressing this issue.
New York Governor Katie Want to take action, but for those killed it is too late.
“I have a beating heart for the victims of today’s horrific shooting in Texas,” she said. “You should be able to go to school, to church and to the grocery store without worrying that you won’t come home. It is time to put an end to these unnecessary tragedies. “
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The Sandy Hook Promise, a non-profit organization that was founded after the shooting of Sandy Hook by the parents of the victims, also called for action in the following statement:
“We grieve together with the families of innocent lives taken away in this horrific tragedy. Nineteen children will never return from school. We know the indescribable pain and darkness that descended on Uwalde today. Almost 10 years ago our sons Dylan and Daniel went to school and did not return home.
“All of us at Sandy Hook Promise are devastated by this shooting, haunted by the shocking resemblance to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. We vomit under the weight of our grief when we watch another community of families suffer from their worst nightmare.
“Having survived the mass shooting, still experiencing the pain of our own children being killed by senseless violence in first-class classes, we know that nothing will bring back the precious lives lost in Uwald. We know that the road ahead for Rob’s primary school community will be incredibly difficult. We want to offer families our compassion and commitment to honor their loved ones along with ours as we continue our mission to end gun violence. We also offer them ourselves in any way we can to help their needs.
“For everyone who wakes up today, take a moment to send your child to school and imagine what the Uvalde community is going through. Take your heartache, your fear, your anger and sadness and put them into action. We need to take action today and everyone call on elected officials to pass a law that protects the safety and lives of children, which can be done while respecting the rights of the Second Amendment, and now it is time to take bold action, as a country, how much more can we stand aside while innocent children are being killed? ”
Senator Murphy expressed hope that a compromise on arms control was possible.
“I understand that my fellow Republicans will not agree on everything I can support, but there is a common denominator we can find,” he said. “But in doing something, we are at least stopping sending this quiet message of approval to these brainwashing killers who see that the highest levels of government are doing nothing, shooting for gunfire.”
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