♪♪ >> brennan: welcome back to "face the nation." we want to continue our conversation now with senator chris murphy of connecticut. senator, i want to get into the specifics of some of what you are talking to your fellow senators about. but i want to start with something else. i grew up in a town next to sandy hook. i know you represented that district when you were a congressman at the time of the shooting. you spoke on the senate floor quite passionately this week about not just the victims but the survivors, and the ptsd that these little children have just walking back into a classroom, and remembering having to walk over bodies. can you talk a little bit about what this does to a

community, to the first responders, and to the survivors? >> especially in these smaller towns, i just think it is important to understand how communities can't come back from this because data says everybody that is killed has 20 people that experienced diagnosable trauma because of that murder. but in these schools, every single kid in sandy hook and uvalde heard those gunshots. they all know the kids who died. many in sandy hook had to walk over and around dead bodies. these are horrific, grizzly stories. the same thing can be said about neighborhoods where i live, in the south end of hartford, where kids fear for their lives every day when they walk to school. for many of the kids, school is a safe place. every day is a trauma because they fear for their lives. we need to understand we are putting on top of

kids, who are already living in an era of social media and pandemics, a level of trauma and fear that makes it very difficult for them to learn when they're in school. i've got two school-aged kids and you have young kids, and the idea they have to worry about where they are going to run if a shooter walks in instead of how they're going to do on a test that day. it only happens in america. whether it happens in a neighborhood or in a school, those communities never, ever recover. that's just the reality. >> brennan: thank you for that. on the specifics, how would your federal background check have stopped either of these two shooters. in buffalo and texas, neither had criminal issues or no-known mental issues. how would these proposals have stopped these cases? >> so, i just don't get into the trap of having to write a law for the last

mass shooting that captured the nation's attention. what i know is that on the same day of the shooting in uvalde, there were 100 police other people in this country who died, and their mothers and fathers are grieving just as hard as the parents in uvalde. so by tightening up the nation's background checks, data shows us we will save thousands of lives. yes, a federal red flag law, like the one we're talking about in these negotiations, certainly could have helped in texas. and federal funding to help implement these laws, to make law enforcement know how to use them, can hoy in many states as well. no one law is going to save everybody, but there is a lot of lives to be saved by the things that are on the table in these negotiations. >> brennan: senator, thank you for your time today. we're going to go to orlando, florida, and democratic congresswoman val demings. before serving in congress, she was the chief of police for orlando. thank you so much for

joining us. >> it is great to be with you. >> brennan: as a former police chief, what is the single piece of legislation that you think would be most affective right now? >> well, margaret, look, 27 years at the police department, served as the chief of police, our primary responsibility was the safety of the people that we served. and i believe that we have a direct obligation. i cannot, like i'm sure millions of americans across the nation cannot, get the faces of those survives from the classroom in uvalde -- we have a direct obligation to move forward to mike make sue they're safe. i believe right now if the senate would look at passing the background check law, as well as looking at red flags -- right here in florida, we

have almost 6,000 cases where red-flag laws have made a difference, at least according to law enforcement and other people involved in that cases. we have a direct obligation to do what we can when we can. i believe those are two pieces of legislation that have overwhelming public support. we can get it done if the senate has the political will to do it. >> brennan: do you think there needs to be more federal money to shore up security at schools? the white house says they've already helped to push about $10 billion out to state for public safety. >> i think we should look at school safety every day. i think there should always be an assessment as technology has changed. we need to use the best, the most state-of-the-art technology. but, margaret, our children are not in scoot school24 hours a day. certainly let's make sure we make our schools secure

and we eliminate the human era factor. what about churches? what about grocery stores? what about movie theaters? we have to do a better job of keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people. the senate can take action on that. >> brennan: i want to ask you about this response in texas, because apart from the shooter, now there is this probe of what the police did with their response that day. after the massacre in parkland, the school officer who was assigned to protect those kids was later charged with criminal negligence for his inaction. given what we've learned about what happened in texas, should we expect the same there? >> well, what we must demand is a thorough and complete investigation. margaret, i served as a law enforcement officer pre-columbine. i served as a law enforcement officer post-columbine. pre-columbine, we would

respond to an active shooter, and we would secure the perimeter and then we would wait for the crisis negotiator. we all know post-columbine, there is no time to waste. that the officers on that scene are expected to go into those active-shooter situations. we trained on it as the orlando police department, and every sworn member, including the chief of police, went through the active-shooter training. so obviously that did not happen. the other important thing: those early minutes after the shooting, we know there is a demand for more and more information, but the information that we give, especially when we say an s.r.o., a school resource officer, went in and basically engaged the suspect and ammunition or bullets were fired, and that's not true, the communications -- we have to make sure they're as clear and accurate as responsible. so there is a lot of work

