Sandy Hook Promise Applauds Obama's Proposals

In response to President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that he would push Congress to approve sweeping new gun control legislation — including the renewal of a ban on assault rifles like the one used in the Newtown school shooting — advocacy group Sandy Hook Promise issued a statement applauding the president's approach.

As it has said before, though, including at its press conference on Monday, change can't stop at new legislation.

The statement came from one of the group's co-founder, Tim Makris, a Sandy Hook Elementary School parent. 

"Sandy Hook Promise welcomes the broad focus of the President's proposals," Makris wrote to Patch. "We appreciate his decisive action to help address through Executive Order immediate opportunities for reform, and we applaud his broader commitment to finding meaningful common sense solutions to help prevent similar acts of violence in other communities in America. Hopefully this will begin a thoughtful debate in Congress on how best to prevent future incidents of gun violence."

The statement asks both citizens and politicians to which reads, in part:

"I promise to do everything I can to encourage and support common sense solutions that make my community and my country safer from similar acts of violence."

The organization, which  launched the promise Monday as a way for citizens to react to — and, it hopes, prevent — mass shootings like the one that took the lives of 20 children and six adults in December.

Since then, the group has gained support from Sen. Chris Murphy, who said he supports the type of sweeping legal changes proposed by Obama, and more than 24,000 fans on their Facebook page.