Group Lobbies Congress 6 Months After Newtown Shooting

Almost six months have passed since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook School and a group is traveling to Washington, D.C. today to meet with members of Congress and continue the fight for gun control legislation.

Local parents and members of the Newtown Action Alliance boarded a bus and left from Newtown this morning to meet with members of Congress and ask them to strengthen background checks.

On Dec. 14, 26 students and educators were killed at the shooting at the Newtown elementary school. In the six months since, 4,500 Americans have died because of gun violence, according to the Newtown Action Alliance.

The group is making the trip to D.C. to honor the lives lost in Newtown, as well as victims of gun violence.

Among the people making the trip is Nicholas Payne, of New Milford, whose 22-year-old daughter, Rebecca, was shot and killed in Boston in 2008.

Police said it was a case of mistaken identity. Payne was found shot multiple times in her Boston apartment just after returning home from a shift at Legal Seafoods, a popular seafood restaurant in Boston.

"We understand what you're going through and we ought to help you and everyone else in this position to never have to go through this again. This has been going on long enough and it's time," Payne said.

Once the group arrives in the nation’s capital, the members will hand-deliver letters to key lawmakers.

The letter to the Senate asks senators to resurrect the Safe Communities Safe Schools Act 2013 and the Manchin-Toomey Amendment, which closes loopholes in the background check system.

The letter for House members targets potential co-sponsors of the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act 2013.

Included with the letters will be a list containing the names of the 4,500 victims of gun violence since December 14.

The group will also make a human Ribbon of Remembrance in front of the U.S. Capitol ,followed by a moment of silence. 

For more information, go to www.NewtownAction.org.

When the group returns from Washington, there will be a ceremony on Friday to mark the six-month anniversary of the Newtown shootings.

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