Newtown victim's mom Nicole Hockley responds to NRA background checks claim

(CBS News) Nicole Hockley lost her 6-year-old son Dylan in the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, and has since turned to activism against gun violence. Hockley is one of the parents who went to Washington this week to lobby lawmakers. She also introduced President Obama at Monday's gun control rally in Hartford, Conn.

On "CBS This Morning" Friday, Hockley responded to a claim made this week by the National Rifle Association that "The sad truth is that no background check would have prevented the tragedies in Newtown, Aurora or Tucson." Referring to that claim, she said, "It's quite possibly true...(but) that doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing it."

She continued, "There are countless others across the states that do die because of the lack of background checks, the lack of consistent background checks, and I'm not just here for the 26 that died at Sandy Hook. I'm here for all the children and adults that die, and if we can make any steps forward to help save lives, then it's a step worth taking."

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Hockley said her story -- and the stories of other families affected by the Newtown shootings -- needs to be told. "This has been a difficult story to tell," she said. "It's difficult every day since Dylan was taken from me, but it's an important story to tell. ... People need to understand the loss that we have, as well as all the other losses from gun violence across the country."

Asked why she presented photo cards of her son to lawmakers this week, Hockley said, "The photo cards are important because senators are people, too. They're parents and they're grandparents and when I talk to them and when the other families talk to them, we're talking to them parent-to-parent.

"My son can't be here," she said. "His voice is gone, so I have an obligation to be his voice. ... I think it's important that the senators look at the pictures of my son when they're speaking to me, so they understand the loss and there's a face to this loss. We're not just a number. There are stats all over the place about the thousands of people that die. My son is not a number. His name was Dylan, and it's important that people remember that."

Hockley said she hopes she and the other families are making a difference with their efforts. "I can't have this be a senseless tragedy or all the other deaths be a senseless tragedy," she said. "...This is the time for a change to happen, and anything that we can do to make that change happen is what all of us will do."

Hockley said she -- and other families affected by the shootings -- aren't going to stop their efforts in the nation's capital and elsewhere. "This is my life going forward," she said on "CBS This Morning." "It's not just about gun control. There are many other issues, and I'm involved in all of them.

"I have never done anything remotely political before or activism or lobbying," she continued. "I find it quite bizarre when I'm called a lobbyist, but, yes, I will be back, and I'm -- none of us are going anywhere."