Families of Newtown Victims Look for Answers on Gun Violence
Source: NY Times
NEWTOWN, Conn. — Several parents whose children were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting joined the national debate on gun violence on Monday, gathering here to begin sketching their response to the massacre by helping start a nonprofit organization intended to help prevent the kind of bloodshed that turned this quaint New England community into a national symbol of grief.
In some of their first public statements since the Dec. 14 shooting that killed 20 children and 6 staff members at the school, the families of 11 of the children and adult victims appeared at a news conference and called for a national dialogue around issues of mental health, school safety and what their organization, called Sandy Hook Promise, described as “gun responsibility.”
“On Friday, Dec. 14, I put two children on the bus, and only one came home,” said Nelba Marquez-Greene, whose 6-year-old daughter, Ana, died that day. “I hope that no parent, grandparent or caregiver of children ever has to go through that pain.” But despite the enormity of their loss, the relatives did not offer any specifics meant to address the issue of gun violence or gun control.
The news conference, which included other members of the Newtown community, was the first time a group of families have spoken publicly about the tragedy. It was held in the auditorium of the historic Edmond Town Hall in downtown Newtown.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/nyregion/newtown-school-massacre-families-organize-on-gun-violence.html?hp&_r=0