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Post by iamkristinl16 on Mar 28, 2023 21:30:38 GMT
These news people are just really annoying me at the moment. They keep questioning the response time of the police, as if it's the same as Uvalde. From what everyone is saying it was 13 minutes from the time the first call came in until they got there and were inside the school. The body cam from the police showed one police officer arriving...he jumped out of his car, opened the back of his vehicle and grabbed out his big long gun, and ran in the door after pausing only for a few seconds to talk to other policemen. Inside it showed them clearing rooms one by one until they heard gunfire and then they rushed toward it. The video clearly shows the police who have only a small gun giving way for the long gun guys, and it shows them rushing toward the gunfire. Yet the media keeps saying "was the response fast enough?" and "it was too late for the six victims" as if that's the fault of the police. I think in these situations if a shooter gets in and if there are people visible to the shooter then no matter how fast the response is it may sadly be too late for those victims who were visible to the shooter. I understand that the media is being influenced by the Uvalde response. But really, is this the moment to be aggressively asking this? I'm just annoyed. And I don't care for this reporter, Amara Walker, who is the CNN person in Nashville. The police chief had *just* finished saying that he wasn't sure where the victims were located when they were shot and she asked him the same thing again. I haven’t watched tv since early morning but this morning or last night on cnn they were praising the police for not hesitating to go in.
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Post by fkawitchypea on Mar 28, 2023 21:30:44 GMT
It was heartbreaking to see the officers with guns clearing the classrooms on their way to the second floor. But I was impressed by how prepared they were. The officers were fast and went straight towards the gunfire. Not at all like Uvalde. I do remember when ds was in school (he's only 19 so not that long ago) and they had drills every year where the police would simulate an active shooter situation and the kids would practice what do to do during lockdown. It is horrible that our kids have to live that way but the officers were well prepared and in our case, already knew a lot of the layout of the school in case of emergency. And the administrators/teachers outside were very calm and relayed important information. Prayers to the families.
EDIT - for clarification
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Mar 28, 2023 21:31:37 GMT
Reading this opinion from a college student, it occurred to me that maybe when enough millennials and Gen Zers hold political office, we might finally make progress on gun safety and reducing gun violence. They have grown up with school shootings, practiced active shooter drills and sadly, a lot of them have been traumatized by school shootings. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/22/school-shooting-college-fate/Yesterday I asked my 17 yo if he thought that there would be changes in gun laws when his generation is in charge. He said probably, but also said that he anticipates a world war in the next 5 years so didn’t seem that hopeful.
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Post by fkawitchypea on Mar 28, 2023 21:32:30 GMT
I haven't seen this but I am not surprised. The reality is by the time the police get there it is already too late. I'm wondering how they got in. If the doors were locked and the person had no relation to the school (other than attending there years ago) how did they gain entry?
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Post by Tamhugh on Mar 28, 2023 21:37:03 GMT
I haven't seen this but I am not surprised. The reality is by the time the police get there it is already too late. I'm wondering how they got in. If the doors were locked and the person had no relation to the school (other than attending there years ago) how did they gain entry? I thought that I read that the shooter shot out the glass doors. But the story can change as more info comes in.
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Post by gar on Mar 28, 2023 22:43:40 GMT
I haven't seen this but I am not surprised. The reality is by the time the police get there it is already too late. I'm wondering how they got in. If the doors were locked and the person had no relation to the school (other than attending there years ago) how did they gain entry? I thought that I read that the shooter shot out the glass doors. But the story can change as more info comes in. You see the glass doors being shot out. I simply can not imagine living with this in your lives. It’s beyond belief and I know you don’t need me to tell you this 😞
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Post by mollycoddle on Mar 28, 2023 23:04:51 GMT
Reading this opinion from a college student, it occurred to me that maybe when enough millennials and Gen Zers hold political office, we might finally make progress on gun safety and reducing gun violence. They have grown up with school shootings, practiced active shooter drills and sadly, a lot of them have been traumatized by school shootings. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/22/school-shooting-college-fate/I suspect that you are right.
