FILE - This Jan. 4, 2013 file photo Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, center, holding hands with her husband, Mark Kelly, while exiting Town Hall at Fairfield Hills Campus in Newtown, Conn. after meeting with Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra and other officials. At far left is Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman; behind Giffords to the left is Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Giffords also met with families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre that left 26 people dead. A divided Congress denied President Barack Obama’s calls for reforms. The federal gun lobby, led by the National Rifle Association, is arguably stronger than ever. And polls suggest that support for new gun laws is slipping as the memory of Newtown’s horror fades. (AP Photo/The News-Times, Jason Rearick, File) MANDATORY CREDIT
December 11, 2013 - 8:07 AM
NEWTOWN, Conn. - Despite a year of setbacks, the parents of children lost in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre insist they won't lose the fight to reduce gun violence.
After 12 months of personal suffering and political frustration, they have become key players in an effort to pressure Congress to adopt changes ahead of next fall's elections. They're backed by organizations that are sending dozens of staff into key states, enlisting thousands of volunteers and preparing to spend tens of millions of dollars to try to influence congressional campaigns.
Last Dec. 14, a gunman using a military-style assault rifle killed 26 people inside Sandy Hook Elementary, including 20 first-graders.
Congress has enacted no new gun curbs since the shooting. And the national gun lobby seems as strong as ever, if not stronger.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013