US Presidency
2013

And I know many of you in Newtown wondered if the rest of us would live up to the promise we made in those dark days if we'd change, too; or if once the television trucks left, once the candles flickered out, once the teddy bears were carefully gathered up, that the country would somehow move on to other things. Over the weekend, I heard Francine Wheeler, who lost her son Ben that day, say that the four months since the tragedy might feel like a brief moment for some, but for her, it feels like it's been years since she saw Ben. And she's determined not to let what happened that day just fade away. We're not going anywhere, she said. We are here. And we are going to be here. And I know that she speaks for everybody in Newtown, everybody who was impacted. And, Newtown, we want you to know that we're here with you. We will not walk away from the promises we've made. We are as determined as ever to do what must be done.