Twenty-six children and educators died in the Sandy Hook shooting. Every year since then, advocates have marked the passage of time with a candlelight vigil at a church in Washington, D.C.
The Newtown Action Alliance organizes the vigil. Po Murray cofounded the group in Newtown just days after the shooting in 2012.
“Thirteen years ago, my community was forever changed when my neighbor murdered 26 children and educators at Sandy Hook," Murray said. "What began as unimaginable loss became a life-long commitment to honor those lives with action and to fight for a country where no family has to experience this heartbreak.”
Since the shooting, Congress has passed only one significant piece of gun control legislation — in 2022, after the shooting in Uvalde, Texas. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told them he’s felt a sense of futility in Congress, especially in the Trump administration.
“To all who may have a sense of defeatism or despair, I understand why," Blumenthal said. "Welcome to my world.”
The Trump administration has rolled back several federal gun regulations, including easing background checks for people with mental illness.
