10 years after Sandy Hook, what is the state of gun laws in the United States?
NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Ten years after Sandy Hook, and so many other mass shootings, what is the state of gun laws in the United States?
It's an issue that the parents of many Sandy Hook victims have worked on, in hopes of preventing more massacres.
The morning of Dec. 14, 2012, would be the last time Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden ever saw their youngest children, 6-year-old Dylan Hockley and 7-year-old Daniel Barden.
"Dylan was this gorgeous little boy with these gigantic blue eyes ... He was just an absolute joy," Hockley said. "I still can't wrap my head around that it's ten years."
"On the last day of Daniel's life, he had asked me to show him something on the piano ... I taught him how to play 'Jingle Bells,'" Barden said. "That was in the last few hours of his life."
Just one month later, they helped launch Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit focused on protecting America's children from gun violence. They found an ally in Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy.
"For me, the last ten years has been about trying to rattle this country," Murphy said.
MORE COVERAGE: Newtown marks 10 years since Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting killed 20 children, 6 adults
A new study shows the U.S. has reached its highest number of gun deaths in nearly 30 years with a recent 20% jump.
Since Sandy Hook, there have been more than 4,200 mass shootings, 38 of them at schools.
Earlier this year, the bipartisan Safer Communities Act was signed into law, one month after 19 students and two teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Murphy has been pushing for change.
"Find a path forward here," Murphy said.
It's the most significant gun-related law in 30 years and includes enhanced background checks for people 18-21. It also invests money into mental health resources and red flag laws, which let authorities take guns from people deemed dangerous.
"It doesn't solve the epidemic, but it saves thousands of lives," Murphy said.
For Hockley, the work is rewarding but comes with awful reminders.
"It's helping because it's providing a legacy and impact and change ... but it's also constantly retraumatizing," she said.
Hockley says through her organization, they have prevented 11 school shootings and hundreds of suicides by training students and educators to report early warning signs of violence.
