Tag Archives: gun violence

national news

POTUS speaks to two of three critical issues

Donald J. Trump went on the air this morning to offer the stricken nation his deep condolences over the latest school massacre that killed 17 people in Parkland, Fla.

The president offered on behalf of the nation his love and support for the victims and their families. Their grief is borne by the entire nation, he said. “We are one American family,” said the president.

He spoke also correctly about the need to address mental health issues. The gunman who opened fire at the high school had been expelled from the school for disciplinary reasons. He reportedly had exhibited some warning signs that went unheeded by those who know him.

Indeed, we do need to heed these signs. We mustn’t let them go.

Trump also spoke to the compelling need to boost school safety. That, too, is important. As the president noted, parents must not worry about the safety of their children “when they kiss them goodbye” each morning.

School safety. Mental health. Those are valid and important issues.

The president, though, left one critical issue unaddressed this morning. He didn’t mention gun violence. He didn’t speak at all to the need to find ways to keep guns out of the hands of those who exhibit the warning signs that the alleged gunman reportedly did.

Trump vowed to take on the “difficult issue of mental health.” Fine. What about gun violence, Mr. President? When in the name of political sanity are our elected leaders going to take on that “difficult issue”?

I continue to believe there are ways to toughen requirements for legal firearms purchases without impeding Second Amendment guarantees that citizens have the right to “keep and bear arms.”

That, too, needs a nation’s attention. If only the president had started that discussion today.

national news

We may never solve this national crisis

One of my oldest and dearest friends has just posted a message on social media that I want to share in this blog.

Tim was my best man in 1971 and has forged a successful career in law. I admire him more than I’ve ever told him, until now.

Here is what he wrote:

In everything I do in my personal life, my professional life, my Rotary life, I am a “glass half-full” guy. I am an optimist. I believe that things can and, with determination, WILL get better. I believe in the inherent good in people in all walks of life. All of this is true in every area of my life but one: To those who plead, through eyes filled with horror and tears, that gun violence must stop, I say: It will never happen. This country, with orders of magnitude more guns and gun deaths than any other country in the world, is too far gone. The gun lobby is too strong. The pathetic “2nd Amendment” excuse is too widely embedded. Our legislators are too deep in the pockets of those who profit from death. Over and over and over again I hear “We must take action to stop this!” and that is the news for a week, maybe two, and then we are right back in the murderous gunsights, losing more people to gun violence each year than in the worst year of traffic deaths. And the hand-wringing and tears is as far as this will ever get. I am so ashamed of what went wrong in our country, and utterly without hope that it will ever, ever, ever get better.

The massacre today in Parkland, Fla. has scarred us all. Americans all across the land condemn gun violence. They call for something to be done legislatively to end it. Nothing happens.

I fear that my dear friend has encapsulated what many of us have feared all along. There is nothing we can do now to prevent this kind of slaughter from recurring … again and again.

It is to our everlasting shame.

national news

Only platitudes from POTUS?

I am going to offer a comment that might create some blowback from those who’ll think I am picking too many nits.

So … with that, I’ll offer this: When is the president going to demonstrate an instinct to say something other than “thoughts and prayers” when horrific tragedy strikes?

Seventeen people were shot to death today in a high school in Parkland, Fla. The shooter was arrested and will be charged with multiple counts of murder. School-related gun violence has gotten worse in the past year. Yet the president of the United States, Donald Trump, promised during his inaugural address that “this American carnage will stop right here and right now.”

It hasn’t stopped. Indeed, some have suggested it has worsened in the year since Trump became president. Don’t misunderstand me on this point: I am not blaming the president for the spasm of violence!

The man, though, stands behind the bulliest of pulpits. When events such as this occur, it normally becomes imperative for the nation’s head of state to speak candidly, emotionally and with conviction to his constituents.

When the gunman opened fire in 2012 in Newtown, Conn., killing 27 people — including 20 first- and second-graders — President Obama stormed into the White House press room and wept as he told us of his outrage at the horror that unfolded.

Donald Trump has a young son who still lives at home with his parents; he has grandchildren. Certainly at some level he must feel a sense of horror at what occurred today in Florida. Surely he must be able to articulate a sense of dread and terror and offer some words of comfort to the loved ones of those who perished today in Parkland, Fla.

We hear, though, via Twitter that the president extends his “thoughts and prayers.” Well, many of us appreciate that expression from the president — as far as it goes.

Thus, I am compelled to ask: Is that it?

national news

Another day, another horrific tragedy

Oh, my! It has happened. Again!

