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 The group, Sandy Hook Promise, formed shortly after the Dec. 14
massacre of 26 people at the Sandy Hook Elementary School with the
goal of turning the tragedy into a moment of transformation for a
horrified nation.
The group announced Thursday that it aims to recruit 500,000 parents
to its cause in the month between now and the anniversary of the
shootings. Celebrities will be involved, including Sofia Vergara, Ed
O'Neill and Alyssa Milano, organizers said.
"I think the lesson that we've learned and the lesson that we've
heard from all of these other parents that we've talked to around
the country is we don't want to wait for DC," said Nicole Hockley,
whose son Dylan was among 20 first-grade children killed in Newtown
along with six educators. "Parents don't want to be just told what
to do by DC, we don't want to have laws forced on us. Let's tackle
the problem ourselves within our communities and in our own schools
and let that spread out to affect the nation and affect legislation
that way instead of being told what to do."
Other major changes in the country related to drunken driving,
smoking and gay marriage stemmed from local conversations that led
to legislation later, Hockley said.
Some states, including Connecticut, have passed tougher gun laws
since the Newtown massacre. But federal legislation that would have
expanded background check requirements for gun buyers fell short by
five votes in the Senate in April, despite lobbying by some Sandy
Hook parents. Organizers say they're not giving up on national gun
legislation, but they acknowledge the uphill nature of the fight and
their frustration and disappointment by the lack of action. Mark
Barden, whose 7-year-old son Daniel was killed during the shooting,
said he hopes the campaign will lead to a cultural change around gun
violence.
"We just thought it was time to reset the conversation and look at
this from another viewpoint," Barden said.
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While the country is polarized over gun control, parents share a
common passion for ensuring their children's safety, Hockley said.
"We want to make progress on this by re-establishing that trust by
having everyone whether they're a gun owner or a non-gun owner join
together as parents to find solutions to the issues that contribute
to gun violence," she said. "We have to reset this conversation on a
new platform of the love of our children and putting their needs
first in order to move forward."
The campaign will raise awareness about programs that could be
implemented locally to prevent violence, such as those aimed at
reducing social isolation of children, encouraging the reporting of
threats and early identification of mental health issues.
For Sandy Hook Promise, the campaign fits in with its original plan
to open a dialogue at the local level to pave the way for change.
"This, as we've always said, is a marathon, not a sprint," Hockley
said. "Get other people involved because you need a lot of people in
a lot of communities to make change happen."
[Associated
Press; JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
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