Two Years Since Sandy Hook Shooting, Still No Progress

Two years ago, on December 14th, 2012, twenty-year-old Adam Lanza murdered 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. After two years, the families of the victims are finding it even more difficult to cope with the losses of their loved ones. Nicole Hockley's son Dylan, only age six, was shot and killed by Lanza at Sandy Hook. Hockley claims that after two years, "The shock wears out" and "denial becomes more of a reality." Hockley realized that there was a bigger issue at hand: gun violence. She, along with many other families of the victims, hoped there would be more progress in terms of gun protection at this point in time. Hockley recently joined a non-profit organization called Sandy Hook Promise, aimed at protecting people from gun violence.

However, school shootings are still a major issue across the nation. In fact, throughout the last three months, there have been 16 school shootings. 5 of those incidents occurred within one week, with each shooting taking place in a different state. Our country needs to find a way to greatly diminish this number. Whether it comes down to having stricter laws regarding gun screening or somehow reducing the number of guns sold, I'm not sure. It's just clear that something needs to be done. Unfortunately, according to US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was almost killed after being shot in the head in 2011, Congress has done nothing.

Yet, the families of the Sandy Hook victims didn't just want to stand by and wait. If nothing had been done to limit gun violence in 2 years, how could these families be sure anything would be done at all? Nine of the 26 families of the victims decided to take action. They just filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer, distributor, and seller of the gun used by Lanza in the shooting, claiming that the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle was a military weapon that should not have been made available to the public. I think it's a great idea for these families to try to make a change when it comes to gun violence. I just hope our country will soon do the same.