Carper Statement on the Uvalde School Shooting

WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the below statement following the mass shooting that killed 18 children and three adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas:

"Families across our nation are hugging their children a little closer this evening and weeping for the community of Uvalde, Texas. Though my own boys are now grown adults, I am thinking of when I used to tuck them into bed and help them with their homework. I am thinking of when they were the age of the 18 elementary school children gunned down at their school today. Instead of planning their summer vacations, these families are now planning their children's funerals. Martha and I are overwhelmed with sadness, and pray for the families who have had their most precious gift taken from them by a gunman.

"As I am mourning this tragedy, I refuse to accept inaction. I refuse to accept that the mass slaughter of children in their 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th grade classrooms is normal. I refuse to believe that Congress can't reform our gun laws in a way that the American public broadly supports.

"Tonight, President Biden outlined what we can do-as citizens and as legislators- to stand up to gun lobby and say, 'Enough.' We are long overdue to make commonsense reforms to our nation's gun laws. Congress must now do its job and vote on gun safety legislation that will reduce gun violence and prevent these tragedies from reoccurring in the future."

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