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Post by monklady123 on Mar 28, 2023 23:21:46 GMT
I haven't seen this but I am not surprised. The reality is by the time the police get there it is already too late. I'm wondering how they got in. If the doors were locked and the person had no relation to the school (other than attending there years ago) how did they gain entry? I thought that I read that the shooter shot out the glass doors. But the story can change as more info comes in. There is video (a surveillance camera) that shows the shooter shooting through the glass doors and then climbing in through the door frame (because the glass just shatters completely). The police got in by using a key which I assume the person who met them outside had?
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Post by monklady123 on Mar 28, 2023 23:25:02 GMT
My question -- which I'm sure we'll find out the answer to eventually -- is where were the children? The police cam showed them going through several classrooms as they searched for the shooters and there were no children there. They couldn't have had much time to go into lockdown -- I'm assuming it was when they heard the door being shot out. How horrible. My worst nightmare as a teacher...where to hide the children.
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Post by Lurkingpea on Mar 28, 2023 23:40:50 GMT
My question -- which I'm sure we'll find out the answer to eventually -- is where were the children? The police cam showed them going through several classrooms as they searched for the shooters and there were no children there. They couldn't have had much time to go into lockdown -- I'm assuming it was when they heard the door being shot out. How horrible. My worst nightmare as a teacher...where to hide the children. I wonder if they were in their special classes or outside. The Republicans talking about locked doors. Kids go outside everyday. Several times a day. Since we can't lock the outside should we send the students out in bullet proof vests and riot gear? Locked doors. Quick police response. Lock down drills. None of those prevent children from dying. They may mean less lives lost. But they don't prevent lives lost. One innocent life lost is too much. Gun control is the answer. The Republicans were quick to save the children from drag queens and books and naked statues. When are they going to save the children from the real threats?
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dawnnikol
Prolific Pea
'A life without books is a life not lived.' Jay Kristoff
Posts: 7,878
Sept 21, 2015 18:39:25 GMT
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Post by dawnnikol on Mar 28, 2023 23:49:21 GMT
When are they going to save the children from the real threats? When the real threats stop lining their fucking pockets with blood money.
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pinklady
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,528
Nov 14, 2016 23:47:03 GMT
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Post by pinklady on Mar 29, 2023 0:00:38 GMT
Yawn, another day another mass shooting.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Mar 29, 2023 1:41:15 GMT
My question -- which I'm sure we'll find out the answer to eventually -- is where were the children? The police cam showed them going through several classrooms as they searched for the shooters and there were no children there. They couldn't have had much time to go into lockdown -- I'm assuming it was when they heard the door being shot out. How horrible. My worst nightmare as a teacher...where to hide the children. Could the children still have been hiding and the police saw no damages with other officers in hall who heard shots? In their attempt to get to the shooter first? The officers in the hall were vocal and probably could have been heard.. Just guesses, with no direct knowledge..
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Post by freecharlie on Mar 29, 2023 3:10:10 GMT
I thought that I read that the shooter shot out the glass doors. But the story can change as more info comes in. There is video (a surveillance camera) that shows the shooter shooting through the glass doors and then climbing in through the door frame (because the glass just shatters completely). The police got in by using a key which I assume the person who met them outside had? Our town's officers have keys to our buildings just like the fire department. Our office is bullet proof glass. You have to be buzzed in. I don't think that the doors are bullet proof. I will look next time. There is apparently a panic button somewhere in the office that triggers the lockdown with one press. Police are trained to come in and clear room by room. The police have to get there. They aren't on campus. Yes, it was too late for the six victims. 30 seconds would have been too late for the first one. We just did our most recent active shooter/evacuation drill. Each time we learn something new and get better at it, but...
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Mar 29, 2023 3:21:22 GMT
MSNBC Stephanie Ruhle just asked about where the children were. Someone thought they had been evacuated.. I'm just not sure. It isn't logical to have kids in the hallways during a lock down...
