Sandy Hook Promise

Last updated
Sandy Hook Promise
Formation2013;11 years ago (2013)
FounderNicole Hockley
Mark Barden
Type 501(c)(3) 501(c)(4)
Location
Area served
United States
Members
9,100,000
Key people
Bill Sherlach [1]
Revenue
$14,923,966
Employees
118
Volunteers
16,000
Website www.sandyhookpromise.org

Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which was established in 2013 in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in order to work for gun violence prevention programs and policy making. The main mission of Sandy Hook Promise is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes and communities.

Contents

History

In 2013, one month after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, [2] family members launched Sandy Hook Promise at a news conference in Newtown, Connecticut. [3] [4] The founding members of SHP were Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden who both were directly affected by losing their children in the shooting. [5] [6] They each lost a son, ages 6 and 7, respectively.

Organization

SHP is governed by the Board of Directors which currently consists of 14 members. There are over 100 employees that work nationwide to advocate for the organization (2023). There is a Board of Advisors, Youth Advisory Board (YAB) and a School Advisory Committee. Additionally there are two councils; the Leadership Council has active philanthropists which are actively giving and providing for the organization. The Young Leaders Council was created to fundraise and create awareness.

Program Overview

According to SHP's website they advocate with the following motto:

Educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities

Sandy Hook Promise (SHP)

The organization provides programs to teach the warning signs of violence and how to get help to intervene from an adult or anonymous reporting system. The group’s policy arm, Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund, advocates for bipartisan gun safety, mental health and violence prevention. Further it has been reviewed by the charity assessment organization Charity Navigator and has received a 4-star rating. [7] There are several programs offered by the organization;

School Safety

The 501c3 Foundation of Sandy Hook Promise provides violence prevention and school safety programs [8] to schools and youth-serving organizations in the United States. These include Say Something [9] and an accompanying anonymous reporting system.

Social Inclusion

Sandy Hook Promise provides an anti-bullying and social inclusion program to schools and youth-serving organizations in the United States. The program is entitled Start With Hello. [10]

Youth Leadership Development

Sandy Hook Promise provides support for school culture change and youth leadership development to schools and youth-serving organization in the United States. With a model similar to Students Against Drunk Driving, SAVE Promise Clubs are student-led organizations within elementary, middle, and high schools focused on fostering social inclusion and preventing violence. [11]

Research

Sandy Hook Promise partners with the University of Michigan to continually evaluate the “Know the Signs” programs, Start With Hello and Say Something, to maximize effectiveness in achieving cultural change that will have a long-term impact on school safety and student well-being. The programs are backed by comprehensive research by the Department of Homeland Security / Secret Service studies on mass shootings and targeted school violence.

Issues

Background checks on gun sales

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for the expansion of background checks before a firearm purchase to help identify people who are prohibited by federal law from owning guns. [12] Since the federal background check requirement was enacted in 1994, more than 3 million illegal gun sales have been stopped by a background check. [13]

Semi-automatic rifles

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for the Assault Weapons Ban Act which includes several provisions to limit access to certain semi-automatic rifles. [14]

Magazine-capacity limits

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for limits on high-capacity magazines, which allow firearms to be discharged repeatedly without reloading. [15]

Temporary Transfer of Firearms

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for policies that enable temporary transfer of firearms. Also known as extreme risk protection orders or red flag laws, they empower family members and law enforcement to prevent gun violence and gun-related suicides by petitioning a court to temporarily separate an at-risk individual from firearms.

Secure Storage of Firearms

The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund advocates for the safe and secure storage of firearms. [16] According to a study conducted by researchers from Harvard, Columbia and Northeastern universities, an estimated 4.6 million children in the United States live in a home in which at least one firearm was stored both loaded and unlocked. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun safety</span> Study and practice of safe operation of firearms

Gun safety is the study and practice of managing risk when using, transporting, storing and disposing of firearms, airguns and ammunition in order to avoid injury, illness or death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School shooting</span> Event in which gun violence happens at a school

