Tragedy in Parkland, Florida. Another School Shooting
It was not long ago that we reacted to the mass shootings in Las Vegas or at Pulse nightclub. Senseless tragedies. Situations where nothing appropriate can be said, except this should never be allowed to happen. When it happens at a school and children are killed, its even more tragic.
Yesterday, it happened in our State, in our second-most populous County. It really hit home.
The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was the worst school shooting since Sandy Hook Elementary five years ago. Five years ago! Nothing has been done in five years! No gun control measures, no new laws, nothing at all!
Our politicians’ standard reaction in these situations is to say, “our thoughts and prayers go out” to the victims and their families, but what are their “thoughts” and “prayers” going to do to fix this problem? Florida politicians push useless bills to satisfy and enrich the lobbyists and themselves, but completely ignore underlying problems and turn a blind eye to empirical evidence.
As Judge Mark Walker considers the voting rights of felons in Florida, I sincerely hope the Court will recognize how meaningful and important this right is!
Ugh – look at what all of you are doing. Some say it is about Christian values (where does that leave non-Christians?) – some say it is about FBI and Trump is right in what he did – others can look at it as though Trumps erratic behavior and finger-pointing has handicapped our government agencies. Just cut it out – this is about tortured souls and the ease of obtaining weapons that cause massive damage in a short period of time. Think about this – what could have been done? It is a waste of time to point fingers after the fact – it is just smoke and mirrors to avoid fixing the problems. The young man DID NOT BREAK ANY LAWS until Wednesday. It is not against the law to make generic threats. Look how many times the local police were called to his residence in the last few years – I believe the number was 36 times – he was not arrested. Please stop promoting YOUR political agenda as a solution. It is not a solution – it is a handicap toward a solution. One huge step would be to stop making it so easy to get those types of weapons but it is not the only solution.
I think we need a combination of gun laws AND mental health improvements. FL gun laws are a joke – you have to wait 3 days and be 21 to buy a hand gun but you only have to be 18 and pass a background check to buy a AK15 and all the ammo you want and walk out of the store that same day! Gun control does not translate into abolish all guns – it just means to use common sense. A gun should be for protection or sport (hunting) – anything that surpasses those needs is not necessary in the hands of the general public. Just like with RSO laws we cannot predict or punish people for what they MIGHT do in the future but we can try to eliminate or curtail these horrible incidents. Actually some of the best suggestions are coming from the mouths of the young survivors
Politicians/lawmakers, being the mostly natural idiots that they are, keep focusing on sex offenses when there is an epidemic of violence and mental issues in this country. I guess they too should be to some extent included into the group with mental issues, seeing as they turn a blind eye to the real problems in this country, but push Bullshit laws that have no merit on people with any sex offense. Disgusting and pathetic. This country badly needs a revolution, a revolution against blatant stupidity.
I firmly believe that the root of this problem is the failure of the ‘family’. When I was in high school I had never heard of such an event happening. I spent part of the 8th grade at my grandmother’s in Western Virginia while my father was deployed overseas. The high school boys who had pickups would drive them to school with their rifles in gun racks in the back of the pickup so they could go hunting after school. They were parked in the school parking lot. Never a single problem. Back in those times I didn’t even know anyone who lived in a single parent home. Even though my mother was sometimes left to raise us kids while the Navy called dad away, we were always family. When dad passed away they had been married 59 years. We went to church on Sundays and both of my parents set a good example. Not many kids today can say that, thus we have what we get. Laws will not correct a ‘sick society’. Moral lifestyles lead by moral, God-fearing leaders is the only way it will be corrected…and I don’t see that happening anytime in the near future. Throwing money at it is not the solution. Only a nation that respects the Judeo/Christian foundations will correct the problem. Criticize me if you care to, and watch problems get worse.
Excellent Capt .
