Second graders who survived
the Sandy Hook shooting
and about to enter college.
They're all about to enter
college, right?
Well, today
marks ten years
since the unthinkable struck New
when 21st graders
and six adults were murdered at
And it seems certain
that lawmakers would right away
after that passed meaningful gun
violence legislation.
Well, this was President
Obama after Congress
rejected a bipartisan proposal t
background checks in 2013
There were no coherent arguments
as to why we wouldn't do this.
It came down to politics.
So all in all,
this was a pretty shameful day
for Washington.
And since then, school shootings
have sadly become more common in
including in Uvalde,
that massacre at their school th
A chilling echo of Sandy Hook
And since Columbine in 1999
the Washington Post reports
more than 323,000
students have experienced
gun violence at their school
Our next guest survived
the Sandy Hook shooting.
She was a second grader at the t
She hid from the gunman
in a classroom coat area
with 17 of her classmates.
Her first grade teacher,
her favorite teacher was murdere
that day.
Serena Arroyo Kim is now 17.
She's about to go to college
and she says her childhood
was taken away from her.
She has become an advocate
and an activist
for Newtown Action Alliance.
She also met with senators last
about gun legislation.
She says she wants others
to experience a normal childhood
And Serena joins me now.
Serena, good morning and thank y
Good morning.
Thank you, Poppy.
Yes, And I think it's so importa
that it's been happening
and just prevent gun violence
as a whole from happening.
And to help our future generatio
continue to thrive.
Yeah.
That day
ten years ago,
you lost so many people you love
and I know
you lost your favorite teacher.
We have we have pictures of her.
Could you tell people
what she meant to you?
She was very kind.
She was sweet.
Whose loving she was caring.
And most of all,
she was just an important person
because she was so all.
I remember her and her pink flam
and what they stood for to her
and what they meant to her.
That was.
That is right. There you see the
That was Victoria
Soto, a name we've come to know
I wonder what today means for yo
As we I hate saying the word ann
This is not an anniversary.
There's not this tragedy.
But it's ten years later.
I remember
so well being
in Newtown in the wake of it.
What do you make of where
this country is ten years later?
Um, it's definitely difficult,
especially seeing
all these other school shootings
fall day,
which hit close to home
because it's so similar to Sandy
It really affected me.
So I felt like I failed.
And just to know that, like, som
so similar happened again is ver
You feel like you failed,
didn't you?
Didn't do you did not fail
you go to Washington,
you meet with senators,
you meet with lawmakers.
It's not it's not you
who has failed.
But why do you carry that weight
Um, well,
first of all, it's just
so hard to
experience school shooting
and to relate to other survivors
And I think it's so important
to keep fighting for
the assault weapons ban as well,
and just to keep children
and young adults alive.
You know, you went to that vigil
just a matter of days ago
where President Biden spoke.
And I want people to listen
to what
he said
there in the context of this,
is that he has said in recent we
the president, that he is once a
pushing for an assault weapons b
Listen to this.
The work continues
to limit
the number of
bullets can be in a cartridge,
the type of weapon
that can be purchased and sold
because still not enough
still not enough
He's pushing for more.
And then this was president
former President Obama just last
Listen,
Perhaps the most bitter disappoi
of my time in office,
but that the closest I came
to being cynical
was the utter failure
of Congress to respond
in the immediate
aftermath of the Sandy Hook shoo
What do you think, Serena?
Do you think
now Congress will act
to pass more gun violence legisl
I have hope.
I definitely do.
And I think we just
just keep pushing them forward t
these legislations to
improve our communities
and make them much safer.
You know,
I was struck
specifically about one thing
that you've been doing
when it comes to
to black children, especially,
you said, I'm trying to help
communities of color
to help prevent black people fro
from from guns,
because we know a disproportiona
of those impacted by school shoo
are people of color.
Mm hmm.
Yes.
And I'm
trying to help these communities
because it's important for child
to grow up
and live a normal childhood
and experience a childhood
like I never had,
because it was taken away from m
because of Sandy Hook.
And I just want to help all comm
no matter what.
To help improve their safety
and to help kids thrive.
And before we go,
can you share with people
what you want to become after co
Because I think it's appropriate
that you want to heal people.
I want to become
a cardiothoracic surgeon,
which is a heart and lung surgeo
We are cheering you on all the w
Serena, thank you for being here
For standing up and fighting
and going to Washington and
making your voice heard.
Thinking about you and