Lamont: 'Connecticut Knows This Feeling All Too Well'

HARTFORD — A state no stranger to the horror of gun violence against innocent schoolchildren is paying tribute to the victims of yet another mass killing at an elementary school.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont Wednesday morning said he is directing U.S. and state flags in the state to be flown at half-staff beginning immediately until sunset Saturday.

This is in tribute to the 19 schoolchildren and two adults killed in the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school Tuesday.

President Joe Biden has directed flags to be lowered throughout the country as a mark of respect for the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The Texas tragedy comes nearly a decade after a gunman massacred 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012.

“The news of another mass shooting, this time from Texas, is devastating ," Lamont said in a statement released Wednesday morning. "One life taken by gun violence is too many, but (this) ... is an utter tragedy. Nearly 10 years after Sandy Hook, Connecticut knows this feeling all too well. Our collective hearts and prayers go out to the families in Uvalde trying to process the unimaginable.

Since no flag should fly higher than the U.S. flag, all other flags, including state, municipal, corporate, or otherwise, should also be lowered during this same duration of time.

Lamont said its time for the nation to address what he called "a gun problem" in the country.

“We clearly have a gun problem in America. There are more damn guns on the street than ever before, especially illegal guns," Lamont said. "We must test our capacity as a nation in this moment to strengthen public safety and health.

"I want to be clear — gun violence is a public health crisis. It is incumbent upon lawmakers everywhere, whether it’s Connecticut, Texas, or our nation’s capital, to rise to the moment in addressing this problem."

This massacre at a Texas elementary school, where grade-school children were slaughtered, comes days after authorities said another 18-year-old suspect shot up a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., killing 10.

Lamont said the situation is becoming acute.

“The 212 mass shootings that have occurred in the U.S. so far just in these first few months of 2022 is out of hand, and we cannot forget the true cost of these numbers – lives lost," he said. "They’re our friends, fathers, kids, teachers, and neighbors. They’re worth the effort to find a diligent, pragmatic, and hopefully bipartisan solution before we lose any more of them.”

Connecticut Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz echoed those sentiments.

“I am absolutely devastated to hear of yet another school shooting, where the most innocent of victims have lost their lives. I send my most sincere condolences to the children, families, friends, and all who have been affected by this unbelievable tragedy," she said in a statement.

"Condolences are not enough. I strongly urge Congress to pass commo-nsense gun laws to keep our children safe, now. There are no words to describe the callousness of this event and to do nothing to address rampant gun violence is yet another avoidable tragedy.”