Annunciation, Sandy Hook parents reflect on turning from tragedy to action

In the months after a deadly mass shooting at Annunciation Church and School last year, a group of Annunciation parents turned to organizing to prevent future violence. They met with state lawmakers and supported a range of policy changes, like a ban on assault-style weapons and more funding for mental health care.

The Annunciation Light Alliance also found allies in Sandy Hook parents who have built a national advocacy network since the mass shooting at their children’s’ elementary school in Connecticut in 2012.

To learn more about the past year of organizing and what’s next, MPR News host Nina Moini talked with Annunciation Light Alliance co-founder Kristen Neville, who has five children at the school, along with Sandy Hook Promise CEO Nicole Hockley, who co-founded that group after losing her son Dylan, a first-grader, in the Sandy Hook tragedy.