Senator Murphy calls on Republicans to support the tightening of gun laws

US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has called on Republicans to support the tightening of gun laws following the massacre at a Texas elementary school.

In an interview on Sunday, the Connecticut Democrat said he sees more “Republican interest” in talking about gun legislation following the killings in the deadliest US school shooting since the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut.

Murphy was asked whether there are 10 Republicans in the Senate who would be willing to vote in favor of some type of gun-related legislation.

“I think we can. I think there’s something dying inside the soul of this country when we refuse to act at a national level shooting after shooting,” Murphy said.

“And I do think there’s an opportunity right now to be able to pass something significant. I’ve seen more Republican interest in coming to the table and talking this time than any other moment since Sandy Hook,” he said.

Murphy also said that Republicans voting for some type of tightening of gun laws does not mean the sky would “fall for you politically.”

“In fact, you probably will get a lot of new additional supporters. So ‘red flag’ laws are on the table. Background checks, expansion and on the table as well as things like safe storage of guns. I think we can get something done, but we don’t have a lot of time,” he added.

Murphy’s remarks come after a gunman shot dead 19 young children and two teachers at an elementary school in the US state of Texas, in the deadliest US school shooting since the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, in which 20 children and six staff were killed. Seventeen people were also injured in the shooting.

Murphy has been an outspoken advocate for gun laws since the Sandy Hook school shooting a decade ago.

He said communities rarely if ever, recover from such tragedies.

“We need to understand we are putting on top of kids today who already are living in an era of social media and pandemics, a level of trauma and fear that makes it very difficult for them to learn when they are in school,” Murphy said.

“It only happens in America. And when shooting like this happens in a neighborhood or in a school, those communities never, ever recover. That’s just the reality,” he said.

Americans protest gun violence after carnage; leaders say more firearms needed

More than a thousand people have gathered outside the NRA

More than 3,000 children and teens have been shot and killed and 15,000 more have been shot and injured since Sandy Hook, according to data from Everytown for Gun Safety, which tracks gun violence and other shootings on school grounds.

The Sandy Hook school shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children between six and seven years old, as well as six adult staff members, before killing himself. Prior to driving to the school, Lanza shot and killed his mother at their home.

Although the Sandy Hook massacre was the third-deadliest mass shooting in US history, Congress has consistently failed to pass federal gun control legislation due to the influence of the powerful gun lobby.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk