HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) - The mother of a 7-year-old girl killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre urged lawmakers Thursday to pass meaningful laws to help prevent another tragedy, winning a standing ovation as officials vowed to act.
Chris and Lynn McDonnell, whose daughter Grace was among 20 first graders and six educators killed in December, spoke Thursday at a gun violence conference in Danbury.
“We ask our representatives to look into their hearts and remember the 26 beautiful lives we lost and pass meaningful laws to help prevent this from happening again,” Lynn McDonnell said, sparking a standing ovation.
Chris McDonnell said he hoped the moral responsibility of gun owners would be discussed.
- Biden Attending Gun Violence Conference In Danbury Today
- WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau...
Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled to speak later Thursday at the conference a few miles from the scene of last year’s Newtown school shootings.
The conference at Western Connecticut State University is to push President Barack Obama’s gun control proposals. It was organized by members of the state’s congressional delegation.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy revealed his own gun control package ahead of his appearance at the conference. He said Thursday that he wants to immediately ban high-capacity ammunition magazines, require background checks for the transfer of any firearm and expand the state’s assault weapons ban. The Democrat has expressed frustration with the pace of the state legislature’s efforts to form a response to the Newtown tragedy.
While Connecticut is working to tighten its own gun laws, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy noted that it won’t be very effective if residents can simply cross the border into a neighboring state to buy a banned weapon
“So we need a strong federal law that imposes universal background checks, criminal background checks, when everybody buys a gun and starts to get some of these very dangerous guns and ammunition off the street,” Murphy told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau.
Murphy noted that today’s forum is the first comprehensive conference on changes in gun laws to be held at the federal level.
“The most effective gun reform happens at the federal level,” Murphy said.
Murphy, a Democrat, said he has been in discussions with Republicans and has found support for many proposals.
The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, killed his mother at their Newtown home before going to the school and slaughtering 20 children and six adults. He committed suicide as police arrived.
As a teenager, Lanza studied at Western Connecticut State, earning a 3.26 grade point average before taking his last class in the summer of 2009. Classmates remembered him as quiet, a trait some thought was a result of him being younger than his peers.
Obama is pushing for universal background checks for gun owners, a ban on many military-style weapons and a limit on the size of magazines.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who organized the conference with two other members of the state’s congressional delegation, said those measures are achievable. He said the Newtown shooting dramatically changed the prospects for gun control.
“Two months ago gun violence and measures to stop it were untouchable,” Blumenthal said. “The forces of resistance as strong as they once appeared are a shadow of what they were.”
A second panel was to discuss mental health and school safety initiatives.
Malloy, Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra, state police Capt. Dale Hourigan and the mayors of Bridgeport and Hartford planned to participate, along with other experts in the fields of mental health, law enforcement and education.
Gun makers and lobbyists weren’t invited to participate in the conference, but Blumenthal said gun rights advocates will have opportunities in hearings and other forums to express their points of view.
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