By Susan Duclos
Mark Mattioli, father of the one of the Newtown Sandy Hook shooting
victims, testifies before a gun violence task force in Hartford,
Connecticut on 1/28/2013.
Heartbreaking excerpts.
[WATCH]
Via The Blaze:
Mark Mattioli, whose six-year-old son James perished inside of the school, testified that a plethora of new gun laws isn’t the answer and that, instead, personal responsibility, accountability and civility are the best path forward. He made his comments as intense debate surrounding gun control and the causal factors behind the shooting continue to be at the forefront of public discussion.
The grieving father, who ended up receiving a standing ovation, said that he believes in “simple, few gun laws” and that there are already “more than enough on the books.” Mattioli contends that “the problem is not gun laws” and that these regulations simply need to be enforced.
“How do we expect to have any impact on a society and say, ‘We’re going to pass a law. Hey this is inexcusable. We can’t allow any more of this. Let’s pass a law that will change the course of the future’ when we don’t enforce the laws that we have on the books — the most important laws?,” he asked.
[...]
At one point Mattioli got so emotional during the the testimony that he had to move onto a new topic. He eventually went on to say that “we need common decency to prevail,” dismissing calls for greater gun control. Mattioli gave the specific example of Chicago, a city with tough gun laws, but one that continues to experience intense violence. He noted that gun laws did not protect the hundreds of people who died in that city last year.