Sandy Hook Parents Heartbroken After Gun Control Measures Blocked

Courtesy of CNN

The U.S. Senate blocked a measure on April 17 that would have expanded background checks for gun sales, and banned some semi-automatic weapons. Families of the victims of the Newtown, Conn. shooting were almost in tears as they spoke out about their disappointment.

Families of the victims of the tragic Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, in which 20 children and 6 adults were murdered, were stunned after the U. S. Senate rejected important measures that would have implemented stricter gun sale laws and regulations, on April 17.

Tougher Gun Control Laws Blocked — Newtown Families Angry

Mark Barden, whose son Daniel, 7, was gunned down during the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre on Dec. 14, introduced President Barack Obama during a White House press conference, and the grieving father was visibly upset and disappointed.

He recounted how he and other Newtown families had met with Democratic and Republican members of the Senate, and had shared with them pictures of their loved ones as they lobbied for the new measures. Mark vehemently pointed out that since 90 percent of Americans supported the proposal for stricter gun laws, the U.S. Senate had disregarded the wishes of the American people. However, he vowed not to give up the fight to protect America’s children from gun violence:

“We return home now disappointed, but not defeated. We return home with the determination that change will happen. Maybe not today, but it will happen. It will happen soon … our hearts are broken. Our spirit is not.”

Erica Lafferty, the daughter of Dawn Lafferty, the principal who was died trying to defend her Sandy Hook students, described her anger and frustration to CNN :

The next time there’s a mass shooting and they’re asked what they did to prevent it, they’re going to have to say nothing.

President Barack Obama Angry Over Blocked Gun Control Measures

The president was also visibly upset when he took to the podium to deliver his speech.

“This was a pretty shameful day for Washington. If action by Congress could have saved one person, one child, a few hundred, a few thousand — if it prevented those people from losing their lives to gun violence in the future while preserving our Second Amendment rights, we had an obligation to try. This legislation met that test. And too many senators failed theirs.”

He didn’t mince words, criticizing the senators who voted against the new measures to promote stricter gun laws, and he pointedly addressed the National Rifle Association, which lobbied strongly against the measures, adding,