I agree with Capt. Munsey, people have removed God and basic Judeo Christian values out of the public school system, government, and their personal lives. There are in my opinion too many assault style rifles out there. They are designed for killing people, not hunting. There were none of these types of weapons available to the general public 40 years ago. Just a real tragedy what is happening in our schools and streets today. Also, I saw on the news where they are investigating how the shooter got past school security. They were probably preoccupied, worried about some sex offender dropping his kids off at school. That’s all they seem to be concerned about, sex offenders. Instead of concerning themselves with the more serious and pertinent threats that exist.
In this and all other similar events, the truth is that no law would have prevented it. Every state and community already has a ton of laws that supposedly prevent these things, yet they still occur. More frequently, in fact. New laws, which undoubtedly will come, will have no more impact than the existing ones.
So the accused in this case had a lot of disturbing things on his social media accounts. There are hundreds, if not thousands of similar postings, 95% + are no more than running off at the mouth with nothing coming out of it. Warnings are always blazingly clear after the fact, but what was LE supposed to do with it at the time? Arrest or civil commitment of all who post them?
The only answer is to increase security at schools, presence of armed LE at least. Unfortunately, that’ll come with a tax increase. God forbid legislators dig into office remodeling budgets or elevator operator salaries to pay for something beneficial.
Don’t be surprised if there’s a release that child porn was found on the accused’s computer, as done with the guy in Vegas, to give them an excuse to pass more ridiculous SO laws. Seriously doubt that’s the case in that there’s no room for sexual deviance in the mind so obsessed with killing.
Also find it ironic that this occurred in Lauren Book’s district and we have yet to hear from her. Doubt she’d say anything beyond the typical rhetoric already said. Fact is, she was powerless to prevent this tragedy and remains so to prevent future ones.
FACT: The 17 kids killed today were not killed by a strange OR a sex offender. They were killed by another kid…someone they knew…just like the 98% of kids abused.
It is a horrific event but the sad truth is that Florida is wasting precious resources monitoring people who do not commit further crimes – so called sex offenders! If those resources had been allocated to do real police work then perhaps this terrible even (or the next one) might have been prevented!
The simple fact is that sex offender laws are just “feel good” laws but do nothing for anyone except provide a whipping boy to publicly shame and to punish again and again and again – you can see why they call these ever harsher laws restricting sex offenders as “feel good” laws.
If the money wasted on the un-American sex offender registry (which has not saved 1 kid) had been put to better use who know…we never will know if this or the next tragedy but one thing is for certain and that is that the money is being wasted and many suffer because of the irresponsible and unnecessary way the government and law enforcement go after the “low hanging fruit” with sex offenders – SHAME ON THEM!
SexOffenderTruth.com
Yup I agree.
Marco Rubio who gets donations of course from the NRA just said on CNN that “gun laws wouldn’t of prevented the Parkland shooting. That if they were going to do something, it has to be something that works”.
:::Cough:::: The same thing could be said of the registry. :::Cough::::
I’ll tell you one thing, this will be an interesting Florida election this year. ” Never let a huge tragedy go to waist during an election year ” as politicians like to say.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/02/15/politics/marco-rubio-senate-floor-florida-shooting/index.html
This can be exactly applied to sexual offense laws.
“If it saves one child” ?. So who are going to save the kids from gun violence ?? What are people like Lauren Book and others going to do to honor these 17 kids that were killed by gun violence ? Are they going to pass gun laws in their name ? NO they are not. Not as long as organizations like the NRA and special interest groups with deep pockets keep filling the pockets of politicians to do their bidding. It is interesting – The 2nd amendment gives you the right to bear arms even at the expense of the lives of many kids that are killed in the cross fire. Yet, registered citizen’s rights are taken away and punished harshly way deep beyond their sentences forever – all of them in one blanket, even for minor offenses. Forever.
You want to see the registry and sexual offense laws go away quick ? Become a billionaire and fill the pockets of at least half of the Florida legislative branch. The highest donor contributor, wins the politician as a puppet. Sad, but true.
