Advocates and lawmakers will rally in Newtown, Connecticut, as Congress continues to negotiate gun control legislation in response to recent shootings. Police responded to another shooting on Friday in Ames, Iowa, where three people were killed outside of a church.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) plans to join advocates from the Newtown Action Alliance, Sandy Hook Promise and other advocacy groups, which were founded after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 20 children and six educators.
Blumenthal and other federal lawmakers are negotiating gun violence legislation in response to a string of deadly shootings over the last two weeks, including:
- Three people were killed at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York;
- Nineteen students and their two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas;
- Four people were killed at hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma
“It’s a put up or shut up time for the United States Senate,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “We’re developing compromises right now. ... I’m more hopeful than ever since Sandy Hook that we can take that step, which could well lead to other steps. Because once we open the door to action, others may follow.”
President Joe Biden has called for at least 10 Republicans to join Democrats to pass legislation on guns, including strengthening background checks on all purchases, enacting safe storage and red flag laws, and limiting access to assault weapons, especially those under 21.
"I applaud President Biden for demanding action to protect our families from gun violence, an ever-growing public health epidemic from which no community is immune," Mark Barden, co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund and father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, said in a statement.
"With more guns in homes than ever before, strong leadership is critical to advancing bipartisan solutions in this divided Congress and nation. Keeping our children safe is not a partisan issue."
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) is leading negotiations for the Democrats.
“President Biden is right – doing nothing is not an option," Murphy said in a statement. "Momentum is building, and we’re going to keep at it to make sure we meet this moment and deliver for the overwhelming majority of Americans demanding change."
