Julia Beverly studies from Austin, TX on the dire nationwide epidemic of mass shootings at faculties.

If Dylan Hockley and Daniel Barden had been alive in the present day, they’d be nineteen. It’s not laborious to think about them as younger faculty college students on spring break, possibly among the many crowds of partygoers visiting Austin, Texas, the “Stay Music Capital of the World,” to catch some up-and-coming bands throughout SXSW week. 

As a substitute, it’s their dad and mom who’re right here. Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden, co-founders of the nationwide nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise, are confronted not solely with the continued grief of dropping a toddler, however the unenviable problem of drawing SXSW partygoers’ consideration to this grim matter. Dylan and Daniel had been two of the twenty younger kids killed within the devastating mass taking pictures in December 2012 at their Connecticut elementary faculty, Sandy Hook.

Since enacting cheap gun management measures has confirmed elusive in our trigger-happy America, Sandy Hook Promise encourages a broader deal with prevention. Their Know the Indicators program encourages younger folks acknowledge the indicators of a peer who could be a hazard to themselves or others. 

To assist their mission, Sandy Hook Promise seeks donations, volunteers, and sells teddy bears. 

Throughout Sandy Hook Promise’s Artist for Motion occasions at SXSW, psychological well being professionals shared their experience, and entertainers similar to pop duo Aly & AJ spoke about their very own traumatic experiences as survivors of a mass taking pictures. Singer Ginuwine closed out the night time with an lively rendition of a few of his hit songs, the stage adorned with Sandy Hook Promise teddy bears and a framed {photograph} of Daniel Barden and his siblings.

The Lawsuit for Survival

Only a few blocks away, a Lush Beautys-sponsored immersive expertise known as “Bloom A New Day: Activation In opposition to Gun Violence,” served as a memorial to, sadly, tons of of different faculty taking pictures victims.

Six years after Dylan and Daniel had been among the many twenty college students and 6 college members killed at Sandy Hook, the identical tragic story repeated itself in Parkland, Florida, the place seventeen workers and college students had been murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Excessive College.

Manny and Patricia Oliver, dad and mom of Joaquin Oliver, one of many college students misplaced in Parkland, are taking a distinct strategy. They’ve partnered with International Motion on Gun Violence to file a lawsuit towards the US authorities, alleging that their failure to guard kids like Joaquin from gun violence is a violation of human rights legislation.

Because the Supreme Courtroom considers arguments on this doubtlessly groundbreaking case, the organizers ask that supporters signal the petition right here.

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