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Post by boys5times on Mar 29, 2023 5:16:12 GMT
How to stop this? I don't know what the answer is. The age suggestion? You can be mentally ill at any age, this sick fuck was 28. The 'bad guys' are going to get guns the same way they get drugs, illegally. There are already checks for those buying legally, in my state anyway. Are there states lacking in that? Regardless, from what I've read so far, this person obtained them legally. I also read she was under a doctors care for emotional disorder...should doctors report all persons that may be mentally unstable, if so to who and what could be done about it? Do the parents bear any responsibility, having a mentally unstable adult living in their house and not knowing she had numerous weapons? As I said, I don't know what the answer is to how to stop these tragedies from happening.
And I'll be surprised if I get any intelligent answers from this next question, more likely "fuck you's" and the like, but I am curious why no one is mentioning Joe Bidens comments leading into his speech yesterday after this tragedy at the SBA Women's business summit, talking about good looking kids in the audience and what his favorite ice cream is and how much of it he has in his freezer? Before even mentioning this tragedy? Shouldn't he have acknowledged that first and foremost?
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 29, 2023 9:34:40 GMT
How to stop this? I don't know what the answer is. The age suggestion? You can be mentally ill at any age, this sick fuck was 28. The 'bad guys' are going to get guns the same way they get drugs, illegally. There are already checks for those buying legally, in my state anyway. Are there states lacking in that? Regardless, from what I've read so far, this person obtained them legally. I also read she was under a doctors care for emotional disorder...should doctors report all persons that may be mentally unstable, if so to who and what could be done about it? Do the parents bear any responsibility, having a mentally unstable adult living in their house and not knowing she had numerous weapons? As I said, I don't know what the answer is to how to stop these tragedies from happening. And I'll be surprised if I get any intelligent answers from this next question, more likely "fuck you's" and the like, but I am curious why no one is mentioning Joe Bidens comments leading into his speech yesterday after this tragedy at the SBA Women's business summit, talking about good looking kids in the audience and what his favorite ice cream is and how much of it he has in his freezer? Before even mentioning this tragedy? Shouldn't he have acknowledged that first and foremost? If you watched a clip of Biden on Fox, you should know that the context was deleted. Biden was speaking at a small women’s business lunch and cheerfully introduced. His tone matched his introduction. The event had been planned well beforehand, it was not a press conference to address the tragedy. Furthermore, it was just hours after the event and not all of the information had been discovered or released. Democrats can’t win for trying. When they mention tragedies and the need for gun safety to prevent more of them, they’re accused of politicizing the tragedy. It’s all a deflection from Republicans unwillingness to do anything to reduce gun violence. most states have background checks but there are all kinds of loopholes for private sales and sales at gun shows. And some states just allow the sale if the background check takes too long. Which is exactly why federal legislation is needed to close the loopholes and standardize the requirements for background checks. Sorry, but the argument that you can’t make assault weapons illegal because criminals will still get their hands on them is just stupid. Criminals still get their hands on drugs, but no one thinks we should make cocaine or heroin legal. Banning assault weapons will not prevent every tragedy, but it will stop some. Age restrictions will not prevent every tragedy, but they will stop some. Restrictions for people with mental illness will not stop every tragedy, but it will stop some. There is no perfect solution to gun violence that will prevent every tragedy. However, that is not cover or an excuse for not doing anything.
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Post by mollycoddle on Mar 29, 2023 9:49:03 GMT
How to stop this? I don't know what the answer is. The age suggestion? You can be mentally ill at any age, this sick fuck was 28. The 'bad guys' are going to get guns the same way they get drugs, illegally. There are already checks for those buying legally, in my state anyway. Are there states lacking in that? Regardless, from what I've read so far, this person obtained them legally. I also read she was under a doctors care for emotional disorder...should doctors report all persons that may be mentally unstable, if so to who and what could be done about it? Do the parents bear any responsibility, having a mentally unstable adult living in their house and not knowing she had numerous weapons? As I said, I don't know what the answer is to how to stop these tragedies from happening. And I'll be surprised if I get any intelligent answers from this next question, more likely "fuck you's" and the like, but I am curious why no one is mentioning Joe Bidens comments leading into his speech yesterday after this tragedy at the SBA Women's business summit, talking about good looking kids in the audience and what his favorite ice cream is and how much of it he has in his freezer? Before even mentioning this tragedy? Shouldn't he have acknowledged that first and foremost? From my reading, and please correct me if I’m wrong, a huge problem is that there are not federal background checks for private gun sales, guns sold at gun shows, etc. most states do not have safe gun storage laws. I won’t comment about Biden’s talk, except to say that if you are more concerned about the order of his comments than you are about the fact that someone with a history of mental problems was able to acquire multiple guns, then you are part of the problem.
