RUSH EXCERPT:
BLUMENTHAL: "And the key is, Chris, to make sure the majority of the American people are reflected in what happens here in Congress. Connecticut has among the strongest gun violence prevention laws in the country, a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines. Strict background checks. And other steps. But we are really at the mercy of other states with weaker gun control laws because weapons will come across state boundaries. The state lines are porous. There is a pattern. You're absolutely right. Young alienated isolated males using automatic weapons to shoot in schools and churches. But we may be the country with the highest death rate from gun violence but we have no higher rate of mental illness. We need to address mental illness for sure. Still, there are laws that work and Connecticut has shown it because our death and casualty rate from gun violence has come down."