{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://alceehastings.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398914", "Hastings Statement on the 5th Anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting", "2017-12-14", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Alcee Hastings", "H000324", "alceehastings.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) released the following statement marking the 5th anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut:\r\n\u201cThe massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School will forever be among the defining tragedies in our nation\u2019s history. Five years after this incomprehensible act of violence, my heart is still broken for the families that lost children, the teachers who gave their lives protecting their students, and the Newtown community. No words will ever replace the sense of loss or the emptiness that remains.\r\n\u201cThe sorrow that I feel when reflecting on this anniversary is amplified by the fact that more than 170,000 gun-related deaths have happened since Sandy Hook. Gun violence remains an everyday facet in America, and it seems as if no amount of grief, frustration, or anger can remove this seemingly indelible stain from our country. Another 30,000 Americans will lose their lives from guns in the coming year. I refuse to believe this is simply the cost we must pay for being American.\r\n\u201cFor too long, Members of Congress beholden to the gun lobby have hidden behind the second amendment, refusing to take any action to curb the gun violence epidemic. That we have not acted in any way whatsoever to protect our citizens is insanity personified. This is on Congress, and Congress must act. Today, I once again call on House Republican leadership to bring up reasonable gun control reforms to reduce the number of gun deaths in our country.\u201d\r\nCongressman Alcee L. Hastings serves as Senior Member of the House Rules Committee, Ranking Democratic Member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and Co-Chairman of the Florida Delegation.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://alceehastings.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398914"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5057208947837353, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}