to do. we certainly have more questions than answers, and i know we're going to get to the bottom of it. >> brennan: should there be some sort of federal probe or some sort of school shooting safety board at the federal board? or isthis all the texas state police. >> what we know is there were multiple agencies involved. i think the wrong agency was involved. let me say this, i wasn't on the ground, and i know that these police officers have a tough job in these active-shooter situations. time and time again they are usually outgunned. we know that. but we must, margaret, demand an investigation. i believe that the f.b.i -- i mean, that would be my vote, for a federal investigation. but i do believe, since there were so many agencies involved on the ground, it is important that we know what role every agency played. it is important we know knowwas there any discussion about going in?

those 19 officers in the hallway, was there any discussions between commanders from other departments? we must know the answers to those questions. >> brennan: let me ask you quickly: are you satisfied with the scope of president biden's executive order on police reform this week? >> i certainly think it is the duty to intervene. we know that police departments come in different sizes. some are 35,000, and some are as small as 10 or six, so the level of training they get is different. but duty to intervene the de-escalation training being included, and making sure that the public is aware of criminal,, not criminal, but misconduct -- it could be criminal in some cases. i think all of these things are a good start. i also think we need to look at training across the board with law enforcement and let's ststandardize the training.

>> brennan: congresswoman demings, thank you very much for your time. we'll be right back. miss allen over there isn't checking lesson plans. she's getting graded on her green investments with merrill. a-plus. still got it. (whistle blows) your money never stops working for you with merrill, a bank of america company. more protection, more sun, more joy. neutrogena® beach defense® the suncare brand used most by dermatologists and their families,

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>> brennan: the shootings in both buffalo and uvalde have brought yet another degree of anguish as we honor those who died defending america on this memorial day weekend. on saturday, president biden gave a commencement address in delaware, where he noted the pain of burying a child. kamala harris attended the funeral for 86-year-old ruth whitfield, the last victim to be buried following that shooting in buffalo just two weeks ago. >> biden: as i speak, those parents are literally preparing to bury their children. in the united states of america, to bury their children. there is too much violence, too much fear, too much grief. >> and so this is a moment that requires all good

people, all god-loving people, to stand up and say we will not stand for this. enough is enough. >> brennan: enough is enough. certainly something that has been said before. here is a look at more of what has been said as history seemingly continues to repeat itself. there is a numbing regularity to each tragic shooting in america, but the mass murder of elementary school children is enough to take our collective breath away. >> biden: to lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away. >> brennan: as we watch those uvalde parents, we pray that none of us ever bury our children or count the anguished seconds until we're told whether our child survived, that we never have to resort to d.n.a. samples to identify their body. how can american parents endure that nightmare? how can our kids? in the past decade, there

have been 3,500 mass shootings. but how do you measure the collateral damage or the trauma, the anxiety that sits with witnesses and first responders? we promised to protect our kids after columbine. >> we much do more to reach out to our children and teach them to express their anger and to resolve their conflicts with words not weapons. >> brennan: and virginia tech. >> schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. >> brennan: the slaughter of 20 first graders in sandy hook shocked our conscience. >> no single law, no set of laws, can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. but that can't be an excuse for inaction. >> brennan: congress did not act, but act but since that time connecticut and other states signed over 50 pieces of gun legislation into law.

the up-swell of activism among teens who marched for their lives after the 2018 parkland shooting did not change federal law. >> no child, no teacher, should ever be in danger in an american school. >> brennan: but it did lead to modest changes in the state of florida. is that enough? says we drop off our own kids at school, the question among many parents remains: how do we protect them? and is this really the best we can do? we are joined now by two people who lived through similar horrors to what we have seen in uvalde. nicole hockley's son, dylan, was six years old when he was killed at sandy hook. she is now the c.e.o. of sandy hook promise foundation. jajaclyn corin was a senior in parkland florida. she and her classmates organized the march in 2018, and they're planning

a few weeks. good morning to both of you. i'm sorry you had to listen to the revisiting of history. i know it is painful, and i thank you both for coming on and speaking so bravely today. i want to ask you, nicole, the "washington post" is now reporting that the shooter had a history online, using threatening language, specifially targeting violence against young women in particular. he was described as rage-filled, isolated, into video games. i know you're working to raise awareness of warning signs. are these common signs? is this what we need to be looking for? >> yes. unfortunately, in almost every mass shooting or innocence of violence like this, there are signs present. we just need to learn to know what to recognize, how to recognize them, and how to take action. that's what we teach

