Monday, December 14, 2015

And finally remembering the three year anniversary of Sandy Hook.

Courtesy of NBC News:  

There are at least 555 reasons to ask whether American children are safer from gun violence today than they were three years ago, when the unthinkable happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

That's how many kids under the age of 12 have died from gunshots — both intentional and accidental — since Adam Lanza stormed into the school in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012, and shot dead 20 children and six staff members, according to an NBC News analysis.

That figure, derived from news reports, other publicly available information and data from the Gun Violence Archive, is likely significantly lower than the true number of child gun deaths, as suicides often are not covered by news media and other gun deaths sometimes go unreported. Even so, it works out to a rate of just under one death of a child by firearm every two days in this country.

I don't know about all of you but the massacre at Sandy Hook hit me almost as hard as the attacks of 9-11.

Just like 2001 I was riveted to my TV, completely unable to fathom what I was seeing.

And then I thought, "Well this is it. Surely NOW we will start working on comprehensive gun legislation to keep our children safe from another attack like this one."

And I could not have been more wrong.

It was not that there were more victims in the Newtown shooting than in other massacres before it, but these were babies. Surely that would be enough to shock people out of their complacency and get the country angry and frightened enough to insist that we do something.

Something perhaps like what Australia had done in the wake of THEIR mass killing.

But that didn't happen.

Instead NRA President Wayne LaPierre blamed the politicians and the schools themselves:

" Politicians pass laws for gun free school zones, they issue press releases bragging about them. They post signs advertising them. And, in doing so, they tell every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk."

Sarah Palin responded by suggesting no real answer to gun violence other than more prayer:   

Unspeakable evil slammed America in the beautiful little town of Newtown, Connecticut, just days ago. No words can express the collective shock and sorrow shared by Americans who know the murder of innocent children is the most horrendous crime imaginable. The Connecticut state motto, “Qui transtulit sustinet,” promises that only God can sustain us. Though still insufficient and unfulfilling for the grieving families of these beautiful babies in the Lord's arms now, perhaps those words are all the inconsolable loved ones can hold on to at this time. May God show His sustaining love to them right now. Please Lord.

(Palin also claims in her book "Good Tidings and Great Joy" that she responded to the calls for more gun laws after Sandy Hook, by buying Todd a new gun.)

Other conservative politicians responded in similarly cowardly ways, as did a few Democrats, and then of course we have the Sandy Hook Truthers who simply refuse to believe the attack happened at all.

However it was President Obama who went to Newtown and tried to comfort the people who had lost loved ones and try to ease their pain:  

The president took a deep breath and steeled himself, and went into the first classroom. And what happened next I’ll never forget. 

Person after person received an engulfing hug from our commander in chief. He’d say, “Tell me about your son. . . . Tell me about your daughter,” and then hold pictures of the lost beloved as their parents described favorite foods, television shows, and the sound of their laughter. For the younger siblings of those who had passed away—many of them two, three, or four years old, too young to understand it all—the president would grab them and toss them, laughing, up into the air, and then hand them a box of White House M&M’s, which were always kept close at hand. In each room, I saw his eyes water, but he did not break. 

And then the entire scene would repeat—for hours. Over and over and over again, through well over a hundred relatives of the fallen, each one equally broken, wrecked by the loss. After each classroom, we would go back into those fluorescent hallways and walk through the names of the coming families, and then the president would dive back in, like a soldier returning to a tour of duty in a worthy but wearing war. We spent what felt like a lifetime in those classrooms, and every single person received the same tender treatment. The same hugs. The same looks, directly in their eyes. The same sincere offer of support and prayer. 

The staff did the preparation work, but the comfort and healing were all on President Obama. I remember worrying about the toll it was taking on him. And of course, even a president’s comfort was woefully inadequate for these families in the face of this particularly unspeakable loss. But it became some small measure of love, on a weekend when evil reigned.

In the end there were a few laws passed in Connecticut, New York, and Maryland, but nothing on the Federal level.

And here we sit, three years later, just as vulnerable as we were on December 14, 2012.

In fact it could be argued with this push for increased gun ownership and more conceal carry permits in the wake of recent terrorist attacks that the possibility for another school, mall, or theater mass shooting has only increased.

Because despite what the NRA might tell you, more guns mean more bullets, and more bullets mean more people killed and wounded.

