This conversation sounds very different from the vague platitudes we're used to hearing after tragedies like this. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Rep. Chris Murphy and Gov. Dan Malloy sound like they're all on the same page as they talk with George
December 16, 2012

This conversation sounds very different from the vague platitudes we're used to hearing after tragedies like this. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Rep. Chris Murphy and Gov. Dan Malloy sound like they're all on the same page as they talk with George Stephanopoulos about the need to make substantial changes in our public policies:

STEPHANOPOULOS: How to think about it and how to talk about it, and, Senator, I know that you -- as we move on, want to begin a conversation in the Senate about how the country can come together to address this violence.

BLUMENTHAL: You know, I come to this issue with a background of almost 30 years in law enforcement, both criminal...

STEPHANOPOULOS: Attorney general.

BLUMENTHAL: ... and civil, as a United States attorney, the chief federal prosecutor, and 20 years as attorney general. And I'm hearing from the community, as well as my colleagues in law enforcement, we need to do something. And I'm hearing from my colleagues in the Senate around the country, some in states like Wisconsin and Colorado, where there have been similar horrific, horrible tragedies, maybe not involving children with this kind of uncomprehensible kind of circumstance, but we need to do something, at the very least, perhaps, about the high-capacity magazines that were used in this crime.

But, of course, the investigation here is continuing. And we'll learn more. And out of respect to the families and their grief, at this point, I'm not going to be more specific about that conversation, but certainly this horrible episode and incident and crime by this deranged person possessed by demons, as you have put it, will spur and transform, I think, the national conversation. And I intend to talk about it on the floor of the United States Senate perhaps as early as this week.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman, do you think this can be a tipping point?

MURPHY: Well, I think the tipping point should have happened a long time ago, frankly. And as I think eager as people are going to be to find some simple solution from a policy standpoint, we have to acknowledge that there is no simple solution, that, yes, there needs to be a conversation about gun control, but also about the way we treat mental illness, also about the culture of violence in this country, which may have contributed to the way in which this very disturbed young man thought.

This is going to be a very complicated process of asking why, but we also have to admit that it's going to be a very complicated process figuring out what to do from here. We need to talk about it, though. The time for sort of saying that we can't talk about the policy implications of tragedies like this is over. And for us here in Connecticut, while we're going to grieve and make sure the families have everything they need, we're going to be on the floor of the Senate very soon talking about where we go from here.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And we are all grieving with you today. Thank you both.

MURPHY: Thank you.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon