Sen. Chris Murphy: Congress must 'get off its ass and do something' about gun violence

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is an outspoken advocate for gun control, pushing for reforms following the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that killed 20 children and six adults, and in the wake of Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas, he ripped his colleagues for their inaction.

"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," Murphy said in a statement. "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." Murphy also tweeted a message to his fellow lawmakers, saying their "cowardice to act cannot be whitewashed by thoughts and prayers. None of this ends unless we do something to stop it."

The Las Vegas mass shooting is the deadliest in modern U.S. history, with at least 59 people killed and more than 520 injured. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) tweeted earlier Monday to "political opportunists who are seizing on this tragedy in Las Vegas to call for more gun regs," saying, "you can't regulate evil." Murphy came back with a sarcastic reply: "I await your proposal to rescind Kentucky's laws banning assault, murder, and arson. One of our government's core functions is to regulate evil."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up