Richard Blumenthal: “Thank you. And I will ask a question of my colleague and friend from Connecticut, but first I want to thank all my…”

“Thank you. And I will ask a question of my colleague and friend from Connecticut, but first I want to thank all my colleagues who have been here over these 12 hours off and on, speaking so powerfully, as our friend from Virginia just did about his experience. Every one of us has this kind of experience that brings us here and binds us together in this cause because we have seen the flesh and blood and emotional impacts. And I want to read a letter also from a Newtown survivor--another. I read one earlier. This is from someone who lived through Newtown and wrote me after Orlando, and she said: As a Newtown teacher who was in lockdown at the Middle School on 12/14, this work is particularly important to me. That could just have easily been my classroom, and I find it abhorrent that we have chosen as a nation to be complacent in the face of mass shootings. It is incumbent upon us, our elected officials to enact meaningful change in order to save lives. I urge and implore citizens around the country, people who are watching this proceeding, who are listening to the powerful words of my colleagues--most especially Senator Murphy--to let us know that you hear us, and equally important to let the other side of the aisle know, which right now is vacant--completely empty. This side is full, the other side is empty. Let them hear how you feel, the same way this teacher who lives in Trumbull, CT, let me know how she feels.…”