Statement from Newtown Action Alliance on the Shooting Death of Charlie Kirk, Today’s Colorado School Shooting, & the Escalation of Political Violence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2025
Contact: John Kelley, 917-679-6475, jkelley@newtownaction.org
Statement from Newtown Action Alliance on the Shooting Death of Charlie Kirk, Today’s Colorado School Shooting, and the Escalation of Political Violence
Newtown, CT — Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance, condemns gun violence and the rise of political violence following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an appearance at Utah Valley University and the critical wounding of at least three students in a shooting at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, Colorado. These tragedies underscore the urgent need to end political violence and to stop shootings in our schools.
Today’s incidents follow the June 14 assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark; the related shooting of State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette; and the August 27 school shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, in which two children were killed and at least 18 others were injured.
Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance:
“We condemn violence—full stop. No cause justifies it. Not ever.
As a neighbor of the Sandy Hook shooter and as someone who has worked with grieving families for more than a decade, I know the devastation a single trigger pull can unleash. Our children deserve classrooms free from gunfire, and parents deserve to know their children will come home. Our democracy depends on fierce debate without fear—on the simple promise that people can gather, speak, learn, and go home alive.
Tonight, our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Kirk’s family and with the Colorado families reeling from another school shooting in their state. Our hearts are with the Annunciation Catholic School families who will be retraumatized by these horrific shootings. We also remember Minnesota’s Melissa and Mark Hortman, and the Hoffmans, whose lives were shattered by political violence.
We encourage everyone to choose nonviolence. We call on leaders and supporters across every ideology to cool the rhetoric, reject dehumanization, and commit to de-escalation.
And we call on local, state, and federal policymakers to act: ban assault weapons, high capacity magazines, bump stocks, ghost guns, and auto sears; pass a national safe-storage standard like Ethan’s Law so children cannot access unsecured guns; modernize and enforce universal background checks; require permits to purchase guns; use extreme-risk protection orders to temporarily disarm people who pose threats to themselves or others; fund community violence intervention programs, mental health services, gun violence research, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and repeal the gun industry’s special civil liability shield.
We can protect free speech, protect learning, and protect human life at the same time.”
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Newtown Action Alliance (https://www.newtownactionalliance.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.