Senator Sullivan recounts family grief after Aurora Theater shooting during personal-privilege remarks
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Summary
Senator Sullivan used a moment of personal privilege on the Senate floor to describe ongoing grief following the murder of her son Alex in the Aurora Theater shooting and the recent moment when her 4-year-old granddaughter recognized that Alex "isn't alive."
Senator Sullivan used a moment of personal privilege on the Senate floor on Aug. 22, 2025, to describe ongoing family grief after the murder of her son Alex in the Aurora Theater shooting and how the family is preparing to explain the death to a young granddaughter.
"Grief doesn't take an interim," Sullivan said, recounting a recent conversation in which her granddaughter asked whether "Uncle Alex" is alive. Sullivan described how family members told the child that Alex had died and how that realization marked the child's first understanding of death.
Sullivan detailed the child's confusion about why toys "aren't growing" and the child's later question, "Is Uncle Alex alive?" and quoted a family member's reply: "No. Alex, your uncle Alex isn't alive. Something bad, happened and he died." Sullivan said the family is trying to ensure that explanations about Alex "come from us" rather than from others when the child asks about him in news accounts or school discussions.
The remarks were presented as a personal reflection rather than a policy proposal. No formal action or vote followed from the personal-privilege statement.