NEW YORK – To mark the one year anniversary of the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the Rabbinical Assembly joins mourners and activists around the country to remember the twenty six boys and girls, men and women, who lost their lives in this tragedy. The RA passed resolutions in 2013, 2011, 1995, and 1990 arguing for regulations on the manufacture, importation and sale of guns, and today offers the following statements:
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, executive vice president said,
“The events at Sandy Hook Elementary School reminded our country of the urgent need for gun violence prevention legislation. The Talmud teaches that the world rests on the breath of schoolchildren. We all must face the fact that left unchecked, acts of gun violence will happen again, whether it be today, tomorrow or the next day.
While affirming the Constitutional right to bear firearms, we take this opportunity to renew our call for laws that promote universal background checks for all gun sales; a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines; greater investments in mental and public health; and targeted investments and approaches from federal and state government in urban areas most impacted by gun violence. One year after the Newtown massacre, we are disappointed in Congress' inaction in passing sensible policies. We reaffirm our claim that those leaders and legislators who refuse to act to end this crisis, through their neglect of moral obligations to the American people, bear responsibility.”
Rabbi Gerald Skolnik, president, offered the rabbinical insight,
“Jewish tradition teaches: "lo ta'amod al dam re'eikha"—"do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor" (Leviticus 19). We long for the day that Isaiah’s prophecy of beating our swords into plowshares shall become reality, and we refuse to stand by and allow another Aurora, Colorado; another Oak Creek, Wisconsin; or another Newtown, Connecticut. Beyond these tragedies, we refuse to turn a blind eye to the gun violence that plagues our country every day or to forget the fact that men, women, and children are intimidated, wounded, and killed through brutal acts that are far too often ignored. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of Newtown, and with all those who have lost loved ones at the hands of this senseless violence.”