Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., took the Senate floor Wednesday – shortly after televised reports of a school shooting in Florida – and said such incidents happen in the United States "as a consequence of our inaction" on gun violence, The Hill reports.
Murphy noted at that very moment TV networks were once again broadcasting "horrific scenes of children running for their lives."
"This happens nowhere else other than the United States of America: this epidemic of mass slaughter, this scourge of school shooting after school shooting," Murphy said.
"It only happens here not because of coincidence, not because of bad luck, but as a consequence of our inaction . . . We are responsible for a level of mass atrocity that happens in this country with zero parallel anywhere else."
Murphy spoke after reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Wednesday afternoon. At least 14 people were reported injured; there also were reports of "a number of fatalities." A young man believed to be a suspect was taken into custody.
There have been at least 18 other school shootings across the country this year, according to the gun control advocacy group Everytown For Gun Safety, the New York Daily News reported.
Murphy has long been an advocate for tougher gun laws and tighter background checks.
"As a parent it scares me to death that this body doesn't take seriously the safety of my children . . . It seems like a lot of parents in South Florida are going to be asking that same question later today."
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