Dear Editor,
Three primary things have filtered out since Columbine to this week:
1: Secure the building! This is everyone's responsibility at the school . . . and the door was left propped open and did not have the ability to lock. Nothing that DC will do can affect the negligence of the staff - period.
2: After Columbine, the nationwide policy of police departments was that in an active shooter event, the first officer on the scene makes entry - period. Sorry, you drew the short straw that day - get your ass through the door. Nothing that DC will do can make the officer "grow a set" in time to make entry.
3: If someone acts "hinkey" on social media - see something, say something. There seems to have been multiple posts by this guy saying he was going to shoot up a school . . . multiple posts. Nothing that DC will do can make folks call the authorities and say . . . "Hey, this guy is threatening to shoot up a school!"
What DC will do is to dance on the graves of children, puff up their chests and try to enact "common sense gun laws." Which will do nothing except to penalize law-abiding citizens.
I wish "they" would simply shut their mouths, let these poor families work through their grief, stop defunding the police, use part of the $40 BILLION to Ukraine to place armed and experienced vets in schools and make darn sure every police department in the country actually trains . . . and I mean TRAINS - not this 100-rounds A YEAR crap when it's time to qualify - their departments in the use of their carry weapons.
Don't even get me started on the lack of respect of the teachers by the students and parents and the complete inability to discipline unruly students. What happened is NOT ABOUT GUNS . . . it's about the dissolution of our society.
The lack of fathers is one canary. Year-long marriages are a second canary. Throwing church in the trash Bin is a third canary. Hating the police - why the hell should they do the job they were hired to do if everyone hates them - is a fourth canary. Flushing mental healthcare in communities is a fifth canary. Putting every fricking hyper kid on meds rather than letting them be kids is a sixth canary. Allowing "teachers" to "help" elementary children DECIDE IF THEY ARE FRICKIN' BOYS OR GIRLS . . . is a FRICKINI' MOOSE standing in your living room!!!!!
And an adult - an 18-year-old man - with a loaded gun, who has been so abused, ignored, beaten down that NO ONE NOTICES HIM until he kills 14 kids and 2 teachers . . . that . . . that right there is what all these canaries and the moose result in. It's NOT THE FRICKIN' GUN . . . it's the society and its effect on its citizens that is the REAL PROBLEM. And THAT IS WHAT NEEDS YOUR FRICKIN' ATTENTION . . . not the guns.
I need a drink . . . peace folks . . .
Bill Keller
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Now for schools. We had four schools in the VSCSD. How many are in Des Moines? Dozens! We would have needed four but how about the hundreds and hundreds of activities we schedule? They are even softer targets! 19 police officers stood outside the classroom while kids were being murdered and didn’t go in.
We need gun reform now. There were over two dozen mass shootings in May. Responsible citizens should be able to own guns. Law breakers should not and should have their guns confiscated! You want to own a gun then be a law-abiding citizen!
I heard that the door was supposed to lock but did not after a teacher saw the shooter crash his truck. She ran back in and got her phone, when someone said he has a gun, so she could call 911. A rock was holding the door open so she kicked it out of the way and pulled the door shut. It was supposed to automatically lock but did not.
Too many times we hear people say they thought that guy was a little strange but didn't think he would do anything like this. People must wake up and say something when they see something before their child or grandchild is one that is murdered.
I wish someone would explain to me how common sense gun laws would penalize law abiding citizens. Common rhetoric from the right but no matter how many times I ask no one knows an answer.
I will never shut my mouth nor do I ask anyone else to, even you Bill. Everyone has the right to speak. There we go again with defunding the police. I admit it was a bad phrase to use. It simply meant that some of the money for the police force should go to hire a psychologist to be called instead of sending the police when someone is in need of mental help. Those are the ones who end up getting killed. There is even a case where the police were called when a 6-year-old had a tantrum in school and the police came and put her in hand-cuffs. Or a 12-year-old girl was tackled by police for taking an extra milk. Of course these were both black girls, because it wouldn't have happened to a white child. President Biden has said more than once he does not want to defund the police. It is just republican rhetoric.
Everyone does not hate the police but we do have many racist cops on duty these days who should not be police. The one who murdered George Floyd had had issues before but they always glossed over it and allowed him to keep his job, not right. There are too many like him and they are killing too many young black men for the smallest of reasons and they don't care if they shoot them in the back.
