On the 8th anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, state leaders came together to remember the lives lost on that day, as well as other victims of gun violence in Connecticut.
The virtual vigil was hosted by Connecticut Against Gun Violence.
"Those little boys and girls would be starting high school this year. Those parents, those young women, those educators inside those classrooms would have had eight fantastic years of personal growth time with friends, maybe marriages, maybe children of their own," said Sen. Chris Murphy.
"Today we think back to a very tragic day in our country's history and in the hours and the days and the months that followed that horrible day, we saw an unprecedented outpouring of kindness and hope from millions of people," said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.
Janet Rice with CAGV shared the story of her son Shane, who died at the hands of gun violence in 2012 before the Sandy Hook tragedy.
"Too often in our black and brown communities, moms like myself have to hear those words from trauma doctors, 'I'm sorry we did all we could.' Together we need to take a stand and do all we can to stop this vicious cycle," said Rice.
State leaders including Sen. Richard Blumenthal also called for action during President-elect Joe Biden's administration.
"Under this administration with a president who has committed himself throughout his lifetime to fighting gun violence, we can adopt those commonsense measures that very simply keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people," said Blumenthal.
