Sandy Hook group calls for national dialogue

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Family members of children killed one month ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School called yesterday for a national dialogue on guns, mental health and public safety.

"We have a responsibility to make something happen," said Tom Bittman, a co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise, a group of parents, friends and others formed after the Dec. 14 massacre of 20 children and six adults. "We want Newtown to be remembered for change," not only for the tragedy, he said.

"Some of us . . . are gun owners," Bittman said. "We teach our sons and daughters how to use guns safely. We're not afraid of a discussion about responsibility and accountability."

Parents of children killed at Sandy Hook also spoke.

"It's a sad honor to be here today," said Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan was killed. "At times it feels like only yesterday, and at others it feels like many years have passed. I expect him to crawl into bed beside me for early morning cuddles before school . . . it's so hard to believe he's gone."

Nelba Marquez-Greene, the mother of victim Ana Grace Marquez-Greene, said her faith, family and friends have helped her in the weeks since the shootings. "We choose love," she said. "Love wins in Newtown, and may love win in America."

They read the "Sandy Hook Promise" that the group encourages people to sign.

In part, it reads: "Our hearts are broken; our spirit is not . . . This is a promise to truly honor the lives lost by turning our tragedy into a moment of transformation, to be open to all possibilities . . . to have the conversations on all the issues, conversations where listening is as important as speaking."

"Doing nothing is no longer an option," Bittman said. "We have to think, we have to talk, we have to act differently."

David Wheeler, whose son Ben was among the victims, emphasized the role of parents in finding solutions.

"What I have recently come to realize is that I am not done being the best parent I can be for Ben," he said. "If there is something in our society that clearly needs to be fixed or healed or resolved, that resolution needs a point of origin. It needs parents."

The group is asking people to sign the Sandy Hook Promise -- pledging "to do everything I can to encourage and support common sense solutions that make my community and our country safer from similar acts of violence" -- at the group's website, sandyhookpromise.org.