Defunding mental healthcare is a republican thing which I believe started with Reagan.
The teacher is not there to help a child decide if they are a boy or a girl or if they are gay or straight, but they are there to answer the questions of their students. What about that child who feels different but doesn't want to ask his parents because of what he has heard they say about those kind of things. He thinks his teacher is the only person he can ask but now he can't ask her so what does he do. Do you have a clue about the LGBTQ and trans kids committing suicide. The teacher used to be that safety net but now republicans want those kids to be forgotten. Shame. LGBTQ and trans kids are born that way, it is not something they learn or taught by their teacher. You aren't giving teachers enough credit to be able to answer these questions fairly. Their questions can not be swept under the rug just because it is a topic republicans don't like.
The so called Christians in the republican party are CINO. They have put their party first above this country and the people because of the power and money they want. The NRA is paying them handsomely for their no votes so you are wrong, we do need to pay attention to guns.
This country is a very racist country and until that changes or if it ever changes we need to pay close attention to guns. You will never change the minds of the racist people as long as trump and the republicans giving directions.
I would also like someone to explain to me why anyone needs an assault weapon. They are made for killing people, not hunting. If it is for collecting, then consider all the babies killed and don't collect that weapon for the good of the country and is people.
Norma Gould
We have been taught His Love for everyone -including the sinner. We have been taught to have compassion for the powerless, for the poor and for the ill. Jesus found himself befriending those who were considered the lowest of the low. I vividly remember the story of the women of sin who washed and dried his feet with her own hair. Of the blind and crippled whom he was fond of and healed them with His Love and Compassion. And my favorite story - the woman he saved from stoning by reminding those that we ALL are sinful and best not to judge least we be judged. And those who live by the sward will die by the sward. And if you are struck on the right cheek, offer your left. I ponder these messages of His Word and ask myself, "Are we truly living His Love?"
I read the post and now the comments and all question - what would Jesus say if He saw these comments and anger? I see the "Amen" and wonder if we truly understand His Message of Love and Compassion.
I do believe that Christians have a duty to society to protect, to heal and to be an example of His teachings. Is living by the 'sward' our best way to show our love to Christ and his Loving Father? What would Jesus say if he heard the voices in our head? Are we being the loving, caring and HEALING message of his pain and suffering on the cross?
In my heart, I fear the hate and anger our culture is displaying to our Lord and Savior. Would He rather see us reaching our hand out in Love?
Have not researched to verify because I don't trust the results from the left whom is taking control of our 1st Amendment. Do l believe? Without doubt.
A hundred and fifteen years ago, in 1907...our great grandparents were first able to buy semi-auto Winchester Model 1907.
This is a gun they could buy from a Sears catalogue and have delivered via US Post. It was/is a semi-automatic, high powered centerfire rifle, with detachable, high capacity magazine.
About 400,000 semi-automatic rifles were produced before WW2. Civilians had hundreds of thousands of these for 40 years, while US soldiers were still being issued old fashioned bolt action rifles.
The 1907 fired just as fast as an AR15 or AK47 and the bullet (.351 Winchester) was actually larger than those fired by the more modern looking weapons.. The ONLY functional difference between the 1907 and a controversial and much feared AR15 is the modern black plastic stock.
The semi auto, so-called "assault rifle" is 115 years old. It isn't new in any way. The semi auto rifle was not a weapon of war. The government MADE IT a weapon of war 40 years after civilians had them. The semi-auto can be safely owned by civilians. The proof is that literally 3 generations of adults owned and used them responsibly and no one ever even noticed.
Want to fix the horror of mass shootings? Fix the things that have changed for the worse in the last 50 years - Family Values, Prayer from Schools, Ten Commandments from Court Houses, Spanking Kids, Morals, What is socially acceptable, Confusion on Genders, Left Wing Liberalism, Socialism, ect.
- because the rifle technology in question was here long before this insanity.
GOD SAVE THE USA. The framers of the Constitution understood that guns were the only way to stop a tyrannical government and that remains so true today with the current administration. Pass a law that takes the guns from the bad guys and enforce it before the guns are taken from law abiding citizens. The people that think a gun law will change the attitude of these deranged shooters can keep riding their unicorns and viewing that beautiful rainbow.
