The two women on the Connecticut Congressional Delegation, Democrats Elizabeth Esty and Rosa DeLauro, say they are not giving up on efforts to get the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on gun control legislation. They were speaking at an event on Wednesday at the UConn Medical Center in Farmington, which was organized by Esty to mark a ‘National Day of Action’ to prevent gun violence.
Esty, whose district includes Newtown, says she and fellow members of the House Democratic Caucus are pushing for a vote because they believe many Republican representatives support legislation to prevent people on the government’s No Fly Lists from purchasing weapons. Esty says the problem is the House Republican leadership won’t allow a vote.
“For three and a half years, we have not been allowed a hearing, we have not been allowed a vote, a single vote on a single piece of legislation to address the epidemic of gun violence.”
DeLauro says Democrats, who are the minority in the House, believe the pressure they’ve applied on the majority Republicans since the Orlando mass shooting will yield results.
“The families do not get a break from their grief, so that we are not going to take a break until we get a bill.”
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, gun violence prevention advocates and public health experts, joined the two congresswomen at the event. Other members of Congress, including Connecticut First District Congressman John Larson, one of the leaders of the sit-in on the floor of the House last week, held similar National Day of Action events.
