Senate Democrats are calling for Congress to “get off its ass” and pass gun control legislation in the wake of Sunday night’s mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas that left at least 50 dead and more than 400 injured.
“This must stop. It is positively infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said in a statement Monday. “There are, and the thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference. It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something.”
Police say Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on concert-goers at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Sunday night. He carried out the attack from a hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Police believe Paddock committed suicide before law enforcement broke into his hotel room.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also called for Congress to take action and pass gun control legislation, and said he is “furious” by lawmakers’ inaction.
“It has been barely a year since what was previously the largest mass shooting in American history — the deadly attack at Pulse nightclub. In the interim, thousands more have been lost to the daily, ruthless toll of gun violence,” Blumenthal said in a statement Monday. “Still, Congress refuses to act. I am more than frustrated, I am furious.”
The Connecticut Democrat said that although many of the details of the shooting are unclear, “one thing is certain: Yet again, we are watching in horror as another American community is torn apart by the terrible devastation wrought by a gunman.”
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., echoed the comments of his Senate colleagues.
“We are not powerless against such evil,” Booker tweeted Monday. “We must take common sense, widely supported, steps to reduce such violence, agony and grievous loss.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called on Congress to begin having a conversation about gun control reforms.
“I’m heartsick for the victims of last night’s massacre in Las Vegas & their loved ones. I’m heartsick for people in Nevada & across the country who woke up to this news & are worried that their family & friends are ok,” Warren wrote in several tweets Monday. “Thoughts & prayers are NOT enough. Not when more moms & dads will bury kids this week, & more sons & daughters will grow up without parents. Tragedies like Las Vegas have happened too many times. We need to have the conversation about how to stop gun violence. We need it NOW.”
“The tragedy in Las Vegas is heartbreaking. Enough is enough. It’s time to do something about the scourge of gun violence in this country,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., tweeted.
We are not powerless against such evil. We must take common sense, widely supported, steps to reduce such violence, agony and grievous loss.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) October 2, 2017
Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said police found numerous weapons, including 10 rifles, in Paddock’s hotel room, which he had occupied since Sept. 28.