What has happened has just justified Trumps firing of top FBI heads. They have failed the American people. They are so infatuated with what the Russian s are doing in politics they are overlooking the safety of the people there supposed to protect. They say this fell through the cracks . I say it wasn’t caught because someone saying there going to be a school shooter wasn’t important enough to get there attention. If he had said he was a so he would have been found and stopped within 24 hrs.They can’t see the forest for the trees
I’m very sorry for the victims and families of this senseless tragedy.Someone knew this person wasn’t right mentally and that he had guns and didn’t step forward.I lived at a time when young people left there guns in there cars or trucks or home and settled there differences with fists. To use weapons was cowardly. Who changed that?
Let’s fix this the Marci Horowitz and Ron Book way.
Everyone that has a gun must register on a public registry, list all your vehicles that you drive or have access to,never go within 1000ft of a school. Notify police if you go out of state within 24 hrs . You can’t live within 2500 ft of anywhere there are kids. Once you are on this list you will never be removed. We’ll put a notification on your drivers license and passport so you will be sure and be harassed by everyone who sees it.You won’t be able to get a job because every employer will be afraid of what others will think. Because everyone knows that if you have a gun you have killed someone ,probably hundreds of people,it just wasn’t reported because people with guns have supernatural powers and can walk through walls become invisible at will and many other things. You must go in every 90 day check in with the police dept., so they can humiliate you and waste about 4 or 5 hrs of your time because they don’t have time to deal with you. Then every few yrs we will add more restrictions to this bill for that will surely fix the problem and make me look better too.All this is absolutely necessary for the safety of the children . If you don’t go along with this ,it’s because you hate kids and want to kill them.
Thank You
Ron and Marci.
Mentality
You are so right. Laws against sex offenders are always welcome… Laws about weapons cause such an outcry yet more innocent children are harmed by them every day. But that’s not critical enough to change laws…
Doesn’t make sense to me.
Bea,
Shootings are the third leading cause of death for U.S. children. Researchers found that 53 percent of the gun-related deaths were homicides, while 38 percent were suicides, 6 percent were unintentional and 3 percent were related to law enforcement or undetermined causes (see: http://www.newsweek.com/guns-kids-third-leading-cause-death-627209).
According to the NHTSA, In 2014, a total of 1,070 children 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of these 1,070 fatalities, 209 children (19%) died in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes.
But do we do anything about these things?
But they can always do something – creating new laws and restrictions – trying to protect children from sex offenders. It’s never a problem or issue….how fair is that? Completely unfair and not based on true facts in addition….and they don’t work. Why not creating laws that actually work and there is proof???
Weapon laws all over the world are a proof.
I agree. That’s what our politicians do.
I grew up around guns, my father was in the service and showed me the proper way to handle and fire the weapons. i say that because it was how i was raised that the world can know i will never ever nor any of my siblings ever shoot up anything. i say that because most of the mass shootings are happening in the past roughly 10 years and that is a society of people being brought up on the “everyone is a winner” or “don’t keep score” or “don’t discipline your child medicate them instead”. when that type of mentality is applied to children when they hit real society or they get picked on by fellow classmates, they becomes a loaded gun. they have no idea how to handle the real world and incidents like this one happen. the mental state of these shooters is that of people who have found out not everyone is a winner and not everyone gets a trophy and the real world is hard and don’t know how to handle it. Gun control? more baby the future laws? how about a law that’s been around forever. “spare the rod spoil the child” when this law was being applied to society there were no school/mass shootings. i did not lose my right to bear arms in my case thank god and i can tell the world without pause that i or anyone in my family will ever be involved in anything like what happened yesterday because we were and are being taught what real life is about and what to expect.
why everyone in society goes right to more laws and regulation when all we need is a little more discipline in this country is beyond me. Its all the laws and regulation that started this whole mess in the first place and two wrongs dont make a right.(see RSO’S laws and regulations)
Marci “Hamilton”, not Horowitz.
Sorry thank you for the correction