Esty to serve as vice chair of gun violence task force

Freshman congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, D-5, pledged Friday to seek “commonsense, federal gun safety policies” Friday after being named  a vice chairwoman of the  Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

Esty, a Democrat from Chesire who was sworn into office Thursday, said she was honored to be named as part of the task force’s leadership team. There are a dozen vice chairmen of the group that are expected to be named today.

“As the representative for Newtown and as a mother, I feel a special responsibility to that community and to the parents who have suffered such unimaginable horror,” said Esty, who met with first-responders and others effected by the Sandy Hook shooting shortly after the Dec. 14 massacre.

“People’s lives – our children’s lives are at stake. The status quo is unacceptable and action is long overdue,” she said.

The task force is expected to hold a number of hearings in the coming weeks with “experts designed to identify the best policies to reduce and prevent gun violence.”

A set of policy proposals from the task force is expected in early February.

Dirk Perrefort