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Families of Newtown Victims Look for Answers on Gun Violence Families of Newtown Victims Look Beyond Gun Control
(about 1 hour later)
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. NEWTOWN, Conn. — Nelba Marquez-Greene put her two children on the school bus on the morning of Dec. 14. Only one came home.
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.” Nicole Hockley still finds herself reaching for her son’s hand in parking lots, or expects “him to crawl into my bed for early-morning cuddles before school.”
“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. “It’s so hard to believe he’s gone,” she said.
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. The grieving mothers and other parents and family members of victims killed in the Dec. 14 elementary school massacre gathered here at a news conference on Monday to help begin a campaign aimed at preventing the kind of bloodshed that has turned this quiet New England community into a national symbol of grief.
The families entered holding hands and wearing green ribbons, and filed onstage. Some people held pictures of the children they lost. As they sat onstage, some wiped away tears, still gripped in mourning. In some of their first public statements since the shooting, which killed 20 children and 6 staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the families of 11 of the child and adult victims called for a national dialogue on issues of mental health, school safety and what their nonprofit group, called Sandy Hook Promise, described as “gun responsibility.”
“It’s a sad honor to be here today,” said Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan, 6, was found dead in the arms of his favorite school aide, Anne Marie Murphy, who apparently died trying to shield him. The gathering came as President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. prepared to unveil gun-control proposals as soon as Tuesday that are expected to call for a ban on the kind of assault weapon and high-capacity ammunition magazines used by Adam Lanza in the Newtown shooting.
“I still find myself reaching for Dylan’s hand to walk through a parking lot,” she said as she stood on the podium alongside Ms. Marquez-Greene, “or expect him to crawl into my bed for early morning cuddles before school. It’s so hard to believe he’s gone.” But perhaps foreshadowing the difficult and contentious debates to come in Washington, group members declined to offer support for any specific measures, saying they needed time to educate themselves on the issues, and emphasizing that the debate must be broader than gun control.
The gathering came as President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. prepare to unveil gun-control proposals as soon as Tuesday that are expected to call for a ban on the kind of assault weapon and high-capacity ammunition magazines used by Adam Lanza in the Newtown shooting. “It’s only been 30 days, and for the past 30 days we’ve really been looking inward and supporting our community,” said Tim Makris, a founder of the group who had a fourth-grade son at the school, who was not hurt.
But asked where the group stood on tough new gun measures, Tim Makris, one of its 17 founders, said it was still in the process of educating itself before taking firm any stands. “We love the focus of the president,” he added, “and we love that the vice president reached out recently to talk directly to the families that chose to meet with him. But we don’t have an immediate response right now.”
“It’s only been 30 days, and for the past 30 days we’ve really been looking inward and supporting our community,” said Mr. Makris, who had a son at the school, who was not hurt. Tom Bittman, who had three children attend the school, said that many of the group members were gun owners.
“We love the focus of the president,” he added, “and we love that the vice president reached out recently to talk directly to the families that chose to meet with him. But we don’t have an immediate response right now. “We hunt, we target shoot,” he said. “We protect our homes. We’re collectors. We teach our sons and daughters how to use guns safely. We’re not afraid of a national conversation in our community and in Congress about responsibility and accountability. We know there are millions of people in this nation who agree with us.”
“We’re looking for dialogue. We’re looking for ideas. We’re looking for a national discussion to take place. We don’t want to just come out and say this is what we stand for, this is what we believe in. We want to encourage a national discussion on this. Do something different. When you look at what’s been done in the past, it hasn’t gotten us very far. We have to do something different.” The news conference, which included other members of the Newtown community, was the first time a group of Sandy Hook families had spoken publicly about the tragedy.
David and Francine Wheeler, whose son, Benjamin, 6, was killed, explained why they joined the campaign. The families filed onstage, inside the Edmond Town Hall, holding hands and wearing green and white ribbons, the school’s colors. Some held photographs of their children. As they sat onstage, some wiped away tears.
“’Parent’ is defined as a ‘point of origin,’” Mr. Wheeler said. “What I have recently come to realize is that I am not done being the best parent I can be for Ben. Not by a very long measure. If there is something in our society that clearly needs to be fixed or healed or resolved, that resolution needs a point of origin. It needs parents.” “I hope that no parent, grandparent or caregiver of children ever has to go through that pain,” said Ms. Marquez-Greene, whose 6-year-old daughter, Ana, died that day. Ana’s father, Jimmy Greene, sat clutching a large photograph of his smiling, curly-haired daughter as his wife spoke.
Jeremy Richman and Jennifer Hensel, the parents of Avielle Richman, 6, said they had started a foundation in her name to focus on research to identify “risk factors and measure success of mental health interventions.”
“Like everyone here, we want to bring about changes that will stop a tragedy such as this from happening to any community again,” Mr. Richman said, as he choked back tears.
David and Francine Wheeler, whose son Benjamin, 6, was killed, explained why they joined the campaign.
“I am not done being the best parent I can be for Ben,” Mr. Wheeler said. “Not by a very long measure. If there is something in our society that clearly needs to be fixed or healed or resolved, that resolution needs a point of origin. It needs parents.”
While it was clear the parents and family members were still grasping for answers themselves, they have now joined a sad fraternity of people who have lost loved ones in such tragedies.
Ms. Hockley’s son Dylan, 6, was found dead cradled in the arms of his favorite school aide, Anne Marie Murphy, who died apparently trying to shield him. Ms. Hockley said that she had felt “honored” to meet with the families of victims of past mass shootings like those at Columbine and Virginia Tech.
But, she added, she did not want to be someone “sharing her experience and consoling parents” the next time such a shooting occurred.
“I do not want there to be a next time,” she said.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: January 14, 2013Correction: January 14, 2013

An earlier version of this article misspelled the surname of one of the founders of Sandy Hook Promise.  He is Tim Makris, not Markis.

An earlier version of this article misspelled the surname of one of the founders of Sandy Hook Promise.  He is Tim Makris, not Markis.