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Valentine's Day shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School. A Change is Gonna Come!
By mickielynn on 2018-02-26 14:59:32
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— 1
is Mourners stand during a
candlelight vigil, on February 15, 2018. for the victims of shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in
Parkland, Florida. RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images[/caption] [caption id="attachment_ 10931" align="alignnone"
width="600"] School
shootings in the US, in 2018, through February 14, 2018[/caption] In this article I'm not going to focus on the partisan and
NRA driven responses to what happened in Parkland Florida 12 days ago. Instead the focus is on why, unlike the Sandy
Hook shootings and the 17 other school shootings since January 1, 2018 this time there is a distinct hope for sensible gun
control. This also involves the outing of the National Rifle Association as the supporter Not of gun owners and their rights
but of the path to profits by weapons manufacturers. So first I'm going to suggest that the single most effective gun reform
needs to be the return of the ban of assault rifles and other semi-automatic killing machines.
La
But why can we hope for real
change this time in spite of the stranglehold that the NRA has had on the president and members of Congress through
financial support, propaganda and threats of primary challenges? Why can we hope that we won't be distracted by
ineffective measures floated as trial balloons to stop the process of reform? One major reason is the young people of high
school age and their families, teachers and survivors of previous school shooting who have the leadership, eloquence,
energy and intelligence to mobilize their pain, anger and frustration and begin a campaign to speak truth to power.
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Saturday's March for Action
on Gun Violence at the U.S. Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale attracted hundreds. Students, parents, teachers and government
officials spoke of the need for stricter gun rules following the deadly shooting Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School in nearby Parkland. (REUTERS)[/caption] This campaign already has momentum that will lead to a nationwide
protest on March 24, 2018 with several school walk outs between now and then. And these passionate young people are the
leaders of a revived movement for meaningful gun control. Not just raising ownership age a few years or banning
bumpstocks but outlawing assault style weapons and large ammunition magazines from ownership by civilians. [caption
id="attachment_ 10930" align="alignnone" width="600"]
by Steve Sack-Minneapolis
Star Tribune Cagle cartoons.com, 2018[/caption] Even though the Florida State legislature refused to discuss such weapons
bans these young people have allies in the state and in Congress.
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Sen. Chris Murphy: “This epidemic of mass slaughter, this scourge of school shooting after school shooting, it
only happens here, not because of coincidence, not because of bad luck, but as a consequence of our inaction.
We are responsible for a level of mass atrocity that happens in this country with zero parallel anywhere else.”
And they have evoked some surprising responses from gun owners as well. For instance this Middletown NY gun owner
who destroyed an AR-15 weapon that he's had since he was 18 and videotaped it to make his point. You can read the whole
story here with details of other gun owners who have done the same thing and what the responses have been. The NRA,
once all powerful is now losing some financial support and affiliations with major corporations such as airlines, car rental
agencies, banks, insurance companies and others that gave discounts or special credit cards. This will not compare with its
funds from weapons manufacturers and general fund raising but it's a sign of rebuke for their smear campaigns against the
students and the media. Here's an analysis of the models that our behavior in the world transmits to young people and why
we need to change the use of violence in our foreign and domestic policies if we want to change violent behavior by our
youth. If We Want Kids to Stop Killing, the Adults Have to Stop, Too America's rage-sickness trickles down from the top
By Matt Taibbi February 16, 2018 Finally on the local scene: a shout out to Schenectady Neighbors for Peace who called
together a small but powerful vigil in support of the Parkland Florida survivors and their energetic leadership for gun
reforms. Here are a couple of photos from their vigil on Friday, February 23rd. [caption id="attachment 10934"
align="alignnone" width="600"]
le:
Schenectady Neighbors for
Peace, Friday February 23, 2018. Local support for school survivors, photo by Mabel Leon[/caption] [caption
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Schenectady Neighbors for
Peace vigil in support of school shooting survivors, February 23, 2018. Photo by Mabel Leon[/caption]