What does one say about this latest spasm of senseless gun violence.

A 19-year-old man opened fire in Parkland, Fla., and killed 19 people in a local high school. Our hearts are broken. Once again!

The man was a former student at the high school. He was expelled for disciplinary cause.

As has been the practice of this blog, I won’t mention the shooter’s name. I don’t intend to give this maniac any more exposure other than to chronicle the incident for which he has been charged by Broward County officials.

I cannot yet fathom how this kind of violent explosion is allowed to continue in this country. The debate over gun control is going to commence in due course, if it hasn’t already.

Fox News’s Shepard Smith today read the list of the shootings since the tragedy that erupted at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. “Since Columbine in 1999, there have been 25 fatal, active school shooting incidents at elementary and high schools in America,” Smith said.

Twenty-five! Since 1999!

For the time being — and as the country continues to digest and process this tale of horror — I am left only to mourn and to pray for the souls of the victims.

Sickening.

national news

‘Family beef’ turns terribly tragic

It was many years ago. I was a young reporter working for a suburban newspaper in my home state of Oregon.

I asked a police officer: Which calls for assistance give you the most grief? He didn’t flinch. “Family beefs,” he said. You never know what to expect when you answer a call for a domestic disturbance.

This past weekend in the Denver area, that terrible truth about police work became a tragic reality.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call. A gunman opened fire on them. Five officers were hit. One of them died. The deputy who died was Zackari Parrish, a 29-year-old married father of two children. He died heroically in service to his community.

The four wounded officers are: Michael Doyle, 28; Taylor Davis, 30; Jeffrey Pelle, 32; and Castle Rock police officer Tom O’Donnell, 41.

The gunman was killed in a firefight with SWAT officers who entered the apartment building. I won’t identify the gunman because of this blog’s policy against revealing the names of monsters who commit these heinous acts.

Authorities say the lunatic shooter had a grudge against police. He ambushed the officers who responded to the call.

This incident goes a long way in demonstrating (a) the inherent hazards of police work and (b) the truth in the answer I received to my question about which requests for assistance give police officers the most anxiety.

Although it’s a damn good bet that no one could have foreseen the tragedy that erupted in that Douglas County apartment building.

May the four wounded officers recover fully — and may God bless the soul of Zackari Parrish.

These men are heroes.

religious news

Guns in church: strange scenario

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says it’s OK for licensed gun owners can carry their weapons into church.

Is it me or does that seem like the strangest of juxtapositions: guns and houses of worship?

Paxton issued his ruling in the wake of the Sutherland Springs church massacre that left 26 people dead in the worst mass murder in modern Texas history.

I don’t know about you but I am uncomfortable with the idea of guns anywhere near a church sanctuary.

Churches have option to say ‘no’

Paxton says churches, of course, have the option of banning guns on their property. I am going to check with the church my wife, son and I attend to see if it allows firearms into its sanctuary. I am going to pray to Almighty God in heaven that it does not.

Texas legislators loosened prohibitions on concealed-carry laws by allowing guns in churches. I am not as opposed to concealed carry legislation as I used to be. I feared shootouts would occur as road rage erupted into gun violence. Silly me. That hasn’t happened.

I just have this aversion to guns in holy places where people worship in the name of the Prince of Peace.

I’ve touched on this before. Here is an earlier post:

https://highplainsblogger.com/2016/01/god-wouldnt-allow-guns-in-church/

national news

The nation is still crying over this tragedy

This tweet was fired off today from a former White House secretary, Jay Carney.

He writes that his boss, President Barack Obama, broke down in tears over the news that came from Newtown, Conn.

A deranged madman gunned down 20 first- and second-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The president, who is “normally stoic,” as Carney said, lost his cool. He cried.

So did Carney. Indeed, so did many Americans when they got word of what had happened. I was among them.

This tragedy occurred five years ago this week. It was supposed to be some sort of “tipping point” in the never-ending debate over gun violence and whether there were ways to legislate a remedy that could keep weapons out of the hands of lunatics, such as the monster who committed this dastardly deed.

The fight, as always, centered then on the Second Amendment, the one that guarantees the right to “keep and bear arms.” Gun-rights advocates argue that no law could have prevented the Newtown nut job from getting a gun, given that he got the weapon from his mother — who he also killed in his rampage.

The failure to act in the wake of that horrific event made the president cry yet again.

And … yes, there have been other such tragedies since that terrible December day: Orlando, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, to name just three of them.