It's just math.

38 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:39 PM

    Remember when Sarah Palin bought her husband a new gun to celebrate the Sandy Hook Massacre?

    I do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:02 PM

      Oh yes. I also remember how depraved she is to have done that. We are talking monstrous here.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:26 AM

      She's a tasteless c*nt more vile than a $10 crack whore...

      John McCain has earned my contempt forever by bringing this nasty hag on stage...

      If he hadn't she'd still be a nobody to the Continental US living in Alaska with her Pimp Husband, and Mattress Backed Slut Daughter pumping out Bastard Grandkids....

      Delete
    3. Anonymous9:00 AM

      WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BRING HER UP????????

      Delete
  2. Anonymous4:41 PM

    My younger daughter was in Kindergarten that same year and I remember the feeling I had when I picked her up at school. What a terrible thing for any family and community to go through.

    I really wonder about the humanity of anyone who can look at that tragedy and not want to figure out a solution to gun violence that doesn't include "more guns."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous5:06 PM

    You forgot one very important fact in the years following the Sandy Hook Massacre and that's the insane theory that it was all a "false flag" perpetrated by Obama to confiscate your guns.

    This conspiracy theory is one of the most heinous to date in my opinion. As a result of a few RWNJ's continuing to promote the theory those grieving families have been continually harassed by the followers of those promoting it.

    Sheesh

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous5:14 PM

    Prayers, blah, blah, blah...As my father always says, pray in one hand and shit in the other and both hands end up full of crap.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5:21 PM

    I have seven grandchildren aged ten and under. In my day, we had nuclear bomb drills, much like fire alarm drills, in my little town. I never thought I would see the day that children have to live in fear as they do now, and it breaks my heart.

    You BET $arah bought ex-husband Tawd a gun in honor of this. Just like she put "surveyors marks" on districts that killed people in Tucson, 6-year-old Christina Green of note, maimed Gabby Giffords, and her blood libel speech in response to the backlash.

    Tell me how she, or any of her ilk that she "pals around with" have changed one bit. Not one iota.

    Today she comes out with an "ISIS is targeting Down Syndrome kids" of which they're not. What the hell do you care, $arah, you never birthed Trig nor did you even care about him once he was born.

    Tell me again about that #sweet freedom, $arah. Not only do you not understand God, but you are no Christian. Anything to make

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:32 PM

      money off fear. Finished it for you.

      Hey, $arah, because I knw you read here, are you familiar with a female evangelist named Joyce Meyer? Of course you are. Now there's woman that puts her faith into action to truly help others day after day.

      Remind me again of what you're doing except work underneath to make life an even bigger living hell for others while you line your pockets?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:42 PM

      Making money off murder: On Sandy Hook’s anniversary, new data shows mass shootings boost the gun industry’s profits
      http://www.salon.com/2015/12/14/making_money_off_murder_on_sandy_hooks_anniversary_new_data_shows_mass_shootings_boost_the_gun_industrys_profits/

      Gabby Giffords uses Sandy Hook anniversary to unload on GOP: “30,000 more Americans have been murdered with guns” since that day
      http://www.salon.com/2015/12/14/gabby_giffords_uses_sandy_hook_anniversary_to_unload_on_gop_30000_more_americans_have_been_murdered_with_guns_since_that_day/

      Delete
    3. Anonymous3:56 AM

      The sick argument put forth by gun advocates that the the number of children killed by firearms is nothing compared to the number of 'babies' aborted is the kind of mindset you're up against when trying to legislate sensible gun laws.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous5:41 PM

    The mother of one victim was interviewed and has spoken against gun violence. Her boy was on the autistic spectrum, and flapped his hands to relieve stress, she asked him one day why he flapped, and he said "Because I'm a beautiful purple butterfly". She spoke of the effect his loss had on his brother, and the outpouring of love and support she's been given. She spoke of the butterfly effect and how there were many beautiful purple butterflies she's spoken to. She imagines what he would look like three years later, but her most profound image was that of identifying him and how he looked that day.
    As a parent, I'd take the bullet to save my child, and I'm sure most feel the same way, but I wonder if those who fight for their guns love their children and appreciate the privilege of being a parent? If so, why can't we tighten the gun laws and close these loopholes and straw purchases?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Anonymous7:37 PM

      I simply cannot imagine how it would have been for those parents to forever have that image in their head of seeing their child dead after what happened to him/her. Butterflies are good, but that image never goes away.

