Blumenthal & Murphy Honor Sandy Hook Victims, Families & Survivors on Tenth Anniversary of Shooting
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – On the tenth anniversary of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) spoke on the Senate Floor to honor the lives of the twenty first-graders and six educators lost that day. The Connecticut senators praised the strength and courage shown by survivors, families, first responders, and the greater community in the wake of the tragedy. Blumenthal and Murphy also called on Congress to build on the progress made with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act by taking further steps to address America’s gun violence epidemic.
“Many of us in Connecticut and throughout the nation awoke today with a heavy heart. With grief still so raw that we can almost touch it. I wish I could tell you that ten years ago to this day was a blur. I wish I could tell you that the memory of that day has dimmed. I wish I could tell you that the knife-like sorrow and pain has subsided. But the fact is it is still raw and real for so many of us,” said Blumenthal. “As I recall very vividly at one of the wakes, I approached a mom who had just lost her child and said, ‘When you're ready, I'd like to talk about what we can do to stop this kind of gun violence.’ And she looked at me through her tears and said, ‘I'm ready. I'm ready now.’”
“Survivors and the loved ones have become the difference makers, and they have been joined by law enforcement and parents, teachers, medical professionals, activists, and advocates who have said to us enough is enough,” Blumenthal continued. “Sandy Hook is the story not only of social change and legal and legislative reform. It is also an intensely personal story about grace and grit, about courage and strength, and about a personal dedication to making good come of that unimaginable horror and evil on that day.”
“My pain is for what we lost that day, my pain is for the delayed reaction of this country in waking up to this epidemic, my pain is for the broader community of kids and individuals who have to live with the consequences of our inaction. I also come to this day with a lot of joy for what we have found that lies inside each of us. Out of Sandy Hook came kindness and grace. I come to this day with a lot of gratitude for the community of Sandy Hook for deciding to take that awful tragedy and turning it into something wonderful,” said Murphy. “So feel pain today, feel sorrow, think about those families, but man, bring some life and some grace. Make a decision that in your world you're going to honor those kids and those adults' memories with some action.”
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