Eighth Anniversary of Sandy Hook Shooting

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, let me begin where Senator Murphy so eloquently finished.

One of the great honors of my life has been to know and cherish the friendship of the wonderful parents and loved ones of those 20 beautiful children and sixth grade educator that perished 8 years ago today. And I have been proud to work with Senator Murphy, a true champion of stopping gun violence, in our efforts over these last 8 years.

That day began for them as it has begun for all of us as parents--for me as a parent of four, for Senator Murphy as a dad of two--making breakfast, dropping off kids, heading to work. Among the beautiful holiday ornaments that decorated Newtown and Sandy Hook on that day--it was a normal day, until it wasn't. It was a normal day until those minutes when life changed irreparably for those parents and loved ones and for us.

Yes, I had championed the cause of gun violence prevention for years before that day. As State attorney general, I began lawsuits; I supported the cause of banning the assault weapons in Connecticut and defending that ban in our State courts. But that day changed us forever.

We went to Sandy Hook, and what we saw was unspeakable grief, pain, and anguish that still haunt me. What I saw that afternoon will stay with me not just as a source of grief and pain but also as a cry for action, as an undeniable mandate for action to honor with action those beautiful lives--to honor them not just with words, speeches, rhetoric, but with real action.

For all of us, random acts of kindness are within our reach. Those acts of kindness to commemorate the gentle beauty and grace and dignity, the love and laughter, the futures that were lost--that is not just an expression of pain and grief; it is a moral imperative.

With grief comes trauma and lifelong scars that never fade. But what I saw in those hours after that brutal, unimaginable massacre was also unspeakable goodness--the first responders who came and saw the carnage that brought tears to their eyes, the fire and police service, the community leaders, the men and women of faith. Father Bob Weiss, now monsignor, brought us together that evening in St. Rose of Lima Church when the grief and pain were raw, as raw as the cold of that winter night, and so many came--in fact, so many that they couldn't fit in the church. They heard it by loud speaker outside, and I said: The world is watching.

In fact, the world watched with awe because Sandy Hook came to show the resilience and courage and strength of those families who have championed this cause of preventing gun violence but also launched foundations and philanthropic efforts in the names and memories of their children to do good and to change lives for the better. They are resilient and strong like Newtown is resilient and strong.

This morning, in a vigil done virtually, led by Connecticut Against Gun Violence, we celebrated the lives not only of those 20 beautiful children and sixth grade educators but everyone in Connecticut over the past year who has died from gun violence because no community is immune from it. It strikes every neighborhood and area of our State and of our country. So honoring with action is something that we must do in this body.

One of the memories that also haunts me is of the day when we came within a few votes of passing a universal background check bill--almost 55 votes but not enough to reach 60, a majority of the Senate but not enough for cloture. And from that Gallery, literally, came the shout: Shame. Indeed, shame--shame on us in the U.S. Senate for being complicit in the continuing deaths of thousands over these past 8 years, thousands that could have been prevented, and thousands that have our culpability. Shame on us for failing to honor with action and to move forward on universal background checks and emergency orders-- emergency risk protection orders. Those two steps keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people who would do harm to themselves through suicide, as well as to others in the shootings that take place on our streets and our neighborhoods.

Connecticut has led the way on those measures and others--Ethan's Law for safe storage, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, ghost gun bans, and other measures that essentially make our neighborhoods and lives safer. But even Connecticut, with the strongest gun measures in the country, is no safer than any State with the weakest because guns have no respect for State boundaries. They cross State lines, and the ``crime guns'' that come into Connecticut are the source of those shootings that kill our people.

So there are simple, straightforward steps that we can take-- commonsense measures, including stopping the nearly complete, unprecedented immunity of gun manufacturers from any legal responsibility and making sure that they bear liability for the deaths that they cause.

Our lives have never been the same since Sandy Hook. But in the wake of that tragedy--as well as Parkland, Las Vegas, Charleston, El Paso, Orlando, and Pittsburgh, and countless others, mass shootings, individual deaths--there has grown a movement, and it is a movement led by young people and by people who care about this cause without partisan politics. It is a new generation of leaders. It is a movement born of that grief and pain and anger--the fury of knowing that democracy is not working, the tenacity born of the injustice of those deaths and injuries and trauma. They are fighting to make sure that what happened at Sandy Hook or any of those other places never happens again. It is a new class of heroes, and their time is now.

Their organizations are diverse: Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, March for Our Lives, Giffords, Connecticut Against Gun Violence, Newtown Action Alliance, and Sandy Hook Promise. These are just a few of them, and they are a movement, and they are causing a change in the consciousness of America so that now more than 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks

A comparable number support emergency risk protection orders known as red flag statutes. Seventeen States now have them and increased substantially after Parkland, and they are not alone. They are joined by survivors from countless communities--too many communities. They are joined by law enforcement officials, first responders, and emergency room nurses and doctors who have the firsthand education about what gun violence does to a human body and a human mind. They are joined also by advocates and activists and community leaders from every community across the country because this epidemic affects everyone. They are the true leaders of this movement, and I am proud to stand with them today as I do every day.

My hope is that a new Congress will break this complicity and that we will move forward, that a new Congress will break the inaction, and then a new President will change the dynamic, not only in this Congress but in the country, and take advantage of the historic opportunity we have.

With a new administration, we have not only this momentous opportunity but also a moral imperative. We have that opportunity to enact strong, commonsense gun violence prevention measures and, in addition, although no substitute for legislative action, strong Executive action to enhance the effectiveness of background checks, to stop the spread of ghost guns, to take other measures that are within the power of the President alone, and to make sure that we explore and use every possible opportunity.

The States will continue acting alone if the Federal Government fails to join them. States like Connecticut and others around the country who want to protect their citizens will continue to be proactive.

We mark this painful anniversary with renewed resolve--resolve to continue to honor, with positive action, those whose lives were lost at Sandy Hook but also to redouble our efforts to educate and enlist our fellow citizens. It is long past time; 8 years is a long time--much too long for this inaction.

Our hearts still ache. Our anger still burns. Our grief and pain are still there. For those families, they will never go away. But make no mistake, this pandemic is no excuse for inaction. If anything, COVID-19 has raised the number of gun purchases and increased the number of guns posing dangers in our neighborhoods. It has heightened the stress and anxiety of people who might use those guns in incidents of domestic violence. It has expanded the jeopardies of suicide and self- destructive behavior.

We have no excuse for inaction because of the pandemic. We have every reason to feel a greater sense of urgency now, in the midst of this pandemic, to stop the epidemic of gun violence.

Let us draw from the strength and fortitude of these brave families and loved ones--not only in Sandy Hook but survivors and loved ones everywhere--and say, finally, boldly, unapologetically, that enough is enough. Enough is enough.

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