President Obama to meet with families of Sandy Hook victims
HARTFORD, Conn. -- President Obama will meet Monday with family members of victims killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School to talk about their efforts to persuade Congress to pass gun control measures in response to the tragedy.
The relatives of eight victims will talk with the president at the University of Hartford before he gives an address calling on lawmakers to work out a compromise to expand the background checks required for potential gun buyers.
Afterward, the 11 family members will travel back to Washington aboard Air Force One to join other advocates pushing for change.
WHO THEY WERE: Shooting victims
Democratic and Republican lawmakers are at a critical point in negotiations to come up with a measure to expand background checks, which would be included in a reform package.
As lawmakers work on that deal, Obama and outside gun-control advocacy groups are trying to keep up the public pressure. The Sandy Hook families are coming together to support proposals that will “save lives and respect the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans,” according to a news release from Sandy Hook Promise, a group formed after the shooting to push for changes in mental health, school safety and gun policy.
The mother of one of the shooting victims has agreed to introduce the president to the crowd, the group said. Nicole Hockley, whose 6-year-old son was among those killed, is scheduled to speak just before the president, spokespersons said.
All 23 of President Obama’s gun policy proposals
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