A school shooting is an armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple casualties. The phenomenon is most widespread in the United States, which has the highest number of school-related shootings, although school shootings take place elsewhere in the world. Especially in the United States, school shootings have sparked a political debate over gun violence, zero tolerance policies, gun rights and gun control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assault weapon</span> Controversial term used in U.S. firearm legislation

In the United States, assault weapon is a controversial term applied to different kinds of firearms. There is no clear, consistent definition. It can include semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magazine, a pistol grip, and sometimes other features, such as a vertical forward grip, flash suppressor, or barrel shroud. Certain firearms are specified by name in some laws that restrict assault weapons. When the now-defunct Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed in 1994, the U.S. Department of Justice said, "In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire and combat use." The commonly used definitions of assault weapons are under frequent debate, and have changed over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brady Campaign</span> American nonprofit gun control organization

Brady: United Against Gun Violence is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against gun violence. It is named after former White House press secretary James "Jim" Brady, who was permanently disabled and later died in 2014 as a result of the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt of 1981, and his wife Sarah Brady, who was a chairwoman of the organization from 1989 until her death in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun show loophole</span> US political term for sale of firearms by private sellers

Gun show loophole, also called the private sale exemption, is the lack of mandatory background checks in the United States for private sales of firearms, including those done at gun shows. Under U.S. federal gun law, any person may sell a firearm to a federally unlicensed resident of the state where they reside, as long as they do not know or have cause to believe that the person is prohibited from possessing firearms, and as long as the seller is not "engaged in the business" of selling firearms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun violence in the United States</span> Phenomenon of gun violence in the United States

Gun violence is a term of political, economic and sociological interest referring to the tens of thousands of annual firearms-related deaths and injuries occurring in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everytown for Gun Safety</span> United States gun control advocacy organization

Everytown for Gun Safety is an American non-profit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was formed in 2013 due to a merger between Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

A gun buyback program is one instituted to purchase privately owned firearms. The goal of such programs is to reduce the circulation of both legally and illegally owned firearms. A buyback program would provide a process whereby civilians can dispose of illicitly owned firearms without financial loss or risk of prosecution. In most cases, the agents purchasing the guns are local police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting</span> 2012 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, U.S.

On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people. 20 of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and the other six were adult staff members. Earlier that day, before driving to the school, Lanza fatally shot his mother at their Newtown home. As first responders arrived at the school, Lanza killed himself with a gunshot to the head.

The December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting—in which a gunman shot and killed his mother at home, 20 students, 6 teachers, then himself—received international attention. Governments and world leaders offered their condolences, while tributes and vigils by people were made in honor of the victims. U.S. President Barack Obama gave a televised address on the day of the shootings, saying, "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics." Obama paused twice during the address to compose himself and wipe away tears, and expressed "enormous sympathy for families that are affected". He also ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other U.S. federal government facilities worldwide in respect for the victims. Three days after the massacre, 151,000 Americans had signed up at the Obama administration's We the People petitioning website in support of a renewed national debate on gun control. Obama attended and spoke at an interfaith vigil on December 16 in Newtown, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Assault Weapons Ban</span> United States federal law

The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, popularly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, was subtitle A of title XI of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a United States federal law which included a prohibition on the manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms that were defined as assault weapons as well as certain ammunition magazines that were defined as large capacity.

Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) was a United States non-profit organization and super PAC that supports gun control. The group's stated goal was "to encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership." It typically supported Democratic politicians in elections. In 2016, the organization merged with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to become Giffords.

Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence is a United States faith-based, interdenominational gun control advocacy organization.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, multiple gun laws were proposed in the United States at the federal and state levels. The shooting renewed debate about gun control. The debates focused on requiring background checks on all firearm sales, and on passing new and expanded assault weapon and high-capacity magazine bans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assault Weapons Ban of 2013</span> Defeated bill

The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 was a bill introduced in the 113th United States Congress as S. 150 by Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, on January 24, 2013, one month after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. It was defeated in the Senate on April 17, 2013 by a vote of 40 to 60.

