The parents of children who died in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting – the deadliest school shooting in US history that left 26 people dead, 20 of whom were children under the age of eight – on Thursday spoke out against inaction on gun violence after a mass shooting at Robb elementary in Uvalde, Texas, this week.
In the wake of the tragedy that killed their children, Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden co-founded Sandy Hook Promise, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting American children from gun violence.
Despite the widespread horror and anger at the Sandy Hook killings, America has had little success with gun reform and has endured many more mass shootings in the decade since the attack.
“This has been beyond devastating, not only for everyone in Uvalde, of course, but for all of us including those who work on these issues and are constantly trying to make change,” Hockley said.
Hockley, mother of six-year-old Sandy Hook victim Dylan, reflected on the parallels between Sandy Hook and the tragedy in Uvalde. Much like the Sandy Hook shooter, the Uvalde shooter was a young male with apparent mental health problems who shot a close family member before embarking on a violent rampage.
“It has been far too eerily or hauntingly similar to Sandy Hook,” Hockley said.
Hockley remarked that too little has been done to address gun violence in America. In response to the Uvalde killings, many Republican politicians have criticized people calling for gun law reforms and even called for more guns and armed guards in schools.
“We can’t ignore the fact that we have a gun problem in this country. It’s not about constitutional rights. It’s just about access and the complete lack of regulation in any way, shape or form.”
The solutions Hockley want to see are community-based violence intervention programs that watch for warning signs in potential mass shooters – like suspicious social media posts, isolation and experiences of being bullied – and which will intervene immediately, in addition to stricter gun legislation to prevent such violence in the first place.
“We know this is a community that is going to be traumatized. We know that this is a generation that has already been traumatized by gun violence, by school shootings, and by constantly having to go through active shooter drills to prepare for school shootings. That’s what our kids have been dealing with for the last ten years,” said Hockley.
Barden, father to seven-year-old Daniel, who was killed in Sandy Hook, said such massacres did not have to be part of American life.
“No parent should have to experience this devastation. It’s infuriating. It’s horrific. And strangely enough there’s hope because it is preventable. That’s what makes it so hard,” Barden said.
“There’s a lot of opportunity that will not infringe on anyone’s second amendment rights. We owe it to our children. We owe it to our communities. We can start this conversation. It doesn’t have to be a partisan argument.”
He called for America’s beleaguered gun reform activists – and the many millions of Americans who share their views – to not give up hope.
“You’re feeling rage. You’re feeling hurt. Hold onto that. Don’t let it die with the news cycle.”
