As we look back on the tragedy of 12/14/12….we know we need to make massive changes. We cannot continue to have children murdered in their classrooms. How we accomplish this will be the topic of much discussion. It always is. But remember this: we must not fall asleep at the switch. It is OUR responsibility, every single one of us, to protect the small and the weak from the people unable or unwilling to behave.
Eleanor Roosevelt said:
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts”.
Makes you sit up and take notice, right? I believe this goes beyond just changing access to guns. It also goes to funding for mental health treatment. Have a peaceful day.
Believe Anyway 
Yes…. as you wrote: ” It is OUR responsibility, every single one of us, to protect the small and the weak from the people unable or unwilling to behave.”….yes…to do whatever each of us can do, in whatever way we are able to do it, in as timely a manner as possible… to do something.
amen to that my friend. we must. it begins with each of us…as simple as not condoning bullying to i don’t know what all we must do, but we must be the change.
Bless you, Kate. We all need a great deal of prayer. THis is really a troubling time. oxo
prayer, prayer, and more prayer. extra time for love, compassion, understanding……..
I understand that there is a large section of Congress that refuses to allow any changes made to gun laws..I think that the people of the USA should stand up , shoulder to shoulder and fight against these people who want to retain murder weapons on the streets of America…There have been too many of these incidents, year after year…the people of USA are the only ones who can force the stop by relentless pressure and demonstration
need changes in our approach to treating mental illness as well…and dealing with bullying….every one of the incidents have had something to do with one or more of these things….and if it hadn’t been guns it could have been fire, fertilizer, or other things. agreed there have been too many…
Yes. In China, they use hatchets and knives on the little ones. In Rwanda, it’s machetes. On 9/11 it was box openers. Any tool can be a murder weapon. It’s about the hands than wield them.
AMEN…..the hands that wield them are disturbed. Treatment, societal focus, and so many other things and laws have made our culture a culture of death and wrong living. it isn’t surprising then that someone already disturbed would then leap to massive killings….rooting it out and changing it is going to take a lot more than gun control laws.
I love you Kate for this post! I love also that you used my all time favorite Eleanor Roosevelt quote
It is sad thing when a lobbyist as strong as The NRA can hood wink this country’s representatives and senators into believing that this should be our modern day history.
I get and will grant that our past history of the wild west of the old USA might have warranted holding personal hand guns even for protection. But what is our excuse today? .
You rarely hear about the criminal being shot by a home owner in defense of herself, family & or property. I wonder why then we allow guns and assault rifles. …shrugging my shoulders,
I am on my soapbox today standing tall. ~Love to you & yours my beautiful Kate.
love to you, too. the reason you don’t hear about criminals being shot by someone in self-defense is that it doesn’t make good print or copy. both sides of the issue have a horse in the race. if they banned guns it wouldn’t stop these acts. the ones that do these acts will find another way.
the culture of death, and the coarsening of society continues to tear things apart. these lost souls who do these acts are highly disturbed. banning guns won’t change those people. i’m not sure what will (except for prayer, and competent compassionate mental health treatment).
well said. so well said.
thanks. i appreciate that,….
This is so true Kate. Thanks for sharing.
thanks Dor…you are welcome.
There are people who have vested interests in the gun production and gun trade. And why produce assault weapons in such huge quantity? The question is: Are all the guns registered and under the control of a responsible adult? The person who has the gun license is obligated to keep his gun under lock and key at all times. People who show signs of mental illness should under no circumstances have access to guns! I know, this is wishful thinking. . . . .
And I very much agree with you, Kate, that there should be funding for mental health treatment. We should never neglect to talk to young people. It is very regrettable when a young person goes through the educational system for years and years and is never able to talk to a responsible adult about any problems they might have. Regrettably parents may not be able to show all their children the love they so desperately crave.
the registration laws vary from state to state i think. but even if the gun is under lock and key, someone can get at them if he wants to…no matter how many layers of protection there are. I guess the question then becomes, who defines what the signs of mental illness are and whether or not a particular individual displays them. if they have been in treatment and are doing better, then what? who has access to these records? if someone in authority wants to prevent certain groups of people from having access to guns (because for instance they disagree with them politically)—and they then create “proof” that those people are “mentally ill”—what then? As we know, not everyone that is “in charge” is pure either. It is a messy complicated situation. i do not know WHAT the solution is, that is for sure.