As she approached the podium in a small conference room festooned with intermingled tripods and television cameras, Nelba Márquez-Greene described her appearance at a Trenton press conference as "an unfortunate honor."
Márquez-Greene is the mother of Ana - a child brutally murdered with an assault weapon at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last December.
The event, sponsored by the New Jersey General Assembly leadership, was to call attention to one particular issue in the gun safety debate - the size of ammunition magazines.
Currently, New Jersey law limits magazine capacity to 15 rounds. Several Assembly members and Senators are pushing to lower that to 10 rounds - the same parameter that was in effect until the Federal assault weapon bill expired.
Would such a change make a difference? Ask the Newtown parents or the parents of 9 year old Christina Green who was killed in the Gabby Giffords Tucson massacre. In both cases, the shooters had high-capacity magazines. Had they had to reload, perhaps the lull in the shooting would have been enough to bring them down and prevent further deaths. Indeed, in the Newtown shootings, several children were able to escape when Adam Lanza had to change his 30-round clip. If he had had 10 round clips, no doubt more kids would be alive today.
The press conference lasted 30 minutes. Blue Jersey is bringing it to you in its entirety, but if you have limited time, I suggest that in addition to the remarks from the Newtown parents, you hear the promise issued by Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg and the passion exhibited by Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald.
Senate President Sweeney has not posted the bill to limit magazine size. Why?
Cross-posted from BlueJersey.com