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| Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre. My wish is that NewTown will give birth to a NewTime in this land of the gun? I visited this small Connecticut town on Christmas Eve, 10 days after a 20 year old man with a semi-automatic assault rifle shot and killed 20 very young children and 6 adult staff just minutes after they arrived for class. =========== Now hardly three months later the politicians seem to have lost their fiber to carry out the wishes of the majority of Americans, to outlaw these military style mass killing machines. Copyright 2012 - Colin Andrews March 20, 2013 |
| The wikipedia page for this horrendous incident is HERE. This mass killing was carried out by a troubled young man with a semi-automatic assault gun, designed for military use. 20 young children ranging from six to seven years of age were mowed down along with six staff. This outrage was felt throughout the country and many expressed they thought it would be a turning point in gun laws within the USA. All photographs seen here were taken by Colin Andrews on Christmas Eve 2012: Copyright 2012 Colin Andrews. |
| The outpouring was huge, much of it from around the world. On the right from Sally Cox, the Sandy Hook school nurse. |
| Sandy Hook school, Newtown, Connecticut is about 35-40 minute drive from our home. I decided that the moment I returned from my presentation on-board the Carnival Cruise ship 'Triumph' I would drive to Newtown to express my own deep inner sadness and to meditate with the community on Christmas Eve. This should have been a joyful and special time for the 20 very young children and their families and also the six teachers and staff. The grief was palatable and visible everywhere. |
| The small Diner in the main street near the cross roads leading to the elementary school - closed then to all traffic as the investigation continued at the school a few hundred yards away. |
| It was impossible not to be deeply emotionally affected by the thousands of toys and messages left at the roadside, outside stores, the fire house and in residents gardens. This one the book 'The Night Before Christmas. |
| Many expressed concerns and anger like this above The National Rifle Association (NRA) stepped up loud opposition to the proposed new gun laws being proposed by some in congress and also President Obama, these included banning this type of semi-automatic assault weapons. The NRA President calously called the outcry caused by the Newtown killings, 'The Connecticut Effect' and suggesting it would soon calm down. |
| Sandy Hook Fire House, the place parents rushed to hear the dreaded news that their child was one of those gunned down - there were no survivors from those hit. The fire house is close to the entrance to the school and a familiar place seen by the children as they arrive and leave the school. For those 26 who arrived on the 14th December, 2013 it would be the last. A desperately sad and unacceptable day ingrained in human-kinds history. Another man, another gun and another tragedy - Colin Andrews |
| As sunset approached on Christmas Eve, families arrived for another service for their loved ones - The moon also arrived as I stood, above the local church spire. The town had pulled together as one to help those in shock and bewilderment through this unbearable time. |
| I sense that "The Connecticut Effect" is not going away any day soon. |
| A Christmas sock and angel for each child, teacher and staff killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 14th December, 2012 - The Sandy Hook Cemetery. Copyright 2012 Colin Andrews |
| Spineless pols spit on the graves of Newtown victims by not pushing for assault weapons ban The Daily News, New York March 19th, 2013 This is what an emotional President Obama said in a gym in Newtown, Conn., on a Sunday night in December, two days after 26 people — 20 of them children — were murdered in cold blood by Adam Lanza, all of the killing done by a semiautomatic rifle called the AR-15: “We can’t tolerate this anymore. We are not doing enough and we will have to change.” Then he looked out into the audience and into the faces of the families of the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School and said this to them, and to the country: “I’ll use whatever power this office holds ... in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this.” . . . . . . . But what does the President say now to the families