Connecticut Senators Join Gun Violence Prevention Groups to Push for Action

State leaders and local groups are calling for gun violence prevention.

The conversation comes one week after 19 children and two teachers died during a school shooting in Texas.

Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy joined with several gun violence prevention groups including Sandy Hook Promise, Mom's Demand Action, Newtown Action Alliance, Mothers United Against Gun Violence, Connecticut Against Gun Violence and Ethan Miller Song Foundation.

Mark Barden is familiar with losing a child to gun violence. Barden lost his seven-year-old son Daniel in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary. The mass shooting left 20 students and six adults dead.

Barden co-founded Sandy Hook Promise and stood with several other gun violence prevention groups.

"No parent should ever have to live with this pain," Barden said.

He, along with other gun violence prevention advocates, shared their emotions and desire to see steps taken to protect our schools from future gun violence and to bolster gun laws in the country.

"We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to what is happening in this nation," Murphy said.

Murphy and Blumenthal mention that negotiations have already started with their Republican colleagues in Congress.

A bulk of the discussion on Tuesday revolved around gun storage, universal background checks and wide-spread red-flag laws. State leaders mention that these talks are just the beginning.

At the same time, gun violence prevention supporters want to see immediate action to ensure school safety and the elimination of mass-shootings.

"Parents are sick of these shootings, those who live in Hartford are sick of people dying and I'm quite sure people are tired of people dying all across America," said Reverend Henry Brown, of Mothers United Against Violence.

For Kristin Song, every day is a step closer to seeing the commitment she made to her son come true. Song lost her son Ethan in 2018 after he was shot and killed with a pistol at a neighbor's house.

Song and her family have worked to pass what's known as Ethan's Law. The legislation would require that an unloaded or loaded gun be properly stored so anyone under 18 would have not have access to that firearm.

"I will never stop until we pass life-saving legislation because that's what it is," Song said. "I take it personally that this law has not been passed nationally."

Moms Demand Action is another gun violence prevention group and has advocated for universal background checks, raising the purchasing age of semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.

"Yes, there's been no national cathartic legislation but if you look at the states, if you look at local municipalities and the way we talked about gun violence prevention, there has been progress," Carlson said.