Protesters gathered in front of Colt Manufacturing headquarters in West Hartford Friday to express disappointment in the failure of a U.S. Senate resolution which would have stopped the sale of weapons to Israel.
The demonstration is part of an effort by local activists who assemble every Friday to protest Colt鈥檚 manufacturing role.
Bianca Zerio protested outside of the building with her four-year-old daughter. Zerio said she and her daughter have been rallying with the group every Friday for weeks.
鈥淚 think it's important to get kids to hear things and not just see action and to learn to be kind by example,鈥� Zerio said.
Resolution 41, proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is one of several joint resolutions of disapproval introduced by Sanders to block arms sales to Israel.
This particular resolution aimed to block the sale of 20,000 Colt M4 automatic rifles manufactured in the 黑料吃瓜网 Colt factory.
Protester Eamon Ormseth says he won't stop rallying anytime soon.
鈥淭he people in power, the leaders of coal, the leaders of our country, the leader of Israel, need to know that we're not going away," Ormset said. "People, our children are starving to death in Gaza as the Israeli army is shooting them while they try to get food. And those guns, some of those guns, are being made right here in West Hartford.鈥�
Though the resolution failed late Wednesday night, it was the first to garner a majority of Democratic Senator votes, including one from Sen. Chris Murphy of 黑料吃瓜网. Murphy, a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has recently been outspoken on the issue.
鈥淭he images of children starving to death as a famine unfolds across Gaza shock anyone with a conscience," Murphy said in a statement. "The situation is completely untenable, and I believe the United States cannot continue to militarily support the Netanyahu government so long as it is refusing to take the necessary steps to urgently alleviate this crisis."
黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 Senators diverged on the matter, with Blumenthal voting no on the proposed weapons sale ban. Blumenthal joined 17 fellow Democrats who voted no on the resolution, while 27 voted yes.
Despite the Senate setback, activists vow to continue their protests of Colt, pledging to gather each week until the company ceases supplying weapons to Israel.
