Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, said that he hopes Monday’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard will reinvigorate the debate about gun control on Capitol Hill.
“My hope is this senseless killing will help us break through the gridlock that so obstructed us last time,” Mr. Blumenthal said Tuesday morning on “MSNBC Live.”
Many of his colleagues on Capitol Hill were shaken by the physical proximity of the shooting, which happened less than two miles from the Capitol, he said. For him, he said the massacre brought back memories of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in December, which killed 20 children and six educators.
Mr. Blumenthal said his push for gun control includes a look at how better mental health care can stop mass shootings.
“Mental health has always been part of the comprehensive solution that I’ve advocated, and I hope we can regard this tragedy as a call to action near the nine-month anniversary of Sandy Hook,” he said.
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
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