Speaker Heastie Statement on Robb Elementary School Shooting

I am absolutely devastated to learn that another mass shooting has occurred in this country.

We have been here too many times before. Less than a week ago, we gathered to memorialize the people shot at a grocery store in Buffalo.

Our nation is yet again facing what should be considered an unthinkable tragedy – a heinous act of gun violence at an elementary school.

But we have been here before, too.

As a parent, I am utterly heartbroken and overwhelmed with grief for the parents, grandparents and siblings of these children, and for the family of the teacher who was killed today.

As a citizen, I am outraged that once again, this country’s obscene fascination with guns and assault weapons has taken the lives of innocent children in a place where they should feel safe.

This is not the way the world should be. Our children deserve better.

I am begging this country to have a conversation about this gun crisis.