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Norton Says Resolve of Sandy Hook’s Team 26 Inspires Action for National Gun Safety Laws and Preservation of D.C.’s Local Gun Laws

May 8, 2018

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Team 26

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today welcomed Team 26, a group of 26 cyclists inspired to action after the 2012 tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, to the District of Columbia as they completed their 400-mile journey from Newtown. They have stopped at cities along the way to make the case for passing commonsense legislation to prevent gun violence. Before arriving at the Capitol, Team 26 stopped in Southeast D.C. at Brishell Jones Way, a street dedicated to the 16-year-old D.C. resident who was shot and killed on March 30, 2010, in a mass shooting that took the lives of three other teenagers and wounded six others.

In her remarks, Norton said, "The District of Columbia shares a special bond with Newtown and Team 26. Our city has taken action to pass the strongest gun safety laws in the nation. But each year, we face attacks from Republican Members of Congress who seek to wipe out all of the District's local gun safety laws. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Representative Tom Garrett (R-VA) have introduced bills that would allow assault rifles, like the ones used in Newtown and Parkland, Florida, on the streets of the nation's capital. Despite these attacks, we have preserved D.C.'s gun laws, gaining strength from Team 26's rides to Washington."

Norton's remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below.

"I thank Team 26 and its Captain and Founder, Monte Frank, for once again coming to the Capitol. I particularly want to thank Team 26 for never forgetting that the nation's capital is also the home of 700,000 local residents, as they also made a local stop this year at Brishell Jones Way, a Southeast D.C. street named for the beautiful 16-year-old girl who was taken from us in 2010 in one of the District's most horrific mass shootings. Her mother, Nardyne Jeffries, continues to be a rock in the District's fight against gun violence.

"Each year, we are pleased to welcome Team 26 as they arrive in the nation's capital to complete their epic 400-mile journey from Newtown, CT. For the past six years, they have biked thousands of miles so that the nation does not forget the tragic losses at Sandy Hook Elementary and the unrecoverable damage guns continue do to our nation's children and to entire communities.

"The District of Columbia shares a special bond with Newtown and Team 26. Our city has taken action to pass the strongest gun safety laws in the nation. But each year, we face attacks from Republican Members of Congress who seek to wipe out all of the District's local gun safety laws. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Representative Tom Garrett (R-VA) have introduced bills that would allow assault rifles, like the ones used in Newtown and Parkland, Florida, on the streets of the nation's capital. Despite these attacks, we have preserved D.C.'s gun laws, gaining strength from Team 26's rides to Washington.

"Newtown and Team 26 also provide inspiration for the new and unprecedented national movement of student activists, who have given new life to efforts for stronger gun laws. This new movement of students across the country can learn from Team 26 that no matter the obstacles, they must keep pressing for action."