Six months after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary that took the lives of 26 students and teachers, the victims’ families are not giving up. And though public sentiment following the mass shooting showed a rise in support for gun control laws, momentum may now be stalling.
A group of Newtown families returned to Capitol Hill last week to maintain pressure on lawmakers for gun reform in marking the six-month anniversary of the shooting tragedy. Press Secretary Jay Carney pledged the White House’s support in pushing the issue after legislation to tighten background checks on gun sales failed in the Senate in April. “We want them to know that, as we approach the six-month anniversary of that terrible day, we will never forget and we will continue to fight alongside them,” Carney said.
The families of Newtown and the White House are not alone: support remains high among the American public for background checks. According to a Gallup poll, 91% of Americans support criminal background checks as a prerequisite for gun purchases.
“It’s extremely frustrating… to see 90% of our country agree on this and our country never agrees on anything!” Carlee Soto, whose sister died at Sandy Hook Elementary, told msnbc.com. “And for our legislators just not to care. We vote them into office to speak for us. Who are they speaking for?”
Despite setbacks, support for gun control still remains strong. In a Pew poll released last week, more than half of Americans believe that stricter gun laws would result in fewer deaths by guns in mass shootings and in accidents.
Carly Fromm