Posted on 12/16/2012 9:10:40 PM PST by EinNYC
Like millions of Americans, I watched the news reports from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and was horrified.
There are no words to express my sadness and outrage over the loss of so many young innocent lives. Politicians have rushed to offer words of sympathy for the victims, but Americans expect more from us. And they deserve more from this Congress.
Congress has ducked a serious national debate over common-sense gun laws for too long. While there may be nothing we could have done to have stopped this deranged individual from killing and terrorizing so many people, how many more tragedies must we live through before we say enough is enough?
We have an obligation to act and prevent tomorrow’s senseless deaths by coming together and ensuring that guns stay out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill. Gun violence became very personal to me when my friend, Rep. Gabby Giffords, was nearly killed at the hands of a mentally ill gunman while conducting the same type of “Congress at Your Corner” event I have done dozens of times in my career. Six people that day, including 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, had their entire futures taken away from them. I have seen too many parents’ lives shattered, from Binghamton to Brooklyn.
I will never forget the faces of slain 17-year-old honor student Nyasia Pryear-Yard’s parents, whom I met just weeks after being sworn in to the Senate.
My own two boys are ages 9 and 4, the same ages as many of the children attending Sandy Hook Elementary School when the gunfire rang out.
As a mother, and a lawmaker, I will not allow these tragedies, and the roughly 34 gun violence related deaths that happen every day, to go unanswered. We can no longer sweep the conversation about access to guns under the rug, it is time to demand real solutions. But in Washington, old and tired political battles have prevented progress. Like far too often in this town, partisans talk past each other, and nothing gets done. The moment someone proposes a solution, it is labeled pro-gun or anti-gun, people run to their respective corners, and nothing is accomplished.
Keeping our children safe from the scourge of gun violence is not a Republican or a Democratic principle; this is an issue for all Americans. There is no political ideology that finds this loss of life acceptable.
The mothers, fathers and reasonable gun owners of America need to take back this conversation.
The truth is that supporting the Second Amendment and reducing gun violence are compatible and consistent. Responsible gun owners vehemently oppose the kind of gun violence afflicting the streets of America. But when gun owners and non-gun owners leap to their opposite corners, we give up our ability to thoughtfully analyze the challenges and forge an honest debate.
As someone who believes in the Constitution and an individual’s right to bear arms, I believe the first place we should look for answers is in the Second Amendment itself, which says, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The words “well-regulated” prove the Founding Fathers themselves understood the need to have reasonable limits.
So we must come together around common-sense solutions. We should be able to agree that no American should have access to the high-capacity ammunition clips made for our military. We should be able to agree on closing the gun-show loophole and banning military-style weapons that have no recreational sports use.
And it is well past time to crack down on illegal gun traffickers and their criminal networks, so that we can stop the flow of illegal guns and reduce the violence that plagues too many communities around New York and across the country.
Every day, illegal guns are flowing into cities around the country. Here in New York City, nearly 90% of the guns used in gun crimes come from out of state, and 90% of these guns are estimated to be illegal. Yet while local law enforcement agencies work overtime to track down these weapons, federal law still restricts their ability to investigate and prosecute those who traffic these firearms.
The absence of any federal law defining gun trafficking in this country is shocking. We have thousands of laws, but effectively none of them are directly focused on preventing someone from Virginia from driving to New York City, parking their car in a parking lot, and selling hundreds of firearms out of the back of their trunk to criminals.
In this next Congress, I hope we can move forward the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act I authored working closely with Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, the Brady Campaign and New Yorkers to crack down on illegal gun trafficking and stop the flow of illegal guns into our communities. This holiday season many of us will gather around the table with our families to give thanks for our blessings. Tragically, some of us will be missing loved ones due to gun violence and illegal guns.
Let us honor these families and their loved ones by doing all we can to eliminate illegal guns and prevent the loss of even one more innocent life.
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLBRAND
A “Fully Automatic Moron”
It’s not the guns. Kids have had access to guns since America was born. This is *very* recent.
It’s the schools that make them ashamed of their race, ashamed of their gender, ashamed of their faith & *convinces* them they’re “just bad & inferior” because of something they have *no* control over & destroys their self esteem. It’s the violent imagery they are saturated with outside of school. It’s the complete *removal* of God & morality replaced by depravity & destruction. The left has crammed atheism, misanthropy, violence & homosexuality down the throats of our kids & some of them can’t handle it.
The only time these kids don’t feel like crap is when they’re the guy “in” the video game with the best “kill rate”. No wonder some of them lose touch with reality & try to go there in real life. THINK about it.
The left will never accept responsibility for what they’ve done because they “know” everything. Or maybe it is intentional, I don’t know.
Justice will be served when when they have a whole passel of adults who are bat guano crazy that they cannot control (after all) & who turn on them in their confusion & agony.
The bad news is that it’s destroying our country & destroying our kids.
Is it time for pitchforks & torches yet? Because if society hasn’t devolved even further back than that, we’ll be there directly.
This country would have more success stemming these acts of violence by removing from office the person responsible for the mass gun buying and prepping.
Gun salesman of the year now for four years.
...”My dear Blackirish,
While your notion that men should protect women and children is quite commendable, the fact is that most elementary schools are staffed almost exclusively by women. The custodians are usually males, but may not the best or brightest knives in the drawer. There would have been no ready cadre of armed men in Sandy Hook or most any elementary school I could think of”...
I do not know, but I’ll would bet there are many retired good men out here who are qualified with guns enough to be security guards in our schools. Many are healthy and well and would thrive on contributing something to the well-being of our society as well as to make a little money to help with bills in retirement. Seems sensible to me.
