After Kids Killed in Texas, Dems Declare ‘Pass Gun Safety Legislation Now’

Progressives in Congress responded to a deadly mass shooting at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday with demands for swift action to reduce gun violence.

The massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde left at least 19 children, two adults, and the gunman dead—and came just 10 days after a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo sparked similar calls for congressional action.

“I am horrified by news of another mass shooting and my heart breaks for the families of the young children and teacher killed in Uvalde. Congress has a moral responsibility to end gun violence now,” said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

“Abolish the filibuster and pass gun safety legislation now,” added Markey.

Referencing the initial death toll, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) tweeted: “Fourteen little kids, dead. When are we going to wake up as a country? Abolish the filibuster. Pass gun safety legislation, now. This needs to stop. We can never allow this to happen again.”

Meanwhile, in the chamber, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)—who was in the House for the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting—pleaded with lawmakers to act.

“I understand my Republican colleagues will not agree to everything that I may support but there is a common denominator that we can find,” he continued. “There is a place where we can achieve agreement—that may not guarantee that America never, ever again sees a mass shooting… but by doing something, we at least stop sending this quiet message of endorsement to these killers whose brains are breaking, who see the highest levels of government doing nothing, shooting after shooting.”

Others called out right-wing lawmakers who have stood in the way of federal gun safety legislation.

Congresswoman Marie Newman (D-Ill.) fumed that “I simply don’t have words for this horror. I’m furious we live in a nation that values ‘freedom’ over innocent Americans—including children—being gunned down and murdered. When will the Republican Party stop holding our nation hostage and let us pass gun safety legislation[?]”

Some progressive lawmakers drew on their own experiences as parents and argued that kids nationwide deserve better. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted that “as a parent of an elementary school student, the pain and anger is unbearable. Pass gun safety legislation now.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) similarly said that “as a mom, I cannot fully express how devastating it is to hear that 14 kids and their teacher were murdered in their classroom. How many more people have to die before our country takes on gun violence?”

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) declared: “Our communities deserve better. Our children deserve better.”

Impassioned calls for action also came from outside of Congress. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said that “only in America do people go grocery shopping and get mowed down by a shooter with hate in his heart; only in this country are parents not assured that their kids will be safe at school.”

Amnesty International USA’s campaign manager for ending gun violence, Ernest Coverson, declared that “thoughts and prayers are not enough. Clichés about lives being changed forever are not enough. We are disgusted and we are outraged.”

“While details are still to be confirmed, this latest tragedy again underscores how U.S. government officials have allowed gun violence to become a human rights crisis,” Coverson continued. It is unacceptable and must end.”

Originally published at Commondreams.org, written by Jessica Corbett.