Newtown Group Condemns Senators for Jeff Sessions Confirmation

NEWTOWN, CT — A local group is speaking up once again about one of President Donald Trump's cabinet nominations after the U.S. Senate confirmed former Alabama Jeff Sessions as the newest U.S. Attorney General.

The Newtown Action Alliance, a group formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings which fights to reduce gun violence in America, issued a statement saying it was outraged that 51 Republicans and one Democrat that voted in favor of Sessions' confirmation. Citing his voting record after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the group referred to Sessions as the 'NRA Pick for U.S. Attorney General."

You can read the group's statement below:

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“It’s another sad day in our nation. Yesterday, 51 Republicans and one Democrat confirmed Senator Jeff Sessions as the U.S. Attorney General.

In addition to his racist past, Senator Sessions has a lifetime record of supporting the NRA's guns everywhere agenda and the NRA supported his confirmation. He voted against the background check bills after the Sandy Hook and Orlando Pulse shootings. He supports the federally mandated carry law where anyone with a gun permit can carry in other states despite poor permitting laws in many states. He voted against the #NoFlyNoBuy bill to keep guns away from suspected terrorists on the No Fly List. He voted against the ban on assault weapons & limits on high capacity magazines. He voted to put guns in our national parks and to protect gun manufacturers from civil liability actions.

As the U.S. Attorney General, Senator Sessions would be tasked with overseeing the FBI, Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and other important federal departments. With his close ties to the NRA, he cannot be trusted to enforce the existing federal gun laws and he will politicize the AG office to push the NRA's guns everywhere agenda.

Since 20 innocent children and six educators were brutally gunned down in an elementary school in 2012, there have been over 400,000 gun deaths and injuries in our nation. Every member of Congress, including Senator Sessions, who took money from the NRA to block gun violence prevention laws have blood on their hands.

We are outraged that these 51 Republicans and one Democrat voted “yes” for Jeff Sessions as the U.S. Attorney General. We hope the voters will hold them accountable on Election Day in 2018, 2020 and 2022.”

Crossing party lines, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the lone Democrat to support Sessions' bid for AG. Gun Control advocates have raised concerns across the board regarding Sessions, who scored an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association's pro-gun rights policies rating, according to ontheissues.org.

NRA executive director Chris Cox issued a statement in support of Session's confirmation.

“The NRA and our five million members would like to congratulate Jeff Sessions on his confirmation as attorney general. He will make America a safer place by prosecuting violent criminals while protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners," said Cox in a statement.

Photo credit: Ryan Reilly