Today in Connecticut, the worst gun massacre since the Virginia Tech massacre, in an elementary school; so far reports say 27 are dead, 18 of those are children. The gunman is dead and remains unidentified.
A Facebook friend says, contrary to conventional wisdom, that now is the perfect time to discuss gun policy. I posted my views on the day of the Aurora, Colorado massacre here. I haven't changed my mind. Quite the contrary...
EXTRA:
I'm not a fan of Mayor Bloomberg, but I think he's right in this statement from today:
With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it's still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen. It has come to that. Not even kindergarteners learning their A,B,Cs are safe. We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. And now we are hearing it again. For every day we wait, 34 more people are murdered with guns. Today, many of them were five-year olds. President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But the country needs him to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem. Calling for 'meaningful action' is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response. My deepest sympathies are with the families of all those affected, and my determination to stop this madness is stronger than ever.
EXTRA:
Ezra Klein in today's WaPo:
"If roads were collapsing all across the United States, killing dozens of drivers, we would surely see that as a moment to talk about what we could do to keep roads from collapsing. If terrorists were detonating bombs in port after port, you can be sure Congress would be working to upgrade the nation’s security measures. If a plague was ripping through communities, public-health officials would be working feverishly to contain it.
Only with gun violence do we respond to repeated tragedies by saying that mourning is acceptable but discussing how to prevent more tragedies is not. But that’s unacceptable. As others have observed, talking about how to stop mass shootings in the aftermath of a string of mass shootings isn’t 'too soon.' It’s much too late."
27 are dead --but 20 of them are children... and the seven adults includes Ryan, the shooter.
ReplyDeleteI remember the slogan "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns"....
I think I am a little more radical on gun control. I see no reason for anyone to have a gun.
Now they are posting that it may be Adam --Ryan's developmentally disabled brother, that did the shooting....
ReplyDeleteHow did a developmentally disabled 20yo buy a gun?
I'm not a gun owner or enthusiast, and I'm not really going to "stand my ground" over my perhaps more moderate views on gun control. I just think tighter regulation is politically more attainable than an outright handgun ban. A total handgun ban like Britain's 1997 (post Dunblane Massacre) Fire Arms Law would not break my heart.
ReplyDeleteThe guns were in Adam Lanza's mother's name. His mother: the first to die. [NRA propaganda: "We need guns for self-defense!" Yeah, how'd that work out for Mrs Lanza?]
ReplyDeleteMemory eternal, the victims (inc the Lanzas): may THIS TIME be the tragedy that wakes us from our fatalistic (wingnut-encouraged) stupor?
Doug, which incident of US gun-violence provoked that Mauldin cartoon? Something long ago, no?
ReplyDeleteBill Mauldin drew it in 1963 after the assassination of President Kennedy.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's what I thought.
ReplyDelete