It’s not the guns. Kids have had access to guns since America was born. This is *very* recent.
It’s the schools that make them ashamed of their race, ashamed of their gender, ashamed of their faith & *convinces* them they’re “just bad & inferior” because of something they have *no* control over & destroys their self esteem. It’s the violent imagery they are saturated with outside of school. It’s the complete *removal* of God & morality replaced by depravity & destruction. The left has crammed atheism, misanthropy, violence & homosexuality down the throats of our kids & some of them can’t handle it.
The only time these kids don’t feel like crap is when they’re the guy “in” the video game with the best “kill rate”. No wonder some of them lose touch with reality & try to go there in real life. THINK about it.
The left will never accept responsibility for what they’ve done because they “know” everything. Or maybe it is intentional, I don’t know.
...”Justice will be served when when they have a whole passel of adults who are bat guano crazy that they cannot control (after all) & who turn on them in their confusion & agony.
The bad news is that it’s destroying our country & destroying our kids.
Is it time for pitchforks & torches yet? Because if society hasn’t devolved even further back than that, we’ll be there directly”...
You have seen the Lion and you have heard the Owl..Too bad the American press does not have the intelligence, knowledge or courage to point the real facts out to the American people.
I would be afraid that retired men would be too slow to keep up with the shooters. They have all, I seem to recollect, been young men. And I see so-called “security guards” in the NYC schools who could not keep up with an arthritic cocker spaniel. I would cringe to think of them (most are a bunch of dopes a half-tick above a life-long welfare recipient—a Walmart clerk would be smarter than they are) armed with guns.
“As someone who believes in the Constitution and an individual’s right to bear arms, I believe the first place we should look for answers is in the Second Amendment itself, which says, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The words “well-regulated” prove the Founding Fathers themselves understood the need to have reasonable limits. “
Actually, the most relevant part of the Second Amendment quote is not the one quoted by the good Senator - though who can be surprised at government officials focusing on “regulated” as the operative word? The most important part of the Second Amendment is this part: “being necessary to the security of a free State”
Just whom does the good Senator think the founding fathers envisioned we may need to secure a free state from?
The Second Amendment is ultimately a limitation on government. It should be no surprise that government should seek to remove this limitation, as it has neutered the 10th Amendment limitations on government.
what a pious asshole she is
if “we” are going to strip away rights, how about stripping the “rights” of mentally ill adults to walk around untreated and free? and even if they are adults, give their parents the means to identify them and get help, even having them removed from free society and placed into long term or permanent treatment
next let’s examine the content of TV music movies and video games marketed to children and teens....and strip the rights of free speech
where does it stop, St Kristin our protector
Thank God when our nation was in its founding Revolution the women whose families moved to the ever expanding frontiers were handy with guns, as were any children above about the age of 8
Many Israeli mamas are prepared to do what it takes to protect themselves and their kids and it isn’t because the menfolk arent up to doing it for them
even the tiny artsy types
Wonder why none of the liberals has wondered how a guy packing a long rifle and two handguns got into the school?
Seems like shooting him in the parking lot would have been beneficial.
“The absence of any federal law defining gun trafficking in this country is shocking. We have thousands of laws, but effectively none of them are directly focused on preventing someone from Virginia from driving to New York City, parking their car in a parking lot, and selling hundreds of firearms out of the back of their trunk to criminals.”
Something tells me if I tried this, I’d be arrested pretty quick...
It’s 2012 not 1812 Einstein. ...and do the woman in your life pack semis? Go to the range and practice? I don’t know any that do because I live in a place called realityville. ..and school teachers in the US were never expected to pack and aren’t going to now.
Your delicate artsy wife enjoys a nation built by tough pragmatic self-sufficient citizens, male and female. It is a modern phenomenon for American women to be weak and helpless and expect men to take care of them. A sad dilution of the gene pool of the tough people who came and founded the American experiment.
Israel confronted this problem decades ago realizing there are not enough police and military in the world to defend everyone against madmen. So people of both sexes need to be prepared to defend themselves and their own.
As long as American women have only locked doors as a protection plan, then they will have to suffer the consequences of waiting for male “responders” to come save them (note responders - by definition come after shtf).
That realityville has not changed since 1780 and disarming more honest citizens isn't going to make things safer for the artists poets and dreamers
Einstein
Dems want to ban guns because they are in need of keeping psychos on the street to vote Democratic.
OPEN BACK up the asylums for these psychos!
After the coming ban, the smuggling routes will be bringing us full auto rifles from South America!
It will then be time to give the DEMS a dose of their own Cloward-Pivin strategy by simply overwhelming the courts with full auto cases.
You know what? You’re a big fat nanny stater in your own right. Blathering on how middle age school teachers are weak because they don’t want to play Rambo against psychotic 20 year olds trained at gun ranges and desensitized against all gore through hours and days of playing ulta violent games. Get real Einsten.
Yes, we do. We must start by putting crazies away and keeping them put away, and by arming all law abiding citizens who choose to be armed. Anyone who cannot be trusted with a weapon should not be running around loose.
Of course, that opens the door for all who wish to be armed to be labeled crazy by the regime...
I've seen / heard conflicting reports on that. I've heard that the .223 was left in the car from some sources, and that it was used for all the killings from others. Has any fully accurate source been confirmed?
1.The media harangues us with constant over-the-top coverage with “expert” opinion.
2.Before the bodies are warm, the clown posse in Washington makes noise about how we need to do something.
3.Media gets distracted by another story.
4.Insane clown posse from Washington follows media to the next story.
5.Story is forgotten and insane clown posse gets their little pet bills put on hold.
We are almost at step 3......
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.