Newtown, Connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary School and Our National Anniversary

These are the 20 children, the 20 beautiful, innocent children who were gunned down, slaughtered, that day, December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary School. May we never forget and may we get sensible, helpful legislation and as soon as possible, to help make nightmares like these less likely, if not nearly impossible. We owe it to them, to their parents, family, friends and neighbors. We owe it to ourselves, to our nation, to the next generations.

On Guns

Then and now.

Guns In America, III

What's the difference? Exactly?

More Guns? Really?

Quote of the Day -- On Guns and Where We Go From Here

President Obama---and Statistics---On Guns in America

Seen yesterday:

"I've had to make statements like this too many times," Obama said. "Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times. We don't have all the facts, but we do know that once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun.

"Now is the time for mourning and for healing. But let's be clear, at some point we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries."

For proof?

Gun crime is more prevalent in the US than in other rich countries

In 2012, Max Fisher compared gun homicide rates in wealthy countries, using UN data. The US was far ahead of the non-Mexico members of the OECD, with only Chile anywhere close:

A big part of this is that the US just has many more guns per capita than any other country:

(Reddit/The Guardian/Phillybdizzle)

That doesn't explain all the variation in homicide rates; lots of poor countries, particularly in Central America, have gun homicide rates many times that of the United States. But among developed countries, homicide is much, much higher in the US, even after the great crime drop of the 1990s, and even including non-gun methods, as this chart from Duke sociologist Kieran Healy illustrates:

The President is right, of course. So many statistics show and prove it, again and again, in so many ways.

It would be nice if finally, finally, this horrific incident out of Charleston, North Carolina brought us to the point where we do a few simple, intelligent things about guns. Things like requiring background checks for mental stability and criminal history for ALL weapons purchases in this nation.

Hey, we can hope.

Link to original posts for above graphs:  Obama on the Charleston shooting

Obama is right: gun violence is much worse in the US than other advanced countries

Links to more articles:

• Obama has said that his biggest frustration in office is his failure to stop gun violence
• 44 states could prosecute the Charleston shooting as a hate crime — but not South Carolina
• Shaken Charleston mayor: 'Far too many guns out there'

The Victims of the Charleston, SC, Church Massacre

Wear Orange Tomorrow

Weapons Supporters: If You Really Believe in America...

What People Are Saying About Kansas Now

I saw this last evening, on Facebook. And it's very fair:

Kansas and Social Media Just Now

I just saw this on Facebook today.

Congratulations, Kansas. This is who and what you are and what people are learning about you--on top of the fact that you give tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations and have no budget for schools and a downgraded bonds because of it:

The NRA, like the US, used to make more sense

What the gun people don't get

Fifth Annual Celebration!

Quote of the day--after yet another gun attack at a school

It happened yet again, yesterday:

Nevada school shooting: Teacher killed, two students wounded

The weapons supporters and enthusiasts and NRA disavow and/or ignore this, however:

 

What does he know, right?

He was only on the Supreme Court.

And studied law his entire career.

Missouri in the national news last evening

And not in a good way:

Gun-totin' property owner kills a guy trying to defend his cousin, who urinated on a gravel bar

Seems fair, right?

A "pit stop" on a float trip in Southern Missouri shouldn't be a problem, should it?

What could go wrong?

From The Daily Kos.  It was actually the urinater's cousin who was shot and killed. He was defending the urinater. True.

...Yesterday, a man who owns a piece of property along Missouri's Meramec River, was pissed off when a guy on a casual canoe trip pissed in the woods behind "his" gravel bar. He then threatened the urinater with a gun. When the urinater's cousin tried to get between him and the property owner, the property owner shot the cousin in the head and killed him.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch covered it first, like this:

Meramec float trip ends in fatal shooting after dispute over property rights along waterway

Yeehaw.

Gotta' have them guns, huh?

At least this time the shooter isn't going to walk as they do in Florida, "Stand Your Ground" laws not being in Missouri, thankfully.

So far.

Perspective

Yay, guns.

Yay, us.

Facts, statistics and America

America's fatal love affair with guns

 

And odd, odd priorities:

 



"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. 'Too soon,' howl supporters of loose gun laws. But 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."

Link to full article:  Twelve facts about guns and mass shootings in the United States

How many guns, America? How many murders?

 

Links:  Edward Flynn makes spirited call for assault weapons ban

 

Citizen Dave: Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn puts Lindsey Graham in his place

Chief Edward Flynn cites shooting, repeats call for assault weapons ban

 



By all means, get that gun for your home