Eight years ago now. Has anything changed?
I copied the following from Paul Carriers blog An Agony In Eight Fits 12/15/2012
The New York Times editorial: Death in Connecticut
Each slaughter of innocents seems to get more appalling. A high school. A college campus. A movie theater. People meeting their congresswoman. A shopping mall in Oregon, just this Tuesday. On Friday, an elementary school classroom.
All that is now torn away. There is no crime greater than
violence against children, no sorrow greater than that of a parent who has lost
a child, especially in this horrible way. Our hearts are broken for those
parents who found out their children — little more than babies, really — were
wounded or killed, and for those who agonized for hours before taking their
traumatized children home.
President Obama said he had talked to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut and promised him the full resources of the federal government to investigate the killer and give succor to his victims. We have no doubt Mr. Obama will help in any way he can, for now, but what about addressing the problem of guns gone completely out of control, a problem that comes up each time a shooter opens fire on a roomful of people but then disappears again?
The assault weapons ban enacted under President Clinton was
deficient and has expired. Mr. Obama talked about the need for “common sense”
gun control after the movie theater slaughter in Aurora, Colo., and he hinted
during the campaign that he might support a new assault weapons ban, presumably
if someone else introduced it. President Obama said he had talked to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut and promised him the full resources of the federal government to investigate the killer and give succor to his victims. We have no doubt Mr. Obama will help in any way he can, for now, but what about addressing the problem of guns gone completely out of control, a problem that comes up each time a shooter opens fire on a roomful of people but then disappears again?
Mr. Obama said Friday that “we have been through this too many times” and that “we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.”
The more that we hear about gun control and nothing happens, the less we can believe it will ever come. Certainly, it will not unless Mr. Obama and Congressional leaders show the courage to make it happen.
Amen, Troutbirder. If I had a magic wand, one thing I'd do is bring back the framers of the constitution, take them on a tour of the several mass shootings, and ask them if this was what they intended by the 2nd Amendment. Then I'd take them back and ask them to re-write it.
ReplyDeleteOur gun culture has become so woven into our national fabric, and the millions upon millions of high capacity semi-automatic weapons already out there that this is almost insurmountable. We will deny and deny, repeating the mantra 'guns don't kill people...', 'criminals don't obey laws...', etc, and do the same next time.
This is an extremely sad situation and I can hardly realize what the parents and others are going through.
ReplyDeleteI find that it is extremely difficult to have a rational, logical conversation with gun owners and supporters. I'm not hopeful that anything will improve.
Why in the world are assault weapons available to anybody in our country? What has happened to those people who believe that THIS is freedom? The town will never recover, and the country must take action. Maybe this will be the catalyst. I can only hope so. I am grieving along with the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteWhy in God's name did an upper middle class woman feel the need to own military grade weaponry, as this boy's mother did?
ReplyDeleteAnd keep it at home with a son who was disturbed?
These weapons do not belong in the homes of civilians, who could defend themselves quite well with a shotgun.
Was this some kind of toxic brew of mental illness, psychiatric drugs now known to cause rage and mania, and a shy kid numb and adrift in the world?
Who knows? But why does it happen so frquently here? Why is it so rare outside the US?
Jo
ReplyDeleteIf any Senator will do it Franken will. My Senator, Jon Tester, while a good guy is like most of his colleagues in the House and Senate either too afraid of their constituents or the gun lobby to do anything other than make token, low-level noise.
My oldest daughter, a mother of three herself, feels that even if we can severely limit the new sale of guns and ammunition, it will take decades for the weapons already in circulation to disappear.
I hold out no hope for a repeal of the 2nd amendment, but if perhaps we can convince enough of our legislatures we can start down the long path.
I've written my congressman many times in the past about this, glad you're doing the same and may many more join you.
Just this weekend in Raleigh, NC (about 60 miles north of me) they are holding a 2 day gun show. I have always been shocked at the fact that they sell guns so readily at these shows and the NRA influence is uppermost. Even with the Newtown tragedy it never crossed their minds to cancel the shows for today and tomorrow. Our chances of fighting thig are low but we MUST TRY. I hope our President agrees.
ReplyDeleteThere is something we can do. We can flex our voting muscles in mass and bombard our congressmen and women with our desire that this has to stop here. We need teeth, especially regarding assult weapons. We may not have the money that the gun lobbies have but we have the power of our vote. There are way more of us than them.
ReplyDeleteI plan to make my voice heard.
