A Father’s Day gift for kids: Protect them from gun violence

This is the second Father’s Day we will have spent without our sons Daniel and Ben, who were murdered a year and a half ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. But unlike last Father’s Day, when we grieved quietly, passing the day in solemn remembrance with our families and surviving children, this Father’s Day we feel compelled to speak out.      We know that Father’s Day is meant to be a day when fathers sit back on their couches, watch sports and take it easy. But this Father’s Day, we ask you to do one thing differently. Look at your children, your beautiful, growing, pesky children who bring you so much joy and sometimes cause you so much heartache, and ask yourself — really ask yourself — this: Am I doing everything I can to keep them safe? Because the answer to that question, if we all answer honestly, clearly is no.                                       So this Father’s Day, do one thing you didn’t do last Father’s Day that will ensure the safety and protection of your children. Join us at Sandy Hook Promise, join another group working for this cause or take action on your own. Send one postcard, one e-mail, one text. And then go hug your kids a little tighter and cherish every moment you have with them.