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| Names of the Newtown victims |
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| My deportation headlines 2012 in Canadian dailies |
As a Medical Reporter, the impact is huge and the mental damage is even bigger. It is one year since our children were gunned down by a young man troubled within himself called Adam Lanza. He also killed his mother, a teacher at the school and also other teachers.
A Gun lobbyist wrote in USA Today: After the Newtown massacre everyone said, "We must do something!" So what did we as a nation do to prevent any future such tragedy? Virtually nothing. We squandered yet another opportunity to focus on the divergent gun-related problems that affect us. Did we examine how criminals obtain guns? About 500,000 are stolen annually. No.
Did we have the open discussion Vice President Biden promised about our failed drug policy and why it encourages gun violence? No.
Did we devise and implement a non-politicized firearm safety program for our schools and communities? No.
Did we examine the inadequacies of our mental health resources to prevent future tragedies like Newtown? No, we did not.
Instead, we spent considerable time and money on another silly "food fight" over so-called assault weapons that are rarely used in crime (less than 2%).
We reinforced the perception that Democrats don't like guns (or gun owners) and Republicans simply don't care!
What's the end result? The firearm industry had a banner year, proving once again that Americans vote with their wallets, not just at the polling place — an unintended, yet eminently predictable, consequence.
No wonder the American people are frustrated with our political system. Our "leaders" don't lead. They are fixated on their media coverage, not the policy implications underlying this complex issue.
No one supports firearm accidents that injure a child or an adult.
No one wants criminals to obtain or misuse firearms.
No one encourages suicides of the depressed or mass murders by the mentally deranged.
It's time we teach firearm safety and responsibility. It's time we remove incentives encouraging criminals to use, rather than avoid, guns. It's time we provide effective help for those in mental distress.
It's time we resume the nation-building here at home that made this country special. We must take into consideration our civil liberties as well as the risks involved in crafting suitable ways of allowing our criminal justice and health care systems to protect lives — all of our lives.
Yes, we learned a lot (mostly about the inadequacies of ourselves and our politicians) since the Newtown tragedy. But we must ask: Do we have the courage to abandon the politics of dissension and embrace the policies of reconciliation?
Richard Feldman is president of the Independent Firearm Owners Association and author of Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist.
December 14th 2012, truly a dark day in America.
Loved ones of victims of prominent and less-known shootings lighted candles, prayed, sang and called for legislative action Thursday during a vigil at Washington National Cathedral aimed at stemming gun violence.
Many of the 800 people inside the cavernous Northwest cathedral were gun-control advocates, including rabbis, imams, priests, teenagers who lost friends, and parents who lost children. The crowd seated in rows of wooden chairs included two busloads from Newtown, Conn., where one year ago Saturday a massacre of 26 children and staff took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Loved ones of victims of prominent and less-known shootings lighted candles, prayed, sang and called for legislative action Thursday during a vigil at Washington National Cathedral aimed at stemming gun violence.
Many of the 800 people inside the cavernous Northwest cathedral were gun-control advocates, including rabbis, imams, priests, teenagers who lost friends, and parents who lost children. The crowd seated in rows of wooden chairs included two busloads from Newtown, Conn., where one year ago Saturday a massacre of 26 children and staff took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Did we have the open discussion Vice President Biden promised about our failed drug policy and why it encourages gun violence? No.
Did we devise and implement a non-politicized firearm safety program for our schools and communities? No.
Did we examine the inadequacies of our mental health resources to prevent future tragedies like Newtown? No, we did not.
Instead, we spent considerable time and money on another silly "food fight" over so-called assault weapons that are rarely used in crime (less than 2%).
We reinforced the perception that Democrats don't like guns (or gun owners) and Republicans simply don't care!
What's the end result? The firearm industry had a banner year, proving once again that Americans vote with their wallets, not just at the polling place — an unintended, yet eminently predictable, consequence.
No wonder the American people are frustrated with our political system. Our "leaders" don't lead. They are fixated on their media coverage, not the policy implications underlying this complex issue.
No one supports firearm accidents that injure a child or an adult.
No one wants criminals to obtain or misuse firearms.
No one encourages suicides of the depressed or mass murders by the mentally deranged.
It's time we teach firearm safety and responsibility. It's time we remove incentives encouraging criminals to use, rather than avoid, guns. It's time we provide effective help for those in mental distress.
It's time we resume the nation-building here at home that made this country special. We must take into consideration our civil liberties as well as the risks involved in crafting suitable ways of allowing our criminal justice and health care systems to protect lives — all of our lives.
Yes, we learned a lot (mostly about the inadequacies of ourselves and our politicians) since the Newtown tragedy. But we must ask: Do we have the courage to abandon the politics of dissension and embrace the policies of reconciliation?
Richard Feldman is president of the Independent Firearm Owners Association and author of Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist.
Suffer little children to come onto me, for theirs is the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. May their souls rest in peace. It was truly a tragedy for all. For Victoria Soto, I will never be able to understand how she gave herself to the children by throwing herself as a human shield in front of them. May God shower her and everyone we lost with blessings in heaven. A school under construction will be named after her. The Victoria Soto Elementary School.
With Files from the Washington Post.