The only reason the Government has not passed legislation to protect the school kids is their belief that if it gets bad enough people will want gun restriction. That is exactly what some in DC want, CONTROL. Also, anyone that thinks a 9MM is a high powered firearm is delusional and doesn't know much about guns.
Later
Dave Coots
-The Doors
-The Single Parent
-All of the people that beat down and ignored the poor guy with $3,000 worth of weaponry
-All of the adolescents that didn't call the FBI after seeing a threat on the internet
-"Dissolution of society"
-Divorce
-"Throwing church in the trash"
NOT THE GUN?
You're also saying that it's more important that a few million Americans have these guns, that totally destroy organs in human bodies, because they need to have a penis extension to use at target practice. They also need magazines that hold 50-100 rounds, because they need to destroy those targets fast, instead to just hitting the target. All of this, because you think someone is going to march to your house and take all of your guns away from you. Those that have you under their control tell you these things. The truth is that it's IMOSSIBLE for the 2nd Amendment to be abolished. To create a new amendment to our Constitution, to abolish the 2A, it would require both chanmbers of Congress to pass a resolution by 2/3 of the vote. That's impossible in today's environment. THEN, if it was possible for Congress to do such a thing, the resolution would have to be accepted by 3/4 of the states. That's 38 states! That's impossible in today's environment. THEN, it would need to be signed by the president. The last time Congress passed a proposed Constitution Amendment was in 1972. It was the Equal Rights Amendment, that would've made women equal to men. Still today, that has never gotten the 38 states required to ratify it. Although a few more states have signed on in the last few years.
Now! Quit with the "Defund the police" crap! That was brought up by the Minneapolis city council, after the George Floyd murder, ONLY! It has never been considered by our government! The $40 billion that Congress allocated for Ukraine, is from the military budget! It wasn't just random money setting around for any use. It would be illegal to use that money for anything outside of military consideration. You made a huge deal about police only training once per year. What about the millions of firearm owners that never have to be trained on their weapons? Nobody has to be trained to get a permit to carry. Back to your "throwing church in the trash" comment. Who is throwing it in the trash? Are you proposing that a law be made that requires a person to attend church? Sort of a "mandate"? Freedom of Religion also means freedom from religion! Or just freedom.
The reference about “the short straw” for a police officer who is the first on sight armed only with a handgun against someone with an AR15 is disturbing. Would you enter a building if you were up against a crazy person with an AR-15? Would any of us want our son or daughter to draw that “short straw.” 19 good guys with a gun in Texas couldn’t “grow a set.” I think it’s safe to say, that’s not a solution at all. It’s nothing but unhelpful hyperbole. You think they didn’t do their job because they weren’t being given enough respect? I think it might have more to do with the fact that they were seriously outgunned and were going to certainly be killed, without even making any bit of difference. Can’t we at least give them a fighting chance by removing weapons of war from our society?
And then we throw out the mental illness card and yet we cut and cut and cut mental health services. Here is a canary….what do you suppose the trauma of active shooter drills and the press coverage of school shooting after school shooting does to our teachers and our kids? Especially when we refuse to do anything to help them. We will most certainly find out.
And then the next Canary… our society is in ruin because people are turning away from God. It seems to me that people aren’t turning away from God. They are turning away from church. A church that has been taken over by hypocritical, judgmental people who have truly forgotten WHAT JESUS WOULD WANT US TO DO! People who are so arrogant that they think they understand God’s plan, but have forgotten his compassion and forgiveness. People who are so arrogant that they think God’s plan only includes them and people like them. The rest are unworthy somehow. People who can’t look at the parent of a transgender or gay son or daughter and see the struggle that both have gone thru on the road to acceptance and love; and mirror that acceptance and love. A church that is more hell bent on dabbling in politics than ministering and caring for all people. And as for respect, respect must be earned. What have we done lately to earn our children’s respect? I will tell you what, we fail to protect them, we fail to stand up for anyone who is different in any way, we talk about “growing a set” and yet do nothing to help end the carnage they see in our streets and schools every dang day. We worship capitalism and corporate greed over all. And everything is a right/left argument, rife with hypocrisy and misinformation. We rant and rant and rant, and yet do nothing. Except for thoughts and prayers.