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Post by AussieMeg on Mar 29, 2023 10:01:04 GMT
Well the Fox watchers have wasted no time in blaming the transgender community. Yep, exactly what we feared was going to happen. And then there's donny junior: Deflect deflect deflect!
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Post by monklady123 on Mar 29, 2023 10:29:34 GMT
MSNBC Stephanie Ruhle just asked about where the children were. Someone thought they had been evacuated.. I'm just not sure. It isn't logical to have kids in the hallways during a lock down... No of course they wouldn't have been in the hallways. I meant where were the kids from those classrooms where the police were? The ones that showed on the police body cam. I fully expected the camera to show a class of children huddled in the bathroom as the police yanked the door open. I'm very glad that didn't happen, and that they didn't show us something like that.
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Post by monklady123 on Mar 29, 2023 10:31:54 GMT
There is video (a surveillance camera) that shows the shooter shooting through the glass doors and then climbing in through the door frame (because the glass just shatters completely). The police got in by using a key which I assume the person who met them outside had? Our town's officers have keys to our buildings just like the fire department. Our office is bullet proof glass. You have to be buzzed in. I don't think that the doors are bullet proof. I will look next time. There is apparently a panic button somewhere in the office that triggers the lockdown with one press. Police are trained to come in and clear room by room. The police have to get there. They aren't on campus. Yes, it was too late for the six victims. 30 seconds would have been too late for the first one. We just did our most recent active shooter/evacuation drill. Each time we learn something new and get better at it, but... Your office has bullet proof glass....but does it have assault rifle proof glass? I have no idea, but when I think of "bullet proof" I think of glass that can withstand an ordinary gun, like the kind that's worn in a holster. This has been going through my mind also as I think about the entrance to the school where I'm a substitute.
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artbabe
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,034
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:10 GMT
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Post by artbabe on Mar 29, 2023 11:38:28 GMT
My local news reported that the shooter is a woman which, I admit, surprises the hell out of me. Not that women CAN'T commit terrible crimes, but I don't know if I've ever actually heard of one being a mass shooter before. I could be wrong. Sometimes I can't stand to read the news anymore, so I might've missed it. Heartbreaking, and yet it's just another day in the life here. The Boomtown Rats song "I Don't Like Mondays" is based on a school shooting that happened in 1979. The shooter was a 16-year-old girl. When they asked her why she did it, "I don't like Mondays" was her response.
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pinklady
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,528
Nov 14, 2016 23:47:03 GMT
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Post by pinklady on Mar 29, 2023 13:19:21 GMT
How to stop this? I don't know what the answer is. STOP VOTING FOR REPUBLICANS! Thats the answer. Republicans are the ONLY thing standing in the way of stopping this.
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Post by sean&marysmommy on Mar 29, 2023 14:24:22 GMT
My local news reported that the shooter is a woman which, I admit, surprises the hell out of me. Not that women CAN'T commit terrible crimes, but I don't know if I've ever actually heard of one being a mass shooter before. I could be wrong. Sometimes I can't stand to read the news anymore, so I might've missed it. Heartbreaking, and yet it's just another day in the life here. The Boomtown Rats song "I Don't Like Mondays" is based on a school shooting that happened in 1979. The shooter was a 16-year-old girl. When they asked her why she did it, "I don't like Mondays" was her response. Oh wow, I've never heard of that. thanks.
