Democratic leaders have hit a wall when it comes to sending “thoughts and prayers.”
On Monday, following the Las Vegas shooting, elected officials and party elders on the left sent stern tweets and statements that advocated for gun control. The hashtag “#GunControlNow” spiked at No. 2 in the United States on Twitter, as high-profile Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) stumped against the gun lobby.
Our grief isn’t enough. We can and must put politics aside, stand up to the NRA, and work together to try to stop this from happening again.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 2, 2017
But it was Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) who offered the most biting statement. As a congressman, Murphy represented Newton during the Sandy Hook Massacre, and he’s been a gun control activist since.
“It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something,” Murphy wrote.
This must stop. 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. There are, and the thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference.
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) pledged to skip out on the moment of silence in Congress that usually comes with national tragedies.
“Now is not a moment for silence; it’s a time for action,” he wrote on Twitter.
As after #Orlando, I will NOT be joining my colleagues in a moment of silence on the House Floor that just becomes an excuse for inaction.
— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) October 2, 2017
#LasVegas https://t.co/k6S1QIq4Sd
— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) October 2, 2017
Others chimed in with similar sentiments.
The problem is that “enough” was many many years and many many brutal deaths ago. https://t.co/JKU9W2FlOY
— Jim Himes 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇦🇺🇦 (@jahimes) October 2, 2017
Thoughts & prayers are NOT enough. Not when more moms & dads will bury kids this week, & more sons & daughters will grow up without parents.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) October 2, 2017
My soul aches over Las Vegas. My prayers are with the victims. And my prayers are with our nation, may we resolve to do more stop such evil.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) October 2, 2017
My heart breaks for the victims, their loved ones & all those injured in Las Vegas. I call on Congress to show they care by taking action. pic.twitter.com/TC9FFQreeV
— Carolyn B. Maloney (@RepMaloney) October 2, 2017
The Las Vegas shooting is the deadliest mass shooting modern U.S. history, with at least 59 dead and 527 wounded.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated to reflect the latest death toll in the Las Vegas shooting.