      That $arah lauded this was beyond despicable.

      Delete
    2. "As a parent, I'd take the bullet to save my child ... but I wonder if those who fight for their guns love their children and appreciate the privilege of being a parent?"
      -----------------------
      Judging by the number of infants, toddlers, and children who are killed by guns carelessly left around where the children can find them, or by so-called "accidents" due to the gun owners' incompetence when handling their weapons, I would say no, they don't love their children more than their guns.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous5:44 PM

    Senators Had To Cancel A Press Conference About A Mass Shooting Because Of A Mass Shooting

    Remember that time nine people were killed in Charleston?

    Connecticut's Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy were planning to hold a press conference in early October to push legislation that would prevent licensed dealers from selling a gun without a completed background check. Their bill was a response to the June shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, that killed nine people in church. The shooter, Dylann Roof, was able to purchase his .45-caliber Glock pistol even though the FBI hadn't finished his background check.

    Then, Chris Harper Mercer killed 10 people and wounded nine at a community college in Oregon. Blumenthal and Murphy called off the press conference.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/background-checks-gun-sales_566f2981e4b0e292150ec8ed

    An American Kid Has Died By A Gun Every Other Day Since Newtown Massacre... Connecticut Gov.: How Many More Sandy Hooks Must Happen Before Things Change?... 'We Can't Accept Gun Violence As 'New Normal'... 'Mothers Are Not Supposed To Outlive Their Children'... The Aftermath Of Gun Violence... The Generation That Grew Up Without Mass Shootings...

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous6:19 PM

    This is one more thing where rethugs don't give a sh*t unless it happens to them. When gun violence happens to the pay-lynn's or others there will be a call for something to be done but not until.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:03 PM

      Ahhhh, but there ARE no guns allowed when $arah makes an appearance, even in open carry areas.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous6:55 PM

    Gryphen, tank you for so tirelessly hammering this nail. It's so hard just to read about. I can't even imagine how hard it must be to find, post, and comment on these excruciating stories. But they do need all the exposure they can get.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous6:56 PM

    I'm surprised wikipedia didn't mention Colorado. Colorado made efforts, and two gun control measures made it through. One of our legislators spearheaded those efforts had lost her son, a victim a few years earlier of gang related shootings.
    She got death threats during the time the bills were being debated.
    The NRA spearheaded recalls of two state senators and won. The dems lost their senate majority, and lost several house seats the next fall thanks to NRA funding.
    The bills that got passed weren't radical--they put a limit on the magazine size, and did something further with background checks.
    It can't possibly be true that all Republicans buy into this NRA shit, but where are the ones who don't?
    We need a constitutional amendment to fix the 2nd amendment. I think we could pass it, state by state through popular vote.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous7:11 PM

    Take one HARD look at that picture.
    These are CHILDREN yet no one cares,
    And GOPTP encourages it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous7:20 PM

    Kind of hard for me to forget the Sandy Hook Massacre...

    My Daughter and Grandchildren live directly across the street from the entrance to the school and the firehouse...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:02 AM

      On the day of the massacre I was working on a construction job at the UConn Medical Center in Farmington, the State Medical Examiners Office is in that complex...

      The endless parade of the Body Snatchers in and out of the ME's office is very hard to forget...

      The old Sandy Hook Elementary School has been torn down, and a new one built on the site. The construction is nearly complete and should be opening soon...

      Delete
  13. Anonymous7:22 PM

    She said on Jake Tapper that she wouuldn't rule out a run for President... She also said "doors were closed without her volition?? So who closed her door?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous7:39 PM

    Over 500 kids have died from gun violence since Sandy Hook.
    https://newrepublic.com/minutes/125749/500-kids-died-gun-violence-since-sandy-hook

    …and Congress has still done nothing.
    http://mx1.politicususa.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/spb151213.jpg

    These are some of the most twisted conservative responses to the Sandy Hook massacre
    https://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/these-are-some-of-the-most-twisted-conservative-responses-to-the-sandy-hook-massacre/