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 29, 2023 14:58:45 GMT
Interesting connecttion and point about permissive or non-existent gun laws and threats to democracy. www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/opinion/guns-open-carry-concealed-weapons-democracy.htmlTo this I want to add a related point and make an argument: Permissive gun laws and ubiquitous open carry are more than a challenge to law enforcement; they’re a challenge to the very possibility of an open, democratic society.
We don’t have to like one another to govern together, but we should try to see and speak to one another as equals, so that we can debate, deliberate and disagree as members of a shared political community.
Guns, when carried as totems through public space, make this impossible. Whether they are carted to a restaurant or a grocery store, a park or a library, they send a clear message: that a disagreement might turn deadly, and that I, the gun wielder, do not respect you enough to refrain from the threat of lethal violence. This is especially true when guns are used to confront and intimidate protesters, as happened again and again during the racial justice protests and demonstrations of 2020 and 2021, according to Everytown, a gun safety organization.
The mere fact of armed counter-demonstrators brandishing guns at people they oppose is why legal scholars like Timothy Zick of the William & Mary Law School have warned that in our age of extremely permissive gun laws, the Second Amendment to the Constitution threatens to overwhelm and overtake the First. “The visible presence of firearms increases the risk of violence and death when exercising one’s First Amendment rights,” Zick and Diana Palmer, a part-time lecturer at Northeastern University, write in The Atlantic. “The increased risk of violence from open carry is enough to have a meaningful ‘chilling effect’ on citizens’ willingness to participate in political protests.”
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RosieKat
Drama Llama
PeaJect #12
Posts: 5,385
Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
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Post by RosieKat on Mar 29, 2023 17:10:23 GMT
How to stop this? I don't know what the answer is. The age suggestion? You can be mentally ill at any age, this sick fuck was 28. The 'bad guys' are going to get guns the same way they get drugs, illegally. There are already checks for those buying legally, in my state anyway. Are there states lacking in that? Regardless, from what I've read so far, this person obtained them legally. I also read she was under a doctors care for emotional disorder...should doctors report all persons that may be mentally unstable, if so to who and what could be done about it? Do the parents bear any responsibility, having a mentally unstable adult living in their house and not knowing she had numerous weapons? As I said, I don't know what the answer is to how to stop these tragedies from happening. The simple version of the answer to this is that you aren't going to stop them from happening. You still have some mass killings sometimes in places that have essentially no guns. Anyone truly determined to kill people can make it happen. Without knowing even the somewhat complete information, I would admit that there is probably very little that could easily have prevented this particular attack based on gun control alone. What you can do is help minimize how often it happens, how easily it happens, how many people are injured and killed. The most determined person can't kill as many people with a knife as they can with a semiautomatic weapon. We know that most people's brains aren't fully formed until the age of at least 25, so minimize the access to weapons for people under 25. Don't allow easy access to weapons for children or anyone with known severe mental illness. When people such as parents allow such access, hold them criminally liable. I'm not going to repeat the whole litany yet again. I have nothing against responsible gun ownership, but the key word is responsible. Again, we can never achieve a goal of zero, but why can't we try to get there? If we don't get there all the way, we will still have improved the horrifying facts and loss of so many lives. And because it is the world we live in, it is also important that we look at gun control as one part of a multipronged approach to safety for our kids. I mentioned them in the voting thread, but I'm a big fan of Stand With Parkland, who does work to address gun control but also works from several other angles to help our kids stay safe.
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Post by jovifan on Mar 29, 2023 17:32:05 GMT
The body cam footage I've just watched is devastating...I'm crying on behalf of those babies, their parents, the teachers.... and those brave officers who seemed to have acted fast and bravely to find the killer. How can those politicians live themselves and sleep at night for denying at least some basics checks and laws?? That was something....my heart was racing and had tears in my eyes. And man, did they ever move quick. SO much going on.....so brave of them.
