"Like A Gut Punch": Connecticut Delegation On The Florida School Shooting

Connecticut's congressional delegation reacted strongly as images of the Parkland school shooting flooded TV screens and social media Wednesday afternoon.

Senator Richard Blumenthal spoke on the floor of the Senate, telling the chamber the scenes from outside the school felt like a gut punch. “My heart breaks to hear that one more school is facing this unthinkable horror," he said. "That again this harrowing sceme plays before the people of America, literally unfolding in real time.”

Senator Chris Murphy said as a parent, the inaction of congress on gun violence scares him to death. “This happens nowhere else other than the United States of America, this epidemic of mass slaughter, this scourge of school shooting after school shooting," he said. "It only happens here not because of coincidence, not because of bad luck, but as a consequence of our inaction. We are responsible.”

Both called for congress to debate gun control measures, including improving background checks.

Rep. Elizabeth Esty, whose district includes Newtown, said she had a similar visceral reaction to the images from Parkland. 

"I was on a phone call this afternoon when I looked up to see images of children running out of schools, hiding under desks, and walking past armored vehicles parked outside their school," she tweeted Wednesday. "I am beyond sick. Nobody should want this for our country. No one."

Rep. Joe Courtney also took to Twitter with his reaction. 

"America’s gun violence crisis is not normal, or inevitable. Florida’s terrible school tragedy can’t be brushed aside again. Time to act," he said.