Following the fatal Florida school shooting, a chorus of Democratic legislators expressed their sympathies and also called for Congressional action.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued a press release in which she declared that “Congress has a moral responsibility to take common sense action to prevent the daily tragedy of gun violence in communities across America. Enough is enough.”
“How many more senseless tragedies does this country have to endure until Congress acts?” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) inquired in a tweet.
“When will we wake up?” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) queried. “When will we take action to prevent these shootings from occurring? These tragedies are the new normal, and that should make all of us sick.”
“This cannot keep happening. We must act,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) declared in a tweet.
Bernie Sanders (I-VT) chimed in: “Maybe, just maybe, after 18 school shootings in America in just 43 days of 2018 the Congress might want to consider common-sense gun safety legislation and save innocent lives.”
“Our leaders need to lead,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) declared, adding, “Stand up to the gun lobby and do what's right to keep our children safe from gun violence.” In another tweet Harris also said: “This is the 18th school shooting in the first 43 days of 2018. We cannot accept this as normal. We must address gun violence.”
The House Democratic Caucus twitter account attacked Republicans, saying, “It’s heartbreaking that we have to beg Republicans to help us #EndGunViolence. And, yet every time one of these preventable tragedies occurs, we are ignored. This has to end.”
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Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) called for the passage of “popular, sensible #GunSafety policies so we can reduce gun violence and save lives.”
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) stated, “We need sensible gun control, like background checks and tracing of weapons.”
A number of the officials who called for action also said that “thoughts and prayers” are insufficient.
“Thoughts and prayers aren’t going to cut it. We have to do something,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) said in a tweet.
Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) similarly said: “We are once again reminded that we have a responsibility to act in Congress to change things. We owe these families more than just our thoughts and prayers.”
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) said “My thoughts are with families of victims & first responders in FL, but I also know that thoughts are not enough. It's time for action.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-WA) posted a tweet that included the assertion that, “Our unshakeable responsibility as elected officials is to move beyond repeating words of condolence and to take concrete steps to prevent these tragedies.”
Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) blasted Republicans in his statement: “As a Congress, we must have a better answer for the victims’ families than our thoughts and prayers. It is unconscionable that Republicans stand in the way of ending gun violence each and every time Americans lose their life due to a mass shooting. Americans are dying waiting for us to act. The time is now.”
Update: Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris had said in their tweets that there were 18 school shootings in 43 days of 2018—Friday, Bernie Sanders tweeted a correction that said:
“Correction: Information we released Wednesday, along with most major news outlets, stating that there have been 18 school shootings this year turned out to be incorrect and inflated. One school shooting is too many, and this is a crisis that must be addressed now, but it is important that we use correct stats when discussing this horrific situation."
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