Newtown Mom Recalls 'Boy Who Would Never Come Home'

Francine Wheeler fills in for Obama in weekly address, pushes gun laws
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 13, 2013 7:31 AM CDT

Newtown mother Francine Wheeler delivered the president's weekly radio address today to make an emotional plea for tougher gun laws, reports ABC News. Wheeler, who lost her 6-year-old son in the shooting, appeared with her husband, David. The Guardian has the full transcript. Some key spots:

  • ”I’ve heard people say that the tidal wave of anguish our country felt on 12/14 has receded. But not for us. To us, it feels as if it happened just yesterday."
  • “Sometimes, I close my eyes and all I can remember is that awful day waiting at the Sandy Hook Volunteer Firehouse for the boy who would never come home—the same firehouse that was home to Ben’s Tiger Scout Den 6. But other times, I feel Ben’s presence filling me with courage for what I have to do—for him and all the others taken from us so violently and too soon."
  • “We have to convince the Senate to come together and pass commonsense gun responsibility reforms that will make our communities safer and prevent more tragedies like the one we never thought would happen to us. Help this be the moment when real change begins."
(More Francine Wheeler stories.)

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