Lawmaker who lost son in Aurora theater shooting discusses grief and gun laws in wake of Boulder rampage

Colorado State Representative Tom Sullivan remembers sitting in a room waiting for news. His 27-year-old son, Alex Sullivan, had attended a midnight screening of the film "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20, 2012, when a gunman opened fire inside the theater.

"We sat in the exact same room with all of the families, you know, in different sections getting briefings, trying to keep it together," Sullivan told "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King.

Twelve hours later, he would get the news that his son was dead, along with 11 others. Nearly a decade later, another group of families sat waiting in a similar room after Monday's shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, that left 10 people dead. They too would receive the same heartbreaking news.

The grief that those families feel is something Sullivan knows all too well. Talking from his own experience, Sullivan said that in those dark moments, the families of those killed while shopping at King Soopers should lean on loved ones and use them for support.

"Well, one of the things that I try to remember to let them know is that right now you need the people that you trust, the people that you love, that's who needs to be around you. That's who you need to reach out to," he said. "There are good intentioned people around, but you know, when the cameras leave and the lights are dimmed again, it's just going to be you and them again."

The memories of Alex still remain close to Sullivan despite the years that have passed. He said the families of the victims of Monday's shooting should try to preserve their loved ones' voices and use it to help them heal.

"I would just tell those people, you know, hang on to the voice. If you've got any, you know, text messages, you've got any phone messages they left. That's the first thing you lose. It's difficult to try to hear him anymore," he said.

Sullivan has turned his pain into advocacy and has been a Colorado state representative since 2016. He has often called for stricter gun regulations on the House floor, oftentimes wearing Alex's jacket.

"Well, I have his jacket that I wear every day when I go down to the State Capitol on the real tough days, I wear it, you know, on the floor with me. You know, I can see his eyes, I can see that smile," he said.

The Boulder mass shooting has put the spotlight back on gun regulations. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on gun violence in the country, the differences between Republicans and Democrats were put on full display. Senator Ted Cruz, who has been a vocal opponent against gun control proposals called the hearing "ridiculous theater" and said they were discussing "a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders."

Sullivan told King that those laws that Cruz opposes could be the difference between life and death for Americans.

"All of these collectively, all of these types of things, what they do is they save lives. And that's what I'm in the business from the day my son was murdered until the day I'm not here any longer. I'm doing everything I can to save lives," Sullivan told CBS This Morning co-host Tony Dokoupil. "And it's, there's no perfect answer. There's no, here's no, you know, pill that's going to stop this. There's not one law that will stop this. But each one will help us save lives."