Thanks for posting this. I've been avoiding TV news about it--just too depressing, and I have no answers. The mother had quit working to take care of this young (20-yr old) man, neighbors knew him as potentially dangerous, who knows what dragons he faced? Mental health reforms and smarter restrictions on assault weapons might help. I don't know. We are a firearms culture, we do mythologize violence as a solution to problems, we do allow kids to stuff their heads full of "first person shooter" interactive video "games." Wish I had some answer. Just can't process it.
ReplyDeleteSomeone posted another good thought...wouldn't it be great if mental health treatment were as easy to obtain as a gun?
ReplyDeleteToo bad the NRA and other activists feel gun laws must be all or nothing. No one needs to own a 100-round clip automatic. No one.
Oh, good quote! "Wouldn't it be great if mental health treatment were as easy to obtain as a gun?"
DeleteSadly, it can be difficult to get sufficient care, especially if you are not rich.
While I totally agree with the banning of assult weapons I believe the problem is much bigger than just that. Our culture has changed dramatically in just the last few years. Seems so many kids are playing those horrible violent video games. Learning that you can "kill" someone--no consequences. No one takes responsibility for their own actions, there are no consequences for inppropriate behaviors. We always want to blame someone/something else. Maybe it's time to talk to our kids, discipline our kids, spend quality time with them. LOVE on them and not just buy them the latest greatest "stuff" to get them to stop whinning. There are so many pieces to this puzzle and it has got to start with each person being held accountable for their actions. Unfortunately, I feel it's almost too late, it's like the toothpaste that's been squeezed out of the tube and we're trying to put it back...
ReplyDeleteWe need to have better mental health care, control the bullies, drugs,etc.--- we need to really love and care for all mankind---guns are not the only problem.
I don't see Gun Control as an answer..unless of course we become a Police State..I can purchase guns at garage sales up here..everyone has guns..nearly everyone hunts..and if they don't hunt they target shoot. I learned to shoot when I was twelve..my Dad taught me how.
ReplyDeleteI am deeply saddened by the senseless deaths..but lets look beyond gun control to something that would and could work..school security. Just my opinion :)
Troutbirder, please pardon me for replying to the comments to your post.
ReplyDeleteNCmountainwoman....yes, absolutely mental health care is crucial, and identification of people who need it. And yes, without doubt assault weapons ban needs to reinstated.
Val...no, guns are the only problem, but they are the tool. And I agree, the toothpaste is out, and I don't know how to put it back.
Far Side and Ms. A.
yes, the genie is out of the bottle, and it won't go back. And yes, guns can be purchased without ID at garage sales and guns shows (and we wonder how criminals get them...). But perhaps if we start now, our grandkids or greatgrandkids won't have to face this. Isn't it worth a shot?
Thanks for your visit and comment on my blog. Those parents and siblings after such and event will suffer for years, their hearts broken; their dreams shattered; their hopes for their children forever packed away.
ReplyDeleteYes, we need gun control and mental health provisions, in our schools, in our society.
I recently posted this on Facebook: "We do need better mental health services and that starts with better health insurance, not crazy high deductible insurance plans. Families also need more support systems because you can't force a adult to obtain MH services when they don't want to. We also need to acknowledge that mental health providers already work in the schools, and they are called school psychologists and school counselors. If you want them to be able to help the kids who need it most, then stop slashing public school funding which forces districts to cut non-teaching staff" I would add that I don't know ANYONE who uses a semiautomatic rifle to go hunting for animals. The stats from countries with public health care and gun control laws speak for themselves.
ReplyDeleteHere in Virginia, our now Democratic majority legislature is in the process of banning sales of assault weapons. The backlash against this has been strong, noisy, and way out of proportion. This is due to NRA propaganda. I am losing faith in people.
ReplyDeleteNope nothing has changed. We still have mass shootings. Scary for sure:(
ReplyDeleteSince that time, how many mass shootings have been in the US Of Guns and what has been done about it. Last year there were over 400 and assault weapons played a part in them. Nothing, nothing, nothing except talk has been done and I doubt it ever will. We and our children and grandchildren live in fear about THE NEXT ONE.
ReplyDeleteSad indeed. An old mentor with whom I lost touch was steeped in Japanese wisdom. I have no desire to become a “macro-neurotic” but one saying often comes back to me. “Everything that has a front has a back”. And vice versa. The worst of a culture is the flip side of the best in that culture. Freedom has many faces.
ReplyDelete