It’s easy for us all here where we sit to have an opinion about gun control. Even me. We have been immune to the most horrendous of acts. Maybe the only folks whose opinions should matter are those that have buried a family member who was a victim of gun violence. A family member that they sent off to school or shopping, who returned in a coffin, unrecognizable after being riddled with bullets. The rest of us are too busy worrying about our rights and the demise of society to act or even consider negotiating a solution. Maybe if we thought more about our responsibilities and our obligations, things would change. I won’t hold my breath.
This is very simple. The AR15 is too accessible and to dangerous. Don’t make it more complicated than that and we might succeed in making a start.
So you appear to be saying we need more good guys with a gun. I remember reading about a man in a department store where there was an active shooter. He said he had a clear shot at the shooter but there were other people hiding in between the clothing racks and counters. He was afraid if he took a shot someone would move or get up to see where the shooter was so he didn't feel comfortable doing that. I call that a smart guy with a gun and I'm not sure about the majority of people carrying guns. The first thing I would do if I were in that parking lot you talked about, is call 911 and call to warn the store whose parking lot they were in. I would not be carrying a gun.
We have more guns in this country than we have people. We now have 120.5 guns for every 100 people and we sure as hell are not safer. All republicans talk about is mental health and hardening school's. You can harden every school in the country and our kids will still not be safe. There will always be a shooter who figures out how to get in. Because a person has to want mental healthcare for it to work we really can't count on that helping. There are too many "gun nuts" in this country who value their guns more than anything else and will kill to keep them.
I am sorry to hear you pushing you gun beliefs onto your students. Sometimes all a person needs is a little encouragement to get a gun and carry it to do evil things. Call it an assault weapon, an AR-15 or whatever you want. Makes no difference. A lot of people have been killed by them.
Did you see the 60 Minutes episode about assault weapons and see the difference between the damage done by a hand gun and an AR-15? The AR-15 explodes inside the flesh-like gel they shot it through. Those babies in Uvalde could not be identified without DNA. They had been shot more than once. Imagine living with that image of your child for the rest of your life. No wonder people are getting angry.
I think this has become an extremely racist country and their presence at the Capital on Jan 6 is proof of that. It appears these extremest are on the right and no matter what mental health laws are put in place that will not change. More than one of the recent shootings have been against the black community.
Let's say the schools are all protected and evil can't get in. I guarantee you they will just take their AR-15's and go to grocery stores or places where they can walk right in. Until these guns are banned, nothing will change. That is the weapon of choice.
Norma Gould
The only belief that I am “pushing” is self-reliance. The ONLY PERSON responsible for your personal defense and protection is the person you look at in the mirror each and every day. I have no problem with that at all – it is as it should be. You seem to have chosen to remain defenseless – as is your right. You mentioned my little parking lot scenario and for you it played out in your mind as you first calling 911 – I assume to get help – and you then called the store to tell them they had a problem in their parking lot. And, of course, you specifically stated you would NOT have a gun – gotcha. I would imagine playing this forward in your mind’s eye the police quickly arrived and either scared off or arrested the evil doers. Cool. Let’s call the land that this scenario played out in “Fantasy Land” – you went home safe and sound. Perhaps it went like this.
You’re walking to your car, arms full of goodies and the nasty people jump out waving machetes and demanding your purse, cell and car keys. I can see the conversation going something like this . . .
You: Gentlemen, you know this type of behavior is illegal. I’m going to set my bags down, call 911 and the store!! Just stay right there!!!
Bad Guys – since they are “bad guys” they’re probably white racists as well – wouldn’t you just know!!! Let’s call them Fred and Tom . . .
Fred: Hey, Tom – she seems pretty upset with our machete waving and all, she’s called the cops. What should we do???
Tom: Well, you know their response time is kinda slow, up to 30 minutes in this area. We got a couple of camp chairs in the van – let’s get them out and we’ll just have to wait for the police to arrive.
Both agree, chairs are fetched, set up, probably an adult beverage is taken from a cooler and Fred and Tom sit quietly until the police arrive.
And as I suspected earlier – Fred and Tom went to the slammer and you stuck your goodies in the car and headed home with a heck of a story to tell the gals at coffee the next morning!!!
