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On 9th anniversary of Sandy Hook, Connecticut’s U.S. senators push for new federal gun laws

Support for gun control has hit its lowest point in almost a decade since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. That’s according to a Gallup poll released last month.

On the ninth anniversary of the Newtown shooting, Connecticut’s U.S. Senators hope that could be changing.

Gun violence prevention measures have gained traction across the country since Sandy Hook and subsequent mass shootings in other states, said U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.

“That shows that change is on the way. It starts in blue and purple states but it will reach Washington D.C.,” Murphy said.

President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act that could win congressional approval in the coming weeks would be a first step, said Murphy.

“The Build Back Better Act is a historic $5 billion investment in anti-gun violence programming,” he said.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is optimistic that a federal background check might finally get passed in the senate.

“As Senator Murphy and I said when we sought unanimous consent to move forward on the background checks bill last week, our hope is that we will have change after this,” Blumenthal said.

Advocates from the Newtown Action Alliance and the Community Violence Intervention Program said they’d like the U.S. Senate to get rid of the filibuster. That would allow for federal gun violence prevention legislation to pass with a simple majority, they said.

Copyright 2021 WSHU. To see more, visit WSHU.

As WSHU Public Radio’s award-winning senior political reporter, Ebong Udoma draws on his extensive tenure to delve deep into state politics during a major election year. In addition to providing long-form reports and features for WSHU, he regularly contributes spot news to NPR, and has worked at the NPR National News Desk as part of NPR’s diversity initiative.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.