WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Wednesday released the following statement after voting in opposition to U.S. Senator John Kennedy’s (R-La.) amendment to the 2024 Fiscal Year Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill that would increase veterans’ risk of suicide by firearms.

“I thought one of the few things we could all agree on is that people experiencing serious mental illness should not be able to buy guns. This amendment will allow every single veteran who is experiencing a mental health crisis, including those who are actively suicidal, to get their hands on a deadly weapon, putting their own life and the lives of others at risk. I made an offer to sit down with Senator Kennedy and work out a compromise, but that offer was not accepted. Instead, the Senate voted on a death sentence for thousands of veterans across this country. More than 6,500 veterans die by firearm suicide every year. We have a duty of care for those who have sacrificed so much for our country, and today we failed them.”

###