A group of Sandy Hook Elementary School teachers gaining national attention as they align themselves with fellow educators in support of gun violence prevention are scheduled to appear Sunday, December 7, on the first segment of CBS Sunday Morning With Charles Osgood. The program airs at 9 am.

The core group of leaders, which includes Mary Ann Jacob, Becky Virgalla, Abbey Clements and Carol Wexler, sat for an interview with journalist Jane Pauley on November 4. Then, camera crews returned to film a larger group meeting of local teachers supporting the cause November 13 in the Edmond Town Hall's Alexandria Room.

Ms Jacob told The Newtown Bee that Ms Pauley learned about the group through a producer who lives in the area and works for the Sunday morning news program.

“She basically provided us an opportunity to tell our story about why we feel gun violence prevention is important,” Ms Jacob said. “That small group interview sets up the context of our larger meeting, which was scheduled to happen regardless of whether their production crew was on hand or not.”

Among the guests at that larger gathering were Ashley Cech, daughter of Sandy Hook School educator Yvonne Cech; and Erica Lafferty, daughter of SHES Principal Dawn Hochsprung, who was one of the initial victims of the 12/14 rampage that resulted in the murders of 20 first graders and five other educators.

Ashley Cech talked to the group about her work with a grassroots organization called Everytown for Gun Safety, and her travel to Oregon where she helped support the candidacy of District 15 Senate hopeful Chuck Riley, who was endorsed by Everytown.

Looking back on the national election landscape, and the number of successful candidates supporting gun violence prevention measures, Ms Lafferty reminded the group that while “the gun lobby can bully politicians, they can’t bully the American people.”

Educator Lynn Monahan told the group about how she staffed a Norwalk Oyster Fest booth earlier in the summer, with volunteers supporting common sense gun law when she was confronted by an individual claiming to be an NRA firearms instructor.

“He came on strong, but eventually signed a pledge to vote for gun sense candidates,” Ms Monahan said, adding that she appealed to the individual on their common goal of keeping children safe from firearm-related tragedies.

Carol Wexler discussed how she traveled to a campaign appearance in Greenwich, where Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley was appearing with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

“There were NRA supporters right across the street,” Ms Wexler said, “but it felt good to stand up for what we believe in. Even if it’s just making one [phone] call, it makes a difference.”

Ms Clements talked about how she was putting her energies into supporting Campaign to Unload, a movement to see teacher pension funds across the state and country, along with their pension managers and other institutional investors, divest from companies that are enmeshed in the gun industry.

“That will hit the NRA where it hurts,” she said.

Karen Wilk said she chose to simply sit behind a computer keyboard and type. She sent letters in support of common sense gun legislation to several newspapers, including The Bee.

“It was scary, but it felt good — it’s amazing to see your words in print, it’s very empowering,” she said.

Yvonne Cech related how she also took pen in hand, directing her thoughts to Governor Christie about his failure to support a New Jersey attempt to reduce the maximum number of gun magazine rounds permitted in firearms owned in the state.

Another letter she wrote to fellow educators requesting they take their own grassroots action resulted in 2,100 new letters being sent to political leaders across the nation asking them to support common sense gun laws.

This week, Ms Jacob said that the new year will bring new energy and opportunities for the group, which had about two dozen representatives at the November 13 gathering. She said the group hopes to host a symposium in Newtown bringing together gun violence survivors from across the country.

Ms Jacob said the group is also considering stronger alignment with the Campaign to Unload, starting with looking into investments being made by administrators of the Newtown teachers’ pension fund, as well as funds for teachers’ pensions across Connecticut.

This report was updated December 5 to claify the mission of the Campaign to Unload, and to correctly align subjects' names with quotes that were initially published incorrectly.