WASHINGTON, DC -- Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) released the following statement today, six months after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut:

"Today, six months after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the overwhelming grief I felt that day remains with me, as does my steadfast determination to help reduce the intolerable incidence of gun violence in our country.

I have co-sponsored bills to enact universal background checks, plug loopholes in our existing gun laws, and reduce the capacity of ammunition clips.  I have participated in forums at schools, churches and community centers across the fourth district, and heard from constituents in every town. I have met the families of those killed in Newtown, and I have met with other families affected by gun violence. As a father, I cannot imagine the scope of the suffering that families of murdered children endure. As a Representative, I will always speak up for them in Congress."