    Sandy Hook Parents Call on University to Distance Conspiracy Theorist Professor
    The parents accuse the professor of personally and publicly harassing them.
    http://patch.com/connecticut/newtown/sandy-hook-parents-call-university-distance-conspiracy-theorist-professor-1

    Last month, Donald Trump appeared on “The Alex Jones Show,” where he told the right-wing pundit that he has an “amazing” reputation, unlike other journalists, whom Trump commonly refers to as “scum.” Among Jones’ many wild conspiracy theories is his belief that the massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which took place three years ago today, was “staged” by the Obama administration. - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/twisted-far-rights-disgraceful-reaction-sandy-hook-massacre

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous7:41 PM

    ISIS orders killing of kids with Down's Syndrome in latest sickening attack on the innocent

    Vile ISIS terror thugs have issued a fatwa to kill babies and children with Down's Syndrome, it has been reported.

    Iraqi activist group Mosul Eye says the ISIS Shar'ia Board issued a savage "oral fatwa (an Islamic term for a religious decree)" to its members authorising them to "kill newborn babies with Down's Syndrome and congenital deformities and disabled children".

    If true - and reports from the war-torn region are difficult to verify - it means ISIS has taken a leaf from the Nazis, who murdered disabled children it perceived to be a "burden on the state".

    Mosul Eye monitored the deaths of children with Down's Syndrome and other congenital deformities and discovered the fatwa was issued by one of Islamic States's Shar'ia judges, a Saudi judge named " Abu Said Aljazrawi.

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/isis-issues-order-killing-children-7004891

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:08 PM

      http://www.snopes.com/isis-killing-babies-syndrome/

      Although Daily Mail used "apparently" and "it is claimed" to buttress its reporting, the outlet didn't emphasize that the information was gleaned from a single blogger's Facebook post. Fox News and multiple concurrent reports cited a group called "Mosul Eye" as the source for the unverified claims. The original 13 December 2015 post and video (embedded below) claimed:

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:37 PM

      http://www.snopes.com/isis-fatwa-kill-puppies/

      Delete
  16. Anonymous7:54 PM

    Florida professor taunts Sandy Hook parents and accuses them of faking kids’ massacre for money

    A professor at a Florida college — who has made a name for himself as a Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist — lashed out on Facebook at the parents of one of the children killed three years ago, calling them “conspirators” who have profited “handsomely from the fake death of their son.”

    Writing on the Sandy Hook Hoax Facebook page, Florida Atlantic University Professor James Tracy defended his job at the university after the parents of Noah Pozner wrote an opinion piece for the Sun-Sentinel complaining about Tracy and other “anonymous online identities” who torment them over the death of their 6-year-old son.

    “Although many of these tormentors persecute us behind anonymous online identities, some do so openly and even proffer their professional credentials in an attempt to lend credence to their allegations,” Lenny and Veronique Pozner wrote. “In this piece we want to focus on someone who is chief among the conspiracy theorists — Florida Atlantic University Professor James Tracy.”

    According to the Pozners, the Florida professor has engaged in a campaign of harassment against them, including sending them a certified letter demanding proof that their son ever existed.

    “Tracy is among those who have personally sought to cause our family pain and anguish by publicly demonizing our attempts to keep cherished photos of our slain son from falling into the hands of conspiracy theorists,” they wrote. “Tracy even sent us a certified letter demanding proof that Noah once lived, that we were his parents, and that we were the rightful owner of his photographic image. We found this so outrageous and unsettling that we filed a police report for harassment. Once Tracy realized we would not respond, he subjected us to ridicule and contempt on his blog, boasting to his readers that the ‘unfulfilled request’ was ‘noteworthy’ because we had used copyright claims to ‘thwart continued research of the Sandy Hook massacre event.'”

