In a scolding statement, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., says it is shameful Congress has not enacted stricter gun laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.Six months have passed since the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, where a lone gunman killed 20 children and six adults with a semi-automatic weapon.The shooting sparked a fierce national debate about firearms and the Second Amendment, and a handful of states have either passed or are considering stricter gun laws since.Butgun rights advocates were able to block stricter lawsfrom getting through the Democratic-controlled Senate."It is shameful that six months after Newtown, Congress has failed to enact a single gun-safety measure," says Yarmuth. "Nine in 10 Americans demand action to strengthen our gun laws, and I stand with them. It is long past time to enact meaningful reforms that help keep our families safe, our communities secure, and our country free from the daily toll of gun violence."The families of the victims have returned to Washing to re-launch efforts to pass stricter gun laws.Yarmuth has co-sponsored two pieces of legislation that would require background checks for all gun purchases and impose new limits on high-capacity magazines for automatic weapons.He says nearly 5,000 Americans have lost their lives to gun violence since Newtown and action at the federal level is needed.
