Hours after the Washington Navy Yard shooting, a group of Newtown parents pushing for gun control measures after the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting will travel Tuesday to Washington D.C. to meet with federal legislators.
Members of The Newtown Action Alliance had scheduled the trip before Monday’s shooting, which left at least 12 dead.
Members are scheduled to attend a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights that will focus of “stand your ground” laws.
According to the website Politico, the hearing “will probe the roles of the NRA and the American Legislative Exchange Council — which helps draft conservative legislation in statehouses — in the crafting of the “stand your ground” laws. Politico reported that the hearing will also “examine the legal definition of self defense, how the laws have affected shooting confrontations and how the laws interact with racial profiling by law enforcement.”
Members of the Newtown Action Alliance and other gun-control advocates from across the nation will also meet with both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders.
The group said it will deliver letters to members of Congress demanding background checks and a list of gun violence victims since Newtown. The background check letter has been signed by more than 100 gun violence prevention alliance partners across the country with gun violence prevention organizations from over 25 states.
The group will be holding a press conference with congressional leaders Wednesday in the Capitol Building.
Video by Jan Carabeo, Fox CT; text from Hartford Courant staff report