When can we stop the tears?

national news

Tightening criminal records checks: It’s a start

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn deserves an “A” for effort in trying to crack down on a tragic flaw in the nation’s effort to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

He has announced a bipartisan bill that seeks to strength the federal background check of individuals seeking to buy firearms. The legislation comes in the wake of the Sutherland Springs, Texas, massacre that killed 26 people at First Baptist Church. The gunman, an Air Force veteran, slipped through the USAF’s criminal records system when the Air Force failed to report to the FBI that the gunman had been convicted of domestic assault; he was given a bad conduct discharge from the Air Force.

According to the Texas Tribune: The Texas Republican’s bill, known as the Fix NICS Act, tries to ensure federal and state authorities accurately report relevant information, including criminal history, to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

“For years, agencies and states haven’t complied with the law, failing to upload these critical records without consequence,” Cornyn said in a statement.

The Tribune reports: The NICS database is maintained by the FBI and used to determine if a prospective gun buyer has a criminal record or is ineligible to purchase a firearm. The database became the focus of national attention earlier this month after a man fired an assault rifle at a small church during Sunday morning services, killing 26 people and injuring scores others.

Read the Tribune story here.

I fear this legislation might be too little, though, to have a significant impact on the huge numbers of guns already available for anyone to buy — legally or otherwise.

The bill under consideration has the support of leading senators from both parties, which suggests at least a smidgen of bipartisan outrage over the flood of firearms.

It’s a start.

national news

Mr. President, what about that ‘American carnage’?

Donald J. Trump is fond of trumpeting his own real (or imagined) skills.

The night that he accepted the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, Trump proclaimed that “I, alone” can solve the nation’s problems. Then he ran a successful presidential campaign, got elected, put his hand on a Bible and took the oath of office this past January.

The brand new president then delivered a dark speech that didn’t speak to the nation’s ideals, but instead recited a grim litany of heartache and alleged failure. The only line many of us can remember from that speech goes like this: “The American carnage is going to stop … right here and right now.”

Where am I going with this?

A president who boasts that he “alone” can fix any problem needs to explain why he hasn’t stopped “the American carnage.”

Case in point: In just the past few months, we have seen nine people killed when a terrorist ran over them with a rented truck in New York City; a madman opened fire on a Las Vegas crowd, killing 59 of them; another lunatic then walked into a Sutherland Springs, Texas, church and killed 26 more people.

The American carnage that Trump said he would stop has continued.

What has been his solution to any of it? What has he proposed to protect people from gunmen or international terrorists? Has the president produced any legislative remedies? Has he articulated the need to act to stem this violence?

I know full well that presidents cannot act alone, even though the current president said he can and promised he would. And that brings me back to my point.

If Donald Trump is able to do the myriad things he has boasted he could do, then isn’t it time he delivered the goods?

The man needs to spend more time, devote more attention and deploy his self-proclaimed immense intelligence to things that really matter — and stop wasting his time tweeting about football players’ protests and whether he did enough to bail three young basketball players out of jail.

national news

Does gun control doom 2nd Amendment? Um, no!

I believe we can start debating gun legislation now in the wake of the Sutherland Springs, Texas massacre. Correct?

It has commenced and there now appears to be some indication of public support for stricter gun laws.

A Gallup Poll reveals that 51 percent of Americans now favor increased regulation on guns purchases. Wow, man! Imagine that. Most Americans, according to Gallup, think the nation needs to legislate some remedy to keep guns out of the hands of madmen, such as the guy who opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.

Most want gun control

I am acutely aware that this is a complicated problem that requires a finely nuanced legislative solution. I am a supporter of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; I also own firearms. I need no lecture on how the Second Amendment has been interpreted by the courts.

The Sutherland Springs tragedy also brings to mind a monumental failure by the U.S. Air Force to report the gunman’s criminal history to the FBI, which could have prevented him from getting the weapon he used to slaughter those people in the church sanctuary.

The complications, of course, become evident when bad actors acquire guns from family members, or friends, or some fly-by-night gun seller looking to make a few bucks. I do not know how you prevent those crackpots from obtaining guns.

Is there a legislative solution that remains faithful to the Second Amendment? I believe one can be found. Somewhere. By someone. Somehow.

If the Gallup Poll is accurate — and I tend to believe it is — then our elected representatives have been given a chance to do what they’ve been unwilling to do in the wake of other horrific tragedies.

Of course, it would be a no-brainer were it not for the existence of that political powerhouse called the National Rifle Association.