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casii
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,464
Jun 29, 2014 14:40:44 GMT
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Post by casii on Mar 29, 2023 18:01:59 GMT
There's robust correlation to support that states who have gun safety laws, have less gun violence. It's not perfect, but it's a guardrail that DOES prevent a large amount of gun deaths. Rankings in states with gun safety laws vs states with lax lawsWe also used to have an assault weapons ban. Whether it was effective is a debate on both sides of the aisle, but considering the steep increase in mass shootings with high capacity weapons, the majority of us, even more than 50% of Republicans, are in favor of more strict requirements and bans. 1990's Assault Weapons ban history
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 30, 2023 0:44:12 GMT
I thought this was a really moving letter Gift article - no paywall www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/opinion/nashville-shooting-governor-response.html?unlocked_article_code=ng8ZtkO1HbyRUJV9LIlL2ugVXDMhSjT4mL3ZmWrbilgmpsam1toGbtad0_WC0Uk2l-TVKuqyn3hQVPj1ECsaLd-v2Y8g2OJCXyLkjjGTLAqDnPH3sIklESK4ROdCDEkBqv0psTt6tt0dL8lj0XD_OXInKkENB1k5GW1POJDCmBFumHm2pdN-mvKJln6kVvbwipeutcjSfbjEZSkwVioRXoyaUm0PAYs_i8nSkGp52MSqJ9-oNt1VWvLf3O-dhJ3DAPPpVhYS3VnmUnBNkmOBYm5aI-NhXv8ENbMkpa2fVJxT8ovROMMeIpfFiORz48PRGtyS6ltD8kQF_soLcSrVtIZCqBvOCoR-i0PLqtKr&smid=url-share NASHVILLE — Dear Gov. Bill Lee,
For more than 24 hours, I waited for you to speak to the people of Tennessee about the massacre of Nashville schoolchildren and the adults who gave their lives trying to keep them safe. These were your citizens. These children were your children. This shattered faith community is exactly the kind of community that gives you solace in your own moments of fear and despair. What would you say to them? To us?
What promises of reform would you offer? What vows before God that nothing like this would ever happen to another family on your watch? To another innocent child?
I waited to hear.
I have never had any reason to believe that you would represent my own views and my own values in the governance of this state, but I still had hope that the murder of children would have the power, however temporarily, to carry us to common ground. God help me, I still had enough faith in your humanity to hope that you might be moved by the obliterated bodies of these tiny Tennesseans to do something. To lead us somewhere better. At the very least to promise that you would try.
For more than 24 hours, you did not speak.
I live in a quiet neighborhood. In that quiet, it is possible to hear sirens from miles away. When the sirens started Monday, I was standing in my front yard talking to a friend. At first I didn’t even register the keening, but almost immediately it became an uncountable number of sirens. Police sirens and fire engine sirens and the heart-chilling sound of ambulance sirens.
For two hours, Governor Lee, it was nothing but sirens. Sirens going and sirens coming. Sirens loud enough to be heard indoors, and from every room in the house. Sirens in the background of every phone call that morning, as people kept checking in to compare notes. What have you heard?
That many sirens can mean only one thing, I knew, but I prayed with every cell in my body to be wrong about that. Please, God, not a school. There are so many schools in the first-ring suburbs — public and private schools, preschools and elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. Please, God, let it be none of them. Please, not one of them.
Do you know what people do after a sudden loss like this, Governor? They question every single choice they have ever made. They lie in the dark and wonder how one little shift in the trajectory of time might have led to some other outcome. Would a different school have been safer? What if I’d believed that story about a stomach ache? Should I have kept them home with me, never let them leave my side? Should I have quit my job and home-schooled them?
This is the heartbreak after the heartbreak — the way we all think it might have been our own fault somehow. Whatever terrible thing has happened, we find a way to make it our own fault. Everyone who has lived through a sudden loss knows that. I thought for sure you knew it, too.
However distant we might be from the epicenter of that school and the survivors whose lives will never, ever be the same, we are all broken by these images. Oh, those tiny, tiny children! Oh, their beautiful, beautiful protectors! How could we have saved them? What could we possibly have done to save them?
