"The unspeakable mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, which occurred ten years ago today, remains one of the darkest days in our nation's history.  It is difficult to believe that a decade has passed since that tragedy.  Had it not been for a sadistic individual who had access to a weapon of war, the twenty children we lost would now be enjoying their final years of high school, along with the six educators murdered that day.  On this solemn anniversary, I extend my prayers to the families of the victims and wish them strength as they continue to live with that terrible loss.  From Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland to Robb Elementary in Uvalde, too many families and communities have had to contend with similar grief in the long decade since Sandy Hook.
 
"Only action can give weight to such condolences, however.  House Democrats and I refuse to yield in our mission to address the gun-violence epidemic gripping our nation.  Last summer, our Democratic House Majority led the charge to enact the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the most significant piece of legislation addressing gun violence in decades.  House Democrats also passed legislation that would reinstitute the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, which took military-style firearms like the one used in the Sandy Hook shooting off American streets.  Unfortunately, Republicans opposed that legislation and prevented it from receiving a fair vote in the Senate.  Nevertheless, I hope that the millions of Americans who have been affected by gun violence can find some solace in knowing that House Democrats will keep pushing for common-sense gun reform until tragedies such as Sandy Hook are a relic of the distant past."