across the country at sandy hook and it has had impact. this is about behavioral change and how do we know what to look for and take action? we also need legislation so is "and"and enforceth situation and not an "or" situation. >> brennan: what kind of legislation? is that the sort of red-flag law being promoted? >> yes. extremist checks and background checks, looking at your history, and where have you displayed at-risk behaviors in the past, and should you be responsible for a firearm. and what is your current state of mind? are you going into crisis? are people worried about you? should you be temporarily separated from weapons so that you can't move forward, and that you can de-escalate and get the help you need and then be

deemed safe if you should have firearms again. >> brennan: jaclyn, i know you are working to organize a protest here in washington in the coming weeks. what is the goal? what is the specific ask? >> well, the ask is that our elected officials in our u.s. congress actually do something. i mean, over 150 gun laws around the country have been passed on a state level since 2018, the first march for our lives, after the shooting at my high school in parkland. everything from raising the age to buyfr 1 t1 loridaa, e prohibition of firearms in colorado. but the reality is that those state laws are not enough. it wasn't enough to prevent the mass shooting in buffalo two weeks ago or the mass shooting in uvalde a couple of days ago. so we're getting back out there and calling on our

u.s. congress to actually care this time around because children are dying. >> brennan: in this elementary school, they were children. in your high school, many of your colleagues -- you, yourself, are of voting age now. is this something that you see real political mobilization around, particularly going into, for example, november, and the mid-term races. is this something you see a movement around? >> absolutely. i mean, the reality is that young people are absolutely terrified in this country, and rightly so. getting shot is the leading cause of death among young people now. and we can't even enter the spaces that are supposed to make us feel the safest, the places where we're meant to grow and become educated citizens without fearing we're going to be shot dead in our sig in our seats. i'm four years removed,

but i still fear that i picked the wrong seat in our lecture hall. no student should have to feel that way. in 2018, we saw record turnout in the elections. about 33%, which was the highest ever in a mid-term election, and i hope we can push to make that percentage even higher in 2022. >> brennan: nicole, i know your son, jake, survived the massacre in sandy hook. how does a child process a trauma like this? >> a great question. he is still processing. sometimes he talks about it, and sometimes he doesn't. he will turn 18, and the first thing he is going to do is register to voe. foeas al known, death by firearm and preparing for active shooter drills.

this is what this generation has grown up with. i don't know how you process it because it becomes part of your normal psyche now. this is what they live with every day. and that's why they will be able to create the change that we adults have not been able to deliver for them. >> brennan: do either of you believe that the answer here, or even part of the answer here, is more police presence in schools? >> i do not. sorry, go ahead, jaclyn. >> i mean, i do not. obviously it is despicable it took so long for police to remember in uvalde. and i remember feeling so angry at the police resource officer at my school who refused to enter the building. that goes to show that having armed people present does not prevent shootings. it is just too late. more police in schools, arming police officers, arming teachers, especially, is not the

answer. >> brennan: and you agree with that, nicole? >> i absolutely agree. it is about how do we get ahead of it. by the time they get to the school, it is too late. there is not enough evidence to suggest that armed security at the school will be anything other than another casualty or just not helpful at all. >> brennan: what about restrictions on ammunition sales, high-capacity magazines? those things that the president says should be talked about but are not being discussed in the u.s. capital right now? >> personally, i am a fan of restrictions on high-capacity magazines because the only purpose of having a high-capacity magazines is to propel as many bullets as possible. it is not good for personal self-protection. it is for killing. personally, i know in the sandy hook situation, because the shooter had to stop either because his magazine jammed or because

he had to change his ammunition clip, several children were allowed to escape. my son was not one of them, but those few seconds can make all of the difference in terms of saving lives. >> brennan: jaclyn, thank you. nicole, thank you for your time today and for sharing your perspectives. we'll bwe'll be back in a momen.

>> brennan: we leave you today with a look at those we lost in uvalde.

when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of god, in due time he will exalt you. hi, i'm joel osteen. i'm excited about being with you every week. i hope you'll tune in. you'll be inspired, you'll be encouraged. i'm looking forward to seeing you right here. you are fully loaded and completely equipped for the race that's been designed for you.

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this is the "cbs overnight news." good evening, everyone. jericka is off. i'm erroll barnett. the second time in less than two weeks president biden and the first lady are consoling communities gutted by gun violence. the sad ritual all too familiar as mister and dr. biden listened to sadness and anger. this as they are reviewing the botched police response. cbs's omar villafranca joins us. good evening, omar. >> reporter: thousands of people waited in line in 99 degree heat to pay their respects at this

memorial