Ten years ago, twenty first-graders and six educators died in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
President Joe Biden and other elected officials have released statements marking a decade since the shooting.
"We should have societal guilt for taking too long to deal with this problem. We have a moral obligation to pass and enforce laws that can prevent these things from happening again. We owe it to the courageous, young survivors and to the families who lost part of their soul ten years ago to turn their pain into purpose," Biden said in part in a statement.
Biden said he signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law, reined in ghost guns, cracked down on gun trafficking and increased resources for violence prevention.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
"Still, we must do more. I am determined to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like those used at Sandy Hook and countless other mass shootings in America. Enough is enough," he added in part in a statement.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) also released a statement saying:
"The nation is a different place, ten years since twenty innocent children and six dedicated educators were senselessly killed inside Sandy Hook Elementary School. Mostly today, I will think of all the greatness and beauty that was robbed from this world, when these promising lives were cut short. Mostly, I will spend my day today sending every good thought I have to the family members who lost loved ones that day, to the survivors of the shooting, to the first responders, and to the community of Newtown that will never be the same," he said in part in a statement.
Local
"I'm so sad for what we lost. But I'm also so inspired and hopeful for all the grace and kindness that has grown out of tragedy, and for all that will come in the future," he added in part.
Rep. John Larson also released a statement saying in part:
“A full decade has passed since 26 innocent lives were stolen at Sandy Hook Elementary, and my thoughts are with their families and friends today,” he said in part.
"In Connecticut, the parents and survivors of Sandy Hook and Mothers United Against Violence are some of our most eloquent spokespeople who advocate for action. We must honor them and ensure Americans can go to school, the grocery store, a nightclub, and a movie theatre and come home safely,” Larson continued in part.
Attorney General William Tong also released a statement saying, "For ten years, 26 Connecticut families have woken up with a wound that will never heal. For ten years, innocent children—now teenagers and young adults—have lived with a pain, trauma and unrelenting vigilance that will never subside."
"In the ten years since that horrific tragedy, Connecticut has united in action behind some of the strongest, lifesaving gun safety laws in the nation. We cannot relent, and we will not go back," he added in part.
Congressman Jim Himes issued the following statement:
“Ten years later, the loss of twenty schoolchildren and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut continues to weigh heavy on our hearts. We will never stop mourning the innocent victims, nor forget the horrific violence that robbed them of their futures. What’s more, our nation has never had a moment to catch our breath in the ongoing deluge of gun violence," Himes said.
“Each day, more communities are ravaged by shootings, more families are broken, and more lives are lost. This carnage does not end until we agree that enough is enough. Last summer, Congress finally took a step forward by advancing the first gun safety legislation in decades. These commonsense policies are a welcome reprieve from years of inaction on protecting the American people from the scourge of gun violence, but as we have seen in the last few months, they are insufficient to keep our communities safe," he continued.
“We can and must do more. For the children and teachers of Sandy Hook Elementary, for the families of those we’ve lost, and for all those whose lives have been upended by this senseless violence, I will keep fighting," Himes added.
