Sen. Chris Murphy is calling on Congress to “get off its ass” and act on gun control following the country’s deadliest mass shooting in Las Vegas Sunday night.
The Connecticut Democrat offered his condolences to “the victims, their families, the first responders and the entire community in Las Vegas,” after a gunman killed more than 50 people and wounded hundreds of others at an outdoor Jason Aldean concert near the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
“This must stop. America is the only place where horrific mass shootings happen with this degree of regularity. We are, yet again, facing the aftershock of the deadliest shooting in our nation’s history,” Mr. Murphy wrote in a statement. “It is infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic. There are. The thoughts and prayers of politicians ring cruelly hollow if they are not paired with action. It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something.”
Mr. Murphy isn’t the only Democrat to call for gun control in the wake of Sunday’s attack.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, also of Connecticut, said he’s “furious” that Congress has failed to address gun violence since the Pulse nightclub shooting in June of last year.
“It has been barely a year since what was previously the largest mass shooting in American history – the deadly attack at Pulse nightclub,” Mr. Blumenthal wrote in a statement. “In the interim, thousands more have been lost to the daily, ruthless toll of gun violence. Still, Congress refuses to act. I am more than frustrated, I am furious.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island, said mass shootings are “all too familiar in America.”
“And we know we can protect our communities better. How many lives must be lost before we act?” he asked.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, wrote on Twitter that “Thoughts & prayers are NOT enough” following this tragedy.
“Not when more moms & dads will bury kids this week, & more sons & daughters will grow up without parents,” she tweeted. “Tragedies like Las Vegas have happened too many times. We need to have the conversation about how to stop gun violence. We need it NOW.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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