Source: United States Senator for Vermont Patrick Leahy
Gun violence continues to plague our country, and I am outraged. Nearly 10 years ago, 20 children – and six adults – were slaughtered at Sandy Hook Elementary. Nothing has changed. Nothing – except more lives have been lost. Today, 21 families are waking up this morning with a hole in their hearts. Nineteen children. Murdered. Gun violence is an epidemic that cannot be overstated. It cannot be ignored. It cannot be hidden behind the guise of an unassailable Second Amendment argument.
Yet another mass shooting. Yet another round of empty “thoughts and prayers” from some in Congress. When will this end? When will we confront the fact that we are the only civilized nation on Earth that watches our citizens — our children — gunned down and does nothing to prevent it from happening again? I am not politicizing this moment. I am not over reacting. I am angry. Angry that 19 more children, and two adults fighting to protect them, have been murdered. I am angry that today, Congress is willing to just accept that these mass shootings are just another breaking news story, and part of our daily lives.
I have owned firearms, responsibly, my entire life. I support a strong Second Amendment. But simple common sense, and what should be our shared humanity, compel us to not simply quietly acknowledge this crisis, but to do something about it. Nearly 10 years ago, a murderer took the lives of 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook. I led the Senate Judiciary Committee’s action to advance legislation to help address the epidemic of gun violence. Over two years ago, as then Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked to break through the years long refusal to provide the CDC and the NIH with resources to simply study the roots of gun violence. We need more action! Not next week, not next month, not next year — now! How many more people will die before we say enough is enough. I am saying it today — enough.
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