Content warning: This email reflects on the events in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. If this is too much to read, we understand. Take care of yourself and skip the rest of this email. Here are some mental health resources that you may find helpful.
Twelve years ago today, 20 first graders and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School were killed in one of the nation’s deadliest school shootings.
I bump into people year after year who have been doing this work since Sandy Hook. It is heartbreaking to watch as they get older, knowing their children will forever remain the same age.
This year those children would have graduated high school. That’s how much time has passed since this tragedy.
And still, too often, we find that history repeats itself. There have been over 80 school shootings in 2024 alone. We don’t have to live like this.
Sandy Hook survivors and the families of those killed were thrust into the national spotlight immediately after the shooting. Like the founders of March For Our Lives, many of them turned their grief into action and became fierce advocates for gun violence prevention. This year the survivors were old enough to vote for gun safety at the polls. But they can’t do it alone. And we won’t let them.
We hold the memories of those lost on December 14, 2012 in our hearts and send warm wishes to their loved ones healing from this tragedy. We honor them in the best way that we can—with action.
Thank you,
Natalie Fall
Executive Director
March For Our Lives
Today and every day, we honor the lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Dylan Hockley, 6
Madeleine Hsu, 6
Catherine Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
Ana Márquez-Greene, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison Wyatt, 6
Rachel D’Avino, 29
Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Lauren Rousseau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Leigh Soto, 27