    In his Facebook response, Tracy continued to malign the Pozners, referring to them — as well as other mothers and fathers who lost children three years ago — as “alleged parents.”

    http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/florida-professor-taunts-sandy-hook-parents-and-accuses-them-of-faking-kids-massacre-for-money/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:53 AM

      Flor-uh-DUH and the kooks and grifters who live there...I'm just shocked the Palins don't have a second home there.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous7:55 PM

    These are some of the most twisted conservative responses to the Sandy Hook massacre

    http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/these-are-some-of-the-most-twisted-conservative-responses-to-the-sandy-hook-massacre/

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous8:12 PM

    Nothing will be done to correct this horribly severe problem until it happens to someone in a GOP's family.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:27 PM

      Yes. You're absolutely correct. And it could also be that it is a mass shooting of Congressmen and women or some election event that will spur things. If someone takes out one of the presidential candidates, it will be front and center. ESPECIALLY if it's with any illegal weaponry and it's a white, christian ammosexual/militia type. It's disgusting that children have to pay the price for this greed and cold heartedness. But then, they usually do in society.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous8:55 PM

    Obama Rips Congress For Blocking Gun Bill On The 3rd Anniversary Of Sandy Hook Massacre

    ...This issue has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. It is all about profit for the gun industry. Mass shootings increase paranoia from gun owners that the government is coming for their guns. This paranoia increases weapon and ammo sales; thus mass shootings are very good for the gun business.

    President Obama is determined to get something done to make it more difficult for would-be mass killers to get guns.

    If Congress won’t act, Obama is readying more executive actions.
    While Republicans cater to the NRA, President Obama is showing his leadership by speaking out about the political cowardice that has created the perfect environment for mass shooters.

    http://www.politicususa.com/2015/12/14/obama-rips-congress-blocking-gun-bill-3rd-anniversary-sandy-hook-massacre.html

    ReplyDelete
  20. The shameful list of Islamophobia since Paris:

    71 since November 13th.

    www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/all-the-islamophobic-acts-in-us-canada-since-paris_564cee09e4b031745cef9dda

    The list of gun control laws passed by Congress since Newtown:

    0

    That would be a big, fat ZERO.

    www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gun-control-congress_566ec8dce4b011b83a6bc0cd

    "In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.
    — Dan Hodges (@DPJHodges) June 19, 2015"

    "Over the past three years, 39 states have passed at least 117 new pieces of legislation that make gun laws more strict, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonpartisan group that tracks legislation across the country."

    "At least 70 successful state measures had weakened gun laws since Newtown."

    The states couldn't agree on interracial marriage so the Feds did it.

    The states couldn't agree on same sex marriage, so the Feds settled that too.

    We don't need a patchwork of what is and is not allowed with guns. The 2nd amendment is a Constitutional issue and our centralized Federal government needs to standardize what is and is not allowed in order to REGULATE our militia.

    If it has to be done through executive orders and the proper bureau backed up by the Supreme Court to get it done, then so be it.

    It's obvious our NRA Congresspuppets aren't going to do squat. Because they seem to be just fine with dead children. (Except for fetuses!)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous9:36 PM

    Palin can sure pour the sweet syrup on
    any horrific happening...."unspeakable evil,
    innocent children, the grieving parents and the innocent babies now with God." When was the last time she went to church? She doesn't! Tells everyone to pray while she has
    a ghost writer write a book about biblical
    quotes , saying she wrote it. Her prayer
    is "look at me , look at me, I am somebody."
    The second happiest day of her life would
    be to see President Obama shot and killed.
    The first, she as president. She will become
    even more fake pious , the crosses around her neck larger while grabbing on to more and more coat tails while trying to stay out of "Dodge".... Wasilla !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:59 PM

      I agree, Sarah Palin would like nothing more than to see President Obama shot and killed.

      She'd need a new vibrator.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous11:55 PM

    ‘Light that motherf*cker on fire!’: Vegas Trump rally off the charts as private guards toss black activist

    ,,,Add Monday night in Las Vegas to the increasingly long list of Donald Trump campaign events that have descended into violence.

    BuzzFeed writer McKay Coppins attended the rally for the GOP presidential candidate and real estate mogul, reporting from the Westgate Hotel and Resort. Coppins posted video of a black protester being roughed up, with a supporter shouting, “Light that motherf*cker on fire!”

    The video, which Coppins posted to Twitter, shows an African-American man down on the ground, surrounded by burly security guards. A woman can be heard shouting, “Let him get up!” while a man screams, “Get your hands off him!” Trump can be heard continuing to speak to the crowd during the scuffle.

    http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/light-that-motherfcker-on-fire-vegas-trump-rally-off-the-charts-as-private-guards-toss-black-activist/

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous6:34 AM

    Just coming in-L.A. SCHOOLS SHUT DOWN DUE TO BOMB THREATS.

    ReplyDelete

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