Students from Parkland, Florida, came to Newtown, Connecticut, Sunday for the last stop on a nationwide tour. Both towns have been the sites of mass shootings.
It was the last stop on the March For Our Lives Road to Change Tour, organized by a group of students who survived the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in February. Jaclyn Corin, who spoke at the rally, is a student from Parkland and a survivor of the shooting.
“Both Parkland and Newtown never expected this level of violence to touch our communities. We are brought together, however, not only because we experienced the same deplorable pain but also because of the same monumental strength that arose from the victims and survivors in the aftermath of both tragedies.”
Sandy Hook Promise hosted the rally at Fairfield Hills in Newtown. The advocacy group was founded in Newtown after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that killed 20 children and six educators. Nicole Hockey is with the group. Her 6-year-old son, Dylan, died in the Sandy Hook shooting. She says she’s gotten to know many of the students and families from Parkland.
“You can’t find that sort of support group anywhere else. Losing a child or loved one to gun violence, especially in a mass shooting, it has ramifications that I don’t think anyone can understand unless you’ve been through that.”
The tour traveled to more than 50 cities in 20 states, including Texas, Florida and Iowa. Organizers say the goal was to go to places where the NRA has strongholds, as well as communities that have been affected by gun violence where they met fellow survivors.
