To the editor:

As a mother and a daughter of a school teacher, I was drawn to watch the recently published PBS documentary on the Sandy Hook tragedy that took place in December of 2012. So many of the details were hard to swallow and truly understand. Why didn't anyone realize what was happening with Adam Lanza? Why are you able to own a weapon that should only be seen on a battlefield in a time of war? Who was truly to blame?

As my daughter is going to be turning four years old this coming fall, she is only one year way from entering school herself; a place that every single parent, student, and educator should always feel safe. It is terrifying to realize that this could truly happen anywhere, at anytime. I was driven to learn more, understand more, and do more as I have recently joined the Sandy Hook Promise Organization with the sole purpose to spread awareness and, God willing, help stop senseless gun violence in the future.

I completely understand that gun ownership is a divided issue in this country but assault weapons have no place in a residential community, and innocent life should always, and will always trump an individual’s right to own and shoot a lethal weapon. We have had far too many moments of silence since Sandy Hook.

Our children and community deserve real action to stop the epidemic of gun violence in our country. We're not alone and we're not helpless. There are many seemingly simple, yet powerful things we can do today. More and more of our neighbors are uniting to bring the change we need. The phones in Congress are ringing off the hook with calls for common sense gun reform, peaceful rallies are growing in numbers in cities across the country, and families and friends are gathering together in their own living rooms to talk about bringing violence prevention programs to their schools.

The movement is growing and we must keep growing it.There is reason to have hope that we can prevent gun violence before it happens through sensible gun safety laws and programs in our schools and communities that help us identify the signs and signals before a shooting happens and intervene.

To keep this hope alive and bring the change we need, I am asking everyone to take two simple actions today. First, call your member of Congress today and ask that he or she support gun violence prevention legislation to keep guns out of dangerous hands. Secondly, Make the Promise at www.sandyhookpromise.org and help bring Sandy Hook Promise's no-cost, violence prevention programs to our schools and community.

Brittany Vasconcelos

Tiverton