NEWTOWN, Conn. — A mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, is now bringing hurt across the nation. Here in Connecticut, it's a familiar pain as it's been nearly 10 years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.
The families who lost loved ones in Newtown are now forced to relive the day, a pain they've been feeling for years now.
"Jesse, my 6-year-old son, actually stood up to the shooter when he came into his classroom and saved nine of his classmates' lives. We need to find that courage within us," said Scarlett Lewis, mother of Jesse Lewis and the Founder of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement.
Lewis founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement right after her son was killed in the Sandy Hook tragedy. In the face of hate, she continues to choose love. Just one day after the Texas shooting, she headed to New Hampshire, talking to 1,400 high schoolers and sharing her message.
"Because it is so important. I know it would have saved my son's life. I know it can reduce and prevent so much suffering, like the suffering that we're seeing today in Texas. But here's the thing Julia, we have to stop thinking that someone else is going to come in and fix this for us," Lewis said.
Lewis is on a tour right now on the Choose Love Bus. She will be visiting different schools and communities in New Hampshire through a partnership with Gov. Chris Sununu.
"We are bringing a message of love, hope, and healing. Our nation needs this, our kids especially," Lewis said.
And while Lewis is choosing love, another Newtown native and advocate, Po Murray, is fighting back at the state capitol on Wednesday. Murray and her colleagues with Newtown Action Alliance joined the governor and other leaders and organizations to call for change.
"We've been oscillating between grief and anger. It's so heartbreaking that this is happening again because this is completely preventable," said Murray, Chairwoman with Newtown Action Alliance.
Murray and her colleagues need change from federal lawmakers, change they asked for 10 years ago, but never got.
When FOX61 asked how she continues to keep going, Murray said, "My children, and the thought of them raising their children in this type of environment."
It's an environment Murray and Lewis are working to change every day.
"We have to take responsibility for what's going on in our country and our world. We have to be part of the solution," Lewis said.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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