Now, let’s move to the land most of us inhabit – Da Real World – and see how this plays out. I see three different possibilities.
Possibility Number !:
You’re walking to your car, arms full of goodies and the nasty people – evil really – jump out waving machetes saying something like: Give me your purse, cell and car keys or I’ll gut you like a fish!!
You see he’s quite serious – hand everything over – and 5 minutes later your car, purse, cell and Tom and Fred are long gone with their van as well. You’re safe, shaken and walking back to the store to report your carjacking and robbery to the police. Within a few hours you’re safely back home. This would be your best-case scenario in this world.
Possibility Number 2:
You’re walking to your car, arms full of goodies and the nasty people – evil really – jump out waving machetes saying something like: Give me your purse, cell and car keys or I’ll gut you like a fish!!
You see he’s quite serious but as you are dropping your goodies and handing over your cell and purse Fred realizes that this carjacking is “Strike Number Three” – if caught, he’s headed to jail for a long time. And he realizes that if you walk away eventually, you’ll identify him. So, with a single slash you hear the wet splat of your intestines fall to the ground, a second slash severs you neck nearly to the spine and a third slash buries the machete in your head, halfway through your forehead. As you lay bleeding out on the ground Fred and Tom quickly leave with your car and their van while you roll the whole event round in your mind for your remaining minute with the sure knowledge that this just should not be happening. This would be the second-best scenario in this world – you’re dead but your suffering only lasted a handful of minutes.
Possibility Number 3:
You’re walking to your car, arms full of goodies and the nasty people – evil really – jump out waving machetes saying something like: Give me your purse, cell and car keys or I’ll gut you like a fish!!
While you’re dropping your goodies and handing over your purse and keys Tom looks at Fred and says something like – “Should we make a few extra bucks??” Tom replies “Why Not?” and whips out a SAP, smashes it against your temple and you drop like a rock – out cold. They pick up you and your stuff, throw you in the back of the van, zip tie you and drive off with your car and their van. Car is delivered to a chop shop while you are delivered to a regional human trafficker – a slaver. And, for the next 10-20 years you are a sex slave for their “organization”. I would consider this the worst-case scenario with pain and suffering being your existence for a decade or two..
With your current mindset you are simply prey in a world looking for folks just like you to take advantage of. Please – wake up, look around. You are your first responder. You are responsible for your own safety. Help is not coming in time to do you any good.
As for the fellow in the department store who had a clear shot at an active shooter – shame on him. I’m sure every person the shooter killed after he passed on the shot, wished he would have taken it. However, to be honest, I see a number of folks who get a permit, buy a gun, take a single training course and then carry their defensive weapon but never practice with it. Ever. It’s as though the permit and the gun become a magic talisman that is supposed to protect them. They never become a “shooter” but simply remain a gun owner and carry permit holder. That’s not how the real-world works – as this fellow and the victims found out.
I saw nothing in your response that actually deals with evil – so I guess you would simply prefer that we also act a prey and let evil have their way with us. MMMmm – no. I refuse. Norma – I pray the universe continues to be kind to you and that you never experience a visit from true evil. Peace.
I see nothing in your post that actually deals with evil either, Bill. Good guys with guns don't deal with evil. At best they deal with the consequences of evil, without ever approaching dealing with evil.
Bad guys will always have a greater incentive to get guns than good guys. Making it easier to get guns in general means you are going to load the odds ever more in favor of the bad guys, not the good guys. Evil will have the upper hand as long as we give the bad guys obvious advantages to have the upper hand.
Dealing with evil means several things. It means dealing with controlling gun availability in a reasonable way. It means heavily funding working anti-poverty programs. It means elevating the worst performing schools. It means funding mental health programs and sciences (rather than defunding as our current state government has done). It means requiring gun safety training on a routine and frequent basis (not every five years, not a four hour class, not a class where you don't even shoot under trained observation). It means requiring permits proving you are up to date on such training before you can buy a firearm, and particularly before you are allowed to conceal carry.
Later
Dave
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/06/13/biden-senior-climate-and-energy-policy-advisor-demands-social-media-companies-immediately-block-content-identifying-biden-policy-as-source-of-energy-inflation/#more-234090