Tag Archives: school shooting

crime news

Parents need to stand trial, too

I had this horrible fear that the search for the parents of the boy who allegedly killed his classmates at Oxford High School in Michigan would be found dead.

They weren’t. Oakland County, Mich., authorities took Mom and Dad into custody and the district attorney has charged them with involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of the four students.

In keeping with my policy of not identifying the shooters in these mass slaughter events, I am going to avoid naming the parents, too. I believe they are as culpable in the event as the son who stands accused of murdering his fellow students.

I do want to salute the prosecutor for agreeing to level charges against the parents. They allegedly allowed their son to obtain the weapon he used the other day when he opened fire in the school. They, too, will have blood on their hands if they are convicted of the crimes for which prosecutors have charged them.

Yes, this is another dark episode in the ongoing fight against gun violence in this country. It sickens me beyond measure.

When in the name of all that is decent will this carnage end?

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Courage shows itself in Colorado shooting

A young man stepped up and saved a lot of lives this week when he rushed one of the shooters who opened fire in his suburban Denver, Colo., school. His name was Kendrick Castillo.

Kendrick drew a statement of praise from former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who posted this message on Facebook today:

Kendrick Castillo was killed yesterday when he tried to protect his fellow students during another school shooting. Castillo charged the gunman who entered his literature class, saving countless lives. He was just days away from graduating.

It is hard to imagine such bravery and selflessness from a teenager, especially when our leaders in Congress are so useless to stop the bloodshed in our schools. My heart is broken for Kendrick’s friends and family. We must recommit ourselves to making sure no more families have to live through such tragedy.

I believe Reich is being overly harsh when referencing teens. I trust he isn’t suggesting that today’s younger citizens are less brave or selfless than previous generations.

However, he is spot on when referencing the cowardice that our lawmakers exhibit by refusing to enact stronger sensible and constitutional efforts to “stop the bloodshed in our schools.”

Two suspects are in custody. One of them is a juvenile. The argument has begun about whether this individual should be tried as an adult. If I were King of the World, I would declare “Yes, by all means!”

As for Congress and whether there is a scintilla of courage in that body, I have given up hope.

Uncategorized

Gun violence erupts yet again

The nation mourns another tragic loss of life because of gun violence.

This incident hits me hard. I grieve for the family and friends of Emilio Hoffman, the freshman student at Reynolds High School in suburban Portland, Ore.

As of this moment, I am grieving for the community that I know quite well.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/emilio-hoffman-14-identified-victim-oregon-school-shooting-n127861

I grew up just a few miles west of where the shooting occurred. I attended Parkrose High School, which essentially is the next school district over from the Reynolds district. This one scares the daylights out of me.

Enough of that, however.

The more important issue is going to center on the gun culture and whether that culture is overwhelming the majority opinion of Americans who insist that government do more to require stricter background checks on those who seek to possess guns.

That gun culture also is arguing that the way to curb gun violence is to put more guns in the hands of, say, public school educators. National Rifle Association honcho Wayne LaPierre said (in)famously that the best defense against “bad guys with guns is to put more guns in the hands of good guys.”

Emilio is dead, as is the shooter, who hasn’t yet been identified.

The gun culture is going to dig in, of course, against those who want stricter controls. Those who adhere to that culture will assert that current laws are strict enough, that the Constitution forbids any control over firearm possession and that the best way to fight this epidemic of school shootings is to put more guns in the hands of “good guys.”

The latest shooting suggests that laws aren’t strict enough. I suggest also that the Constitution does allow for reasonable restrictions on gun ownership.

To the argument that we put more guns out there in good guys’ hands? No … thank … you.

First things first. Let’s learn about this latest bad guy and how — in all that is holy — he was able to get his hands on a deadly weapon.