Never Forget Newtown

As we suffer through attacks on our democratic process and daily grim milestones where thousands are dying due to this COVID-19 pandemic but that being said, we must remember the tragedies of our past. The horrific mass shootings that our nation has endured and Newtown was one of those tragic events.

Today marks eight years since 20 precious children and six adults lost their lives at the hands of a deranged gunman at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. Each year I post something about that tragic day and I do so for a couple of very important reasons and these reasons are both equally important.

1. Gun violence is an epidemic, even today
2. These children and educators had bright futures and their lives mattered more than “gun rights”.

These are two reasons that we must not forget what happened nearly a decade ago are vital in the conversation about gun violence in America. Even with the current pandemic and the other issues that our nation faces during these hard times, we must acknowledge the tragic shootings of our past and remember the loss of these precious lives.

Gun violence remains a problem in this country and with the re-election loss by the current president we are sure to have more attacks by right wing pro gun extremists and that makes fighting for gun control even more of a priority as we move forward. Newtown would be tragic enough if it was a one time event, but sadly, it is the norm in these country that has had so many of these mass shootings over the years.

The Trend of Mass Shootings has Risen Since Sandy Hook

Since Newtown we have had hundreds of mass shootings and yet nothing has been done to fix this issue and thus the problem of gun violence impacting us all and especially our children persists. It is sad that we have not solved this problem in the years since those little children were killed by someone who should not have had a gun in the first place.

This is a day that we remember those children we lost and the failures of our elected leaders to take ANY actions at all to make sure that it never happens again. We remember these precious children because they did not deserve to die and their families did not deserve to deal with the hate and conspiracy theories , not at all.

Unfortunately, the pro-gun people just care about keeping their toys, they do not care about preventing gun violence or about the many lives lost to it on a yearly basis nor have they ever. This is a public health crisis of epic levels and there are things we can do and we must do to change it and save people from dying. Thousands die every year due to gun murders, accidents, and suicides but that can change, it is up to we the people to change it though.

I indeed wear orange on that day every June to spread awareness on this issue and write about it quite often as the truth needs to be told about guns and how they take countless lives day by day. I am not sure just yet what can be done to fix this problem but I will speak on this issue and that is the epidemic of gun violence that must be dealt with in this country and it very soon as even in the thirty minutes or so I have taken to write this blog post countless of our innocent citizens have been shot and killed by a bullet from a gun and that is unacceptable.

Newtown was the Worst but Gun Violence Overall is an Epidemic

Over a million Americans have lost their lives since John Lennon was gunned down some 37 years ago. Over a MILLION! Now if that is not a public health crisis then I do not know what is. Gun violence has reached epidemic levels and yet the pro-gun people like to lie and say that gun violence is at a “50-year low”, it is not but even if it was it doesn’t matter to the families that do lose loved ones to this health crisis. After the tragic attacks on September 11th, 2001 steps were taken to prevent that from happening again, we secured the cockpits on commercial aircraft and upped airport security.

There are steps to fix almost every issue in this country, laws are changed to reduce drownings, to reduce auto fatalities, drug overdoses, and so many more public health issues yet with gun deaths we do nothing. In fact, we have made it easier to get a gun not harder over the years and now with Trump in office the laws are becoming even more lax. There is something wrong with this and it must change, it must change now too. The lives of Americans are at risk and while Trump wants to demonize Muslims and immigrants and build walls and deport people to make us “safe”, we the people know who the real threat is and that is those with guns and the National Rifle Association.

The American Medical Association and countless other medical organizations state the obvious and that is that gun violence is a public health issue and it must be addressed now. No, we are not “Anti-American” for wanting to restrict who can have guns and what guns they can have, no we do not want people to die, no we do not hate the constitution. What we do want is to save precious lives and prevent people from dying, we want to fix this health issue and prevent even more violence and death.

The Fight Must Go On

We must keep fighting to end gun violence and I hope on every June 2nd you will do your part, wear orange, and have your voice heard. I also hope that you will contact your representatives and senators and demand change on this issue because our children, our parents, our friends lives matter and this will not change without action, massive action.

Guns save lives the NRA says. “Law abiding citizens” have a right to “protect” themselves and their families they go on saying as well as the so many other things they try to feed the people into scaring them so they buy more guns but the facts are there, guns do not save lives, they take them. We know this by the thousands killed by guns every single year and the many more who are injured and broken.

The NRA has blood on their hands and now they want to have a guns everywhere agenda that will make us all less safe and our country much more dangerous, but we cannot say anything about it or we are labeled as a “traitor” or “Un-American”. I am sorry but I refuse to be silent about an issue that is so deadly and destructive for our country, I just will not be quiet as our fellow Americans are dying.

Never Forget December 14th, 2012

This day will go down as one of the worst days in American history and we must never forget it and those children. We owe it to the victims of this tragedy to not only always remember them but to honor them by fighting to change our laws around guns as well.

These kids had their whole lives in front of them and they did not deserve to die the way that they did. Since, not much if anything has changed and the same can be said for the tragedy at Parkland, or for that matter Columbine where the phenomenon of the school shooting first became a thing. This is a tragic thing for our nation that things have not changed in all of these years and that must change.

The way that we honor them is by voting for laws to restrict these types of guns used in these shootings and make it harder to pass a background check and so forth. Their lives mattered and we must take constant action to honor those lives lost, no matter what else is going on in our country. This is our greatest duty — to protect the children of this country and make sure they are safe in all places.

Today and all days we remember those precious souls that perished at Sandy Hook 8-years ago and we commit to fight for them and their families and make sure that they did not die in vain. Newtown will forever be in our hearts and we will never, ever forget them and how their lives mattered and were taken much too soon.

Newtown — we love you!