A group of parents whose children were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., came to San Francisco on Thursday, seeking ways to reduce gun violence. The parents met with technology leaders to kick off The Sandy Hook Promise Innovation Initiative. 

Cash prizes will be given to reward innovative ideas that address gun safety, mental health and school safety, in hope of getting them off the ground.

“Part of the beauty of innovation is that it's nonpartisan, and part of the other beauty of innovation is, the best solutions prevail," said Jim Pitkow, who's heading up the initiative. "And so when we strip away points of view and focus in on what technologies will actually work, we shift the equation from rhetoric to pragmatics.”