Statements from Gun Violence Survivors on the Announcement of the Bipartisan Senate Framework for Gun Violence Prevention
For Immediate Release
June 15, 2022
Statements from Gun Violence Survivors on the Announcement of the
Bipartisan Senate Framework for Gun Violence Prevention
Newtown, CT- Newtown Action Alliance issued the following statements from Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance, and gun violence survivors after Senate Democrats Chris Murphy, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Coons, Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema and Senate Republicans John Cornyn, Pat Toomey, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, and Martin Heinrich worked to reach a deal with 10 Senate Republicans and 10 Senate Democrats to release a framework for a compromise bill in a response to Uvalde, Buffalo, Tulsa and other shooting incidents.
Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance:
“We acknowledge that the bipartisan compromise is an important first step after nearly 30 years of federal inaction. The bill has not yet been written and the devil is in the details. However, at first glance, many of the policies outlined in the framework will save lives. We support the multi-billion- dollar investment for mental health, investments to expand state red flag laws, closing the boyfriend loophole, and federal criminal penalties to reduce straw purchasing and gun trafficking.
“The Newtown Action Alliance is an organization that has unapologetically pushed for a set of bold, comprehensive policies to dramatically end all forms of gun violence in America; therefore, we are troubled by what was not in the bipartisan framework. The agreement failed to increase the age to purchase weapons of war, regulate assault weapons, limit high-capacity magazines, establish limitations on the gun industry targeting of minors and its promotion of military missions in our streets, or take any other meaningful steps that would substantially reduce the risk of school shootings and mass shootings. The agreement also promotes the gun lobby’s abstract claims about “mental illness” and “school security” being responsible for school shootings to distract from the real issue of access to lethal weapons of war. Only 4% of violence is perpetrated by individuals with mental illness and there is no amount of security that can protect innocent people from a mass shooter armed with an AR-15.
“We have spoken to many gun violence survivors from all corners of America over the last few days and many are expressing concerns that the framework would not have stopped the school and mass shootings that have devastated their families. As long as civilians — including 18-year-olds — can purchase assault weapons and high-capacity magazines legally, children and educators will continue to be hunted in their schools, elders will be hunted in supermarkets, doctors will be hunted in hospitals, and we will continue to fear for our lives.
“The framework also lacks policies that promote responsible gun ownership like Ethan’s Law, the child access prevention bill to keep our kids safe from unsecured guns. Ethan’s Law was passed in the Protect Our Children Act in the House of Representatives last week.”
“We will remain cautiously optimistic but we will not be celebrating until the compromise bill is written, passed in the Senate and House and signed into law by President Biden, AND the Senate ends the filibuster to pass the lifesaving bills that were passed out of the House of Representatives: H.R.8 - Bipartisan Background Checks Act, H.R.1446 - Enhanced Background Checks Act, the omnibus package H.R.7910 - Protecting Our Kids Act, and H.R.2377 - Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act.
“The House majority also has an opportunity to take a stand by passing the following bills that will dramatically reduce all forms of gun violence: S736 / H.R.1808 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2021, S.1338 / H.R.2814 Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act to remove the gun industry's legal shield, and S.2275 / H.R.4118 - Break the Cycle of Violence Act to fund community violence intervention programs.”
Kimberly Rubio, Mother of Alexandria Aniyah (Lexi) who was killed in Robb Elementary School:
“We do not want you to think of Lexi as just a number. She was intelligent, compassionate, and athletic. She was quiet. Shy, unless she had a point to make. When she knew she was right, as she so often was, she stood her ground. She was firm, direct, voice unwavering.
“We stand for Lexi and, as her voice, we demand action. We seek a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. We understand that for some reason, to some people, to people with money, to people who fund political campaigns, that guns are more important than children, so at this moment we ask for progress. We seek to raise the age to purchase these weapons from 18 to 21 years of age. We seek red flag laws, stronger background checks. We also want to repeal gun manufacturers' liability immunity.
“You have all seen glimpses of who Lexi was, but I also want to tell you a little about who she would have been. If given the opportunity, Lexi would have made a positive change in this world. She wanted to attend St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, on a softball scholarship. She wanted to major in math and go on to attend law school. That opportunity was taken from her. She was taken from us.
“I'm a reporter, a student, a mom, a runner. I've read to my children since they were in the womb. My husband is a law enforcement officer, an Iraq War veteran. He loves fishing, and our babies. Somewhere out there, a mom is hearing our testimony and thinking to herself, ‘I can’t even imagine their pain,’ not knowing that our reality will one day be hers, unless we act now."
Miguel Cerrillo, Father of Miah, Survivor of Robb Elementary School Shooting:
“I heard about this new framework that the Senate is talking about and learned that an 18-year-old could still get an assault rifle and I can’t believe it. How can politicians look at what happened and not pass a law that would do something about it? It’s like they are trying to make it easy for kids to do a mass shooting by keeping it legal to sell kids these kinds of guns. The kid who did the shooting wasn’t even old enough to buy a beer, why should a kid that age be able to get one of these weapons? The only reason a kid that young would need one is to kill a lot of people. Didn’t these politicians hear what happened in Uvalde? Maybe they just don’t care because it didn’t happen to them and their families. My daughter Miah is 11 years old. She saw all her friends get killed by a kid with an AR-15. She put her friend’s blood on her face and pretended to be dead. She called 911. The kid who did the shooting was only 18, but the police were scared of him because he had an AR-15. They were so scared they didn’t even go into the school for a really long time after Miah called and by then more kids died. What are they talking about with this framework? It wouldn’t have stopped what happened at Uvalde so what good is it? Please pass a real law so that other families don’t have to go through what the Uvalde families are going through.”