The Dickey Amendment is a provision first inserted as a rider into the 1997 omnibus spending bill of the United States federal government that mandated that "none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be used to advocate or promote gun control." In the same spending bill, Congress earmarked $2.6 million from the CDC's budget, the exact amount that had previously been allocated to the agency for firearms research the previous year, for traumatic brain injury-related research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JT Lewis</span> American school safety advocate

Joseph Theodore Lewis is an American school safety advocate. Lewis started Newtown Helps Rwanda, a charity that raised money for survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide as well as former child soldiers in Uganda. He previously was a candidate in the 2020 elections for Connecticut state senator for the 28th district, dropping out before the August primaries to work on a national campaign. He is the older brother of first grade student Jesse Lewis, a victim of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bipartisan Safer Communities Act</span> Legislation of the 117th United States Congress

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a United States federal law, passed during the 117th United States Congress. It implemented several changes to the mental health system, school safety programs, and gun control laws. Gun control laws in the bill include extended background checks for firearm purchasers under the age of 21, clarification of Federal Firearms License requirements, funding for state red flag laws and other crisis intervention programs, further criminalization of arms trafficking and straw purchases, and partial closure of the gun show loophole and boyfriend loophole. It was the first federal gun control legislation enacted in 28 years.

Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens under the age of 20 in the United States. Since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, there have been 417 cases of gun violence in schools as of September 2024. The frequency of school shootings increased dramatically after 2018, with a slight decrease in 2020 during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Back-To-School Essentials</span> 2019 PSA by Sandy Hook Promise

"Back-To-School Essentials" is a 2019 public service announcement (PSA) by American 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Sandy Hook Promise. Created as a shock piece, the PSA presents American students showing various back-to-school items, with the PSA becoming progressively disturbing to the viewer as the events of a school shooting unfolds. It received the 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.

References

  1. "Charity Navigator - Historical Ratings for Sandy Hook Promise".
  2. Hockley, Nicole (August 29, 2014). "Sandy Hook mom: Shootings changed how we feel about going back to school". Today. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  3. Ave, 1775 Massachusetts; NW; Washington; Dc 20036. "The promise: The families of Sandy Hook and the long road to gun safety". The Brookings Institution. Retrieved July 4, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. Keierleber, Mark (December 2, 2022). "They Lost Their Kids at Sandy Hook 10 Years Ago. Their Fight Is for Life". The Trace. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  5. "The Sandy Hook Promise, marking its 10th anniversary, 'saves lives every day' with its programs". January 14, 2023.
  6. Hein, Rachel; Shubailat, Nadine; Pereira, Ivan. "Sandy Hook parents reflect on 10th anniversary of mass shooting, work to curb gun violence". ABC News. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  7. "Charity Navigator - Rating for Sandy Hook Promise Foundation". www.charitynavigator.org. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  8. Sheasley, Chelsea (May 27, 2022). "Sandy Hook Promise: School shootings don't have to be inevitable". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  9. "Say Something Anonymous Reporting System". North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  10. O'Connell, Mary (September 20, 2022). "Tampa Bay students spread kindness during 'Start With Hello' week". ABC Action News. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  11. Pohl, Reagan (March 22, 2023). "SAVE Promise Club aims to prevent violence in schools". Lion Online. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  12. "Sandy Hook Parent And Advocate On Frustrations, Obstacles Toward Gun Control Reform". WBUR.org. March 24, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  13. "Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2015 - Statistical Tables" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Justice Programs. November 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  14. Hagen, Lisa (September 22, 2022). "Sandy Hook survivors call on Senate to pass assault weapons ban". Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  15. Siemaszko, Corkey (October 17, 2019). "Want to save lives in mass shootings? Ban large-capacity magazines, researchers say". NBC News. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  16. "Victims' families push for more gun safety laws: "The gun could have been stored in the time it takes you to take one breath"". CBS News. January 11, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  17. Azrael, D.; Cohen, J.; Salhi, C.; Miller, M. (May 10, 2018). "Firearm Storage in Gun-Owning Households with Children: Results of a 2015 National Survey". Journal of Urban Health. 95 (3): 295–304. doi:10.1007/s11524-018-0261-7. PMC   5993703 . PMID   29748766.