Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said members of Congress have “blood on our hands” until they take action to prevent future acts of gun violence following the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas late Sunday.

Himes called the shooting, which left at least 58 dead and more than 500 others injured, “the stuff of nightmares,” but said that “once again, Congress will retreat into grief and silence."

"After the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last year, I excoriated Congress for its continued inaction in the face of endless bloodshed — not only mass shootings, but the ceaseless gun violence that butchers tens of thousands of Americans each year.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“I refused to stand in silence doing nothing while my fellow countrymen were being slaughtered,” Himes said.

Himes said that while more than a year has passed since the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub and nearly five years since the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School, “Congress. Has. Done. Nothing.”

“Until we face down the gun lobby and have the spine to take the steps necessary to protect our families, there is blood on our hands and this tragic, terrible story will play out again and again and again.”

Gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association have funneled millions of dollars into national and local elections in favor of lawmakers who promise to block bills that would strengthen the United States' gun control laws and pass measures to relax gun regulations.

Himes’s state of Connecticut was the location of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook that left 26 dead, including 20 children.

Himes was one of many Democratic lawmakers who took over the House floor in June 2016 to demand Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) call a vote on gun violence legislation after the Pulse shooting, where 49 died.

He joins an increasing number of Democrats demanding that Congress take action to curb gun violence in the wake of the Las Vegas mass shooting, the deadliest in U.S. history.