Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
WASHINGTON–Ahead of Friday’s National Safer Communities Summit, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) authored an op-ed for Hearst Connecticut Media to explain why he’s bringing President Biden and leaders of the anti-gun violence movement from across the country to Connecticut for a one-day summit marking one year since the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA).
“This Friday, President Joe Biden, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and elected officials and gun violence prevention advocates from all over the country will gather in Hartford to mark one year since the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the groundbreaking legislation that passed just weeks after I gave those remarks in the shadow of the Uvalde shooting,” Murphy wrote. “It will be a moment to mourn those we have lost, celebrate all we have accomplished, and plan for our next victories.”
Murphy highlighted Connecticut’s role in the story of last summer’s successful passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: “The story of how we passed the law that will be the central point of discussion at Friday’s summit started 10 years ago in Connecticut. I had just been elected Connecticut’s junior senator when 20 innocent children and six dedicated educators were senselessly killed inside Sandy Hook Elementary School. Many people were stunned when Congress chose to do nothing in the wake of our state’s soul-crushing tragedy. But I knew that our failure was simply due to a deficit of political power. In 2013, the gun lobby had tons of power; they were at their political peak. The gun safety movement basically did not exist. So, instead of believing the cynics who lamented that if Newtown couldn’t force Congress to act, nothing would, I got to work helping to build a new great American political movement — the gun violence prevention movement.”
“For 10 years, we built our political and electoral power. We elected more leaders to Congress. We convinced Republicans it was better for them to join rather than fight our cause. And finally, last summer, the moment arrived when we had accumulated enough influence that we were able to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” he added.
On the future of the anti-gun violence movement, Murphy wrote: “The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was only possible because people in Connecticut and all across this country refused to accept that the uniquely American problem of gun violence is one we can’t solve. Roadblock after roadblock, the anti-gun-violence movement didn’t give up. Instead, we wrote letters, marched in protests, called representatives, and most importantly, changed minds. I’m confident that last summer was the beginning of a new decade for this movement — a decade of notching win after win at the local, state and federal levels.”
Read the full op-ed here.
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