Cristen Rescigno, Board Member of Newtown Action Alliance:
“On December 14, 2012, a 20-year-old gunman used his mother’s AR-15 and high-capacity magazines to murder my 7-year-old cousin Daniel Barden and 19 other children and six educators in Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Uvalde shooting brought me and my family back to how we felt in those terrible days, vividly and viscerally. I have small children and I fear for their lives. We need Congress to do everything in its power to stop gunmen with weapons of war from hunting our children and educators in our schools and in public spaces.”
Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, Cofounders of Survivors Empowered:
“A 24-year-old gunman with an AR-15 and high-capacity magazines killed our beautiful daughter Jessi and 11 others in the Aurora Movie Theater almost 10 years ago. We filed a lawsuit against the online gun dealer who sold the ammunition to the shooter without a background check but it was dismissed due to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) that shields gun manufacturers and dealers from liability. We were ordered to pay the dealer's legal costs; therefore, we had to file for bankruptcy and sell our house. We moved into an RV, which is now used to travel to the communities impacted by mass shootings to provide support. If our PLCAA case had been heard then the same dealers could not have sold ammunition to the underage killer at Santa Fe High School in Texas.
“The Senate framework would not have saved my daughter or saved us financially; therefore, we would like the Senate to pass bills to ban assault weapons and repeal PLCAA.”
Patricia and Manuel Oliver, Cofounders of Change the Ref:
“We gave those in power time to fix this man-made crisis after our only son Joaquin was killed by a 19-year-old gunman with an AR-15 in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day four years ago. We no longer celebrate holidays and we don’t celebrate the bipartisan agreement as an adequate response to more innocent children and educators being hunted and brutally murdered by an 18-year-old gunman with easy access to weapons of war in Uvalde. Many leaders lied and avoided taking action to prevent Uvalde, Buffalo and many other school and mass shootings; therefore, it’s time for them to deal with the consequences of their inaction. It’s time for a national movement that will put an end to this public health emergency. Before we vote, we need to disrupt, disrupt, and repeat until they do their job and pass laws to save lives.”
Gail Schwartz, Founder, Ban Assault Weapons Now:
“My 14-year-old nephew, Alex, was killed by a gunman with weapons of war that were legally purchased in Parkland, Florida. Alex was sitting at his desk when the killer shot through his classroom door killing him and two others. He then continued on his shooting rampage and in just 3 minutes and 44 seconds shot 34 kids and educators, 17 of them fatally. Trauma surgeons that operate on victims of assault weapons, often explain that the injuries are far greater than that of handgun injuries. The bullets pierce the body so severely that it pulverizes organs beyond repair and the exit wounds are the size of oranges. Some of the children from the Uvalde mass shooting were so unrecognizable they could only be identified with DNA. It’s evident that killing machines like AR-15s are too dangerous and have no place in a civilized society; therefore, I urge Congress to ban assault weapons now.”
Mia Tretta, Gunshot Survivor from Santa Clarita, California:
“I was 15 years old when a 16-year-old shooter shot five students with his father’s unsecured ghost gun at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, on November 14, 2019. Two students were murdered and I was one of the three students who were shot and wounded. The shooting has changed my life forever. Because of ghost guns, I live in fear, I live without my best friend, and I live with the scar of a .45 caliber bullet on my stomach. It’s time for Congress to ban ghost guns.”
Kristin and Mike Song, Cofounders of Ethan Miller Song Foundation, Board Advisors of Newtown Action Alliance:
“After our 15-year-old son Ethan was killed by an unsecured gun at his best friend's home 4 years ago, we have met with over 300 members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, to urge them to support Ethan’s Law to require gun owners to secure their guns to keep our kids safe. We are disappointed that the Senate framework does not include Ethan’s Law packaged in the Protect Our Children Act that passed in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support last week. We urge the Senate to vote on the Protect Our Children Act separately to prevent other parents in America from being inflicted with the soul-crushing, unimaginable pain of losing their children to gun violence.”
Rhona Hart, Gun Violence Survivor from Santa Fe, Texas:
“My 14-year-old daughter Kimberly was killed by a 17-year-old with an unsecured gun at Santa Fe High School, Texas, in 2018. I am disappointed that the Senate framework did not include the Kimberly Vaughan Safe Storage bill. The bill named after my daughter was a part of the package in the Protect Our Children Act that was passed in the House of Representatives last week. My daughter and nine others would still be alive if Ethan’s Law was the law of the land; therefore, I urge the Senate to do more to stop these horrific school shootings.”
Tara Donnelly, Gun Violence Survivor from Easton, Connecticut:
“Our children’s lives shouldn’t be negotiable. My parents were taken from me in 2005 when a stolen gun was used to kill both of my parents in our family-owned jewelry store. I thought the day I buried my parents was the hardest day of my life but every day when I send my children to school, I am afraid they won’t come home. The Senate compromise will not be enough to keep my kids safe. The Senate must do more to stop school shootings and all forms of gun violence in our nation.”
Angela Weber, Director of Community Engagement for Newtown Action Alliance:
“My 15-year-old son survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. A year later, two of my family members died by a gun murder-suicide. Two years after that, my husband lost two law enforcement colleagues who, while serving a search warrant, were massacred by a child predator with an assault rifle. Over one million American families in every corner of this nation are dealing with trauma after their loved ones have been shot since the Sandy Hook shooting. That is why it’s crucial that Congress pass a set of bold, comprehensive laws to protect our children and families. It’s time for the Senate to end the filibuster and pass bills that were passed out of the House of Representatives and other lifesaving measures.”
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Newtown Action Alliance (www.newtownaction.org) is a Newtown-based, national grassroots organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is to achieve the steady and continuous reduction of gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.