Connecticut leaders are reacting to news of the deadly church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas that left 26 people dead Sunday morning and the governor has ordered that flags be lowered.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) called the shooting "another unspeakable tragedy" and demanded action from Congress.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D) echoed those sentiments in a lengthy statement that attacked the gun lobby and compared the incident to other mass shootings including Las Vegas, Orlando and Newtown.
"None of this is inevitable. I know this because no other country endures this pace of mass carnage like America. It is uniquely and tragically American. As long as our nation chooses to flood the county with dangerous weapons and consciously let those weapons fall into the hands of dangerous people, these killings will not abate," Murphy wrote.
"My heart breaks for Sutherland Springs. Just like it still does for Las Vegas. And Orlando. And Charleston. And Aurora. And Blacksburg. And Newtown. Just like it does every night for Chicago. And New Orleans. And Baltimore. And Bridgeport. The terrifying fact is that no one is safe so long as Congress chooses to do absolutely nothing in the face of this epidemic. The time is now for Congress to shed its cowardly cover and do something," he added.
Gov. Dannel Malloy also released a statement expressing his desire for congressional action.
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"This morning a church community in Texas gathered to pray in peace and now we pray for the deceased, the injured, and their friends and families. Sutherland Springs now joins a club which no one wishes to join, a club made up of cities and towns ravaged by senseless gun violence—communities such as Littleton, Virginia Tech, Charleston, Orlando, Las Vegas, Newtown, and so many others. For the sake of all communities across the country, this madness of mass shootings needs to end once and for all. Congress needs to finally take up and pass commonsense gun control measures so that tragedies like this one never happen again. Connecticut will make any resources and expertise that we can provide available to those affected by this latest act of mass violence."
On Monday, he ordered that flags be lowered to half-staff until sunset Thursday in accordance with a proclamation from President Donald Trump.
Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, criticized the senators for politicizing the events.
"First off, our sympathy goes out to the victims of this tragedy, and the entire community. We are thankful that a law-abiding armed citizen was able to stop the shooter before this mass murder became any worse. The fact that somebody was armed and able to stop this person flies in the face of what our two anti-gun senators often repeat while they are politicizing such events," Wilson wrote.
