Newtown Action Alliance Statement on Jennifer Crumbley's Guilty Verdict
For Immediate Release
February 6, 2024
Contact:
John Kelley
917-679-6475
Newtown Action Alliance Statement on Jennifer Crumbley’s Guilty Verdict
Newtown, CT - Following today’s guilty verdict from Jennifer Crumbley’s trial on the deadly shooting at Oxford High School, Newtown Action Alliance released the following statements from Kristin Song, Board Advisor of Newtown Action Alliance and mother of 15-year-old son Ethan who was killed by an unsecured gun in 2018, and Po Murray, the Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance.
Kristin Song:
“Jennifer Crumley’s guilty verdict will send a clear and loud message to gun owners across the nation that it is their job as the adult, as the person who brought the deadly weapon into their home, to responsibly secure those weapons when their firearms are not in their immediate control. The Second Amendment does not negate that responsibility. On the stand, the defense council asked Mrs. Crumbly if she would do anything differently knowing what she knows now. She said no. She makes my point. You would think as the coffins of our dead children continue to stack up, behavior would change, and a cultural shift would be happening. Sadly it is not.
This is why it is so important to hold negligent gun owners accountable. Until they fear true consequences, their behavior won’t change. We saw this with drunk driving. We saw a cultural shift when we passed laws and enforced them. Drunk drivers were held accountable for their negligent behavior. If Mrs. Crumbly simply took seconds to secure that handgun then four innocent young lives would have been spared, her son would not be facing the rest of his life in prison and she and her husband would not have lost everything. Seconds …that’s all it takes to be a hero.”
Po Murray:
“Our hearts are with the families who were impacted by the Oxford High School shooting. While this verdict will not bring their children back, they deserve justice.
We applaud this guilty verdict today and tomorrow, we will continue to fight as hard as we can to pass Ethan’s Law on the federal level to keep all kids safe from unsecured guns. Michigan passed a strong safe storage law after the Oxford High School shooting but many states have not.
Guns are the number one killer of children and teens in the United States. Nearly 5.4 million children live in homes with at least one unsecured gun and 76% of school shooters get their guns from their homes. Ethan’s Law would dramatically reduce all forms of childhood gun deaths and injuries. Safe storage laws would also prevent stolen guns from seeping into the illegal market. According to a report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, over one million guns have been stolen from private citizens between 2017 and 2021.”
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Newtown Action Alliance (http://alliance.newtownaction.org/) is a Newtown-based, national grassroots organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is to achieve the steady and continuous reduction of gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.For Immediate Release