Every parent in the country, and everyone who isn’t a parent, too, is asking these questions. What can I do to be sure another child isn’t next? Why aren’t you asking it?
I ask it all the time, and I don’t even have school-age children. I ask because my husband is a teacher, because our son is a teacher, because my brother is a teacher and my sister is a teacher and my oldest and closest friends — here in Nashville and around the country — are teachers.
I am proud of all the people I love who have given their lives to teaching, but I am so afraid for them. I lie awake in fear for them. A person who accepts the immense challenges of teaching children shouldn’t be obliged to accept the responsibility of shielding them from bullets, too. And yet every teacher does exactly that. Every single one of them scans every classroom they enter, looking for the hiding places, testing the locks on doors.
There’s nothing they can do to keep their students, or their own children, from being next. But you could, Governor Lee, if you wanted to. You may be the only one in this entire state who could do something to protect our children. You could do it, if you wanted to.
You could support legislation that would ban assault weapons. I’m not so naïve as to believe that banning assault weapons would prevent all school shootings, but it would prevent many, many deaths. It would slow the rampage. It would give police officers — who even more than teachers are called to put their lives on the line to protect us — a fighting chance. Weapons of war do not belong in the hands of civilians. We all know that. You know that.
I’m not trying to talk you out of your support for gun rights, Governor Lee. You wouldn’t need to back down on gun rights. We can argue till kingdom come about background checks and registration requirements and gun safes and biometric trigger locks, and I’d be very happy to talk with you about all the safety measures you could support that would honor your commitment to gun rights and public safety both.
It was never likely that events this week would change your commitment to serving up every item on the gun lobby’s agenda, I admit, but I still had hope. There’s nothing “other” about this school community to hide behind, no way to pass it off as something that only happens in other places. Maybe you would see it this time. Maybe it would be personal this time. I kept hoping that your delay in responding was a sign that you were gathering the courage to do the right thing.
You weren’t, though. When you finally spoke, it was not to introduce a plan to reduce gun violence and prevent the slaughter of our community’s beloved children. When you finally spoke, it was to say nothing at all.
Margaret Renkl, a contributing Opinion writer, is the author of the books “Graceland, at Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South” and “Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss.”
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Mar 30, 2023 2:37:44 GMT
How to stop this? I don't know what the answer is. The age suggestion? You can be mentally ill at any age, this sick fuck was 28. The 'bad guys' are going to get guns the same way they get drugs, illegally. There are already checks for those buying legally, in my state anyway. Are there states lacking in that? Regardless, from what I've read so far, this person obtained them legally. I also read she was under a doctors care for emotional disorder...should doctors report all persons that may be mentally unstable, if so to who and what could be done about it? Do the parents bear any responsibility, having a mentally unstable adult living in their house and not knowing she had numerous weapons? As I said, I don't know what the answer is to how to stop these tragedies from happening. And I'll be surprised if I get any intelligent answers from this next question, more likely "fuck you's" and the like, but I am curious why no one is mentioning Joe Bidens comments leading into his speech yesterday after this tragedy at the SBA Women's business summit, talking about good looking kids in the audience and what his favorite ice cream is and how much of it he has in his freezer? Before even mentioning this tragedy? Shouldn't he have acknowledged that first and foremost? Again, there isn’t a magic answer that is going to stop all murders and mass shootings to happen. But we can do a number of things to reduce the frequency and severity. Many have already been listed in this thread. You also gave some suggestions in your comment, but all of the things you assume should be the law just aren’t in most places. In many states you can buy a gun very easily and there are loopholes for background checks. I have never bought a gun and will not ever, but I see signs for gun raffles, people selling guns on Facebook, and so on. I would bet those people don’t need to have background checks, even if you have to have one at a gun store. Also, red flag laws are not that common and are not universal. The ones I have heard about in some states are said to be confusing. President Obama had implemented a red flag law but trump overturned it when he took office. Again, there are a lot of things that can be done that don’t “take away all the guns”. It should be common sense that guns are just as regulated, if not more, than cars. At least cars serve a purpose and a function for every day life.
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