WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday released the following statement after the White House announced additional actions to reduce gun violence and make communities safer, including cracking down on gun trafficking and ghost guns.

“Wrapping services around at-risk young people can stop the cycle of violence in its tracks, and I support President Biden’s call to fund community violence intervention programs in the full year appropriations package. In Connecticut and across the country, these programs have a proven track record of success in reducing violence and making our communities safer,” said Murphy. “It’s no secret that great social change takes time. The Biden administration has signed a slate of critical executive actions in the past year, and today took important steps to get illegal guns off our street. Each day, each step brings us closer to creating a political movement strong enough to finally end the scourge of gun violence across our country.”

Murphy spoke on the Senate floor last year highlighting the success of community violence intervention programs in curbing gun violence and the importance of funding these programs as rates of gun violence have surged during the pandemic. Murphy, along with U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representative David Cicilline (D-R.I.) led 45 lawmakers in introducing legislation to ban “ghost guns.”

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