Sandy Hook survivor urges lawmakers to take ‘bold’ action to stop gun violence

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At a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday, a day after the 10th anniversary of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., one survivor, Nicole Melchionno, now 17, called for action to prevent gun violence, urging the lawmakers to “please do everything in your power to enact measures that prevent everything you care about being lost within seconds.”

Video Transcript

NICOLE MELCHIONNO: In less than five minutes, an AR-15 fired 154 bullets, killing 26 people. How do we continue to allow this? I have grown up in a world where the unimaginable happens over and over again, uncovering trauma over and over again. I am here not only because of the trauma I have endured in the past, but also because I am terrified of it happening again in the future. We live in the constant aftermath of an action from our lawmakers that we voted into office to do everything in their power to protect us.

I have met amazing people in this fight, both survivors and victims of gun violence, which is a community that has grown far too big. We have been pushing for an assault weapons ban, which is a crucial step to decreasing these mass shootings with unacceptable death tolls. We also need red flag laws implemented in all 50 states, as well as a federal safe storage law for all gun owners and universal background checks. That is just the beginning of the work that needs to be done.

We see time and time again that these shootings are pure acts of hate-- Buffalo, Uvalde, Pittsburgh, Parkland. Whether it's racial inequity, anti-Semitism, socioeconomic backgrounds, high schools, grocery stores, the cold grip of gun violence has touched far too many and has no boundaries. America is alone in this battle to live freely for a reason. Our lawmakers have not taken bold, lifesaving, crucial action to protect what the majority of Americans believe in, which is common-sense gun safety measures

I'm here today to beg you to please do everything in your power to enact measures that prevent everything you care about being lost within seconds because with no action, it is not a matter of if. It is a matter of who is next. And we ran out of time over a decade ago. We need to act now.

- Thank you.