By TATYANNA CABRAL
Saturday, December 14, 2013 marks the one year anniversary of the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. The families back in Newtown asked for nothing but peace and quiet. They did not want to be overwhelmed with the media, they did not want inpouring of sympathetic gestures. Instead the families had wished that people had spent this day, volunteering or some sort of charity work in their own towns. At 9:30 a.m., the time around where the 26 victims were killed, many churches had tolled their bells 26 times, one for each victim. A request from Connecticut’s Governor, Dannel Malloy.
At the White House, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama had their own moment of silence that morning and had lit 26 candles in the White House Map Room. Many other families across the country had found their own ways to pay tribute.
Even more shocking news about this horrific time had been released. Former New York Daily News writer, Matthew Lisiak had written a book called “Newtown: An American Tragedy” revealing shocking information about the shooter Adam Lanza and his mother. Before the shooting happened, Lanza’s mother had often found horrific drawings of scenes containing people dying. One of the drawings had contained a field of dead children drawn by Lanza. His mother had not seemed to confront her son about these drawings, or seek help for him. With all of this she still left him around with open access to firearms. Author Lisiak and mother of victim, Dylan Hockley, Nicole Hockley stated that this could have been prevented and the shooting could have been avoided.
What has been done this past year? President Obama had not been able to convince Congress and to discuss how to prevent from more tragedies like this from happening. He had also failed to develop background checks on firearm buyers. Other states have reformed the gun laws, and have become a success. It is now harder to own a gun in those states.
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