A number of Sandy Hook shooting survivors and state gun control advocates are joining a coalition of groups wanting to see changes to the nation’s highest court.
“It shouldn’t be this hard. It should be really easy for the federal government including the Supreme Court to protect our kids and families," President of the Newtown Action Alliance Po Murray said.
More than a decade of frustration for Murray, who wants to see significant gun control legislation happen at the federal level. The Sandy Hook shooting left scars on her and her community.
For some shooting survivors, now seniors in high school, their anger is focused on the Supreme Court. They’re frustrated over recent decisions on guns including a case last year that overturned New York’s gun permitting laws.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
“The Supreme Court has taken away rights we have counted on for decades and it’s giving more rights to guns than kids,” Cyrena Arokium, a Sandy Hook shooting survivor, said.
“We need to reform the Supreme Court. We need term limits,” Ashley Hubner, a Sandy Hook shooting survivor, said.
The survivors, along with Murray, were part of a 20-plus stop bus tour called “Just Majority," featuring a coalition of advocacy groups. All of them want the Supreme Court reformed.
Local
“We are urging Congress to expand the court and instill some ethical standards for them,” Murray said.
Holly Sullivan, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, disagrees with the calls for change. She says her group has lost many court cases advocating for gun owners, but never blamed any judges or justices.
“We have cases that are mooted, and we have cases that are dismissed. We don’t always agree with the decision. However, we do have the utmost respect for the judicial process,” she said.
She says the Supreme Court justices have the authority to make final decisions on whether the law is constitutional, including that New York case.
“There is very good reason why they made the ruling that they did. It’s detailed. It’s a very complicated decision,” Sullivan said.
Murray says she’s tired of waiting for action on gun violence.
“Hopefully it won’t take another horrific tragedy like Sandy Hook or Uvalde, Highland Park, Buffalo, for that change to occur,” she said.
The next stop for the “Just Majority” bus will be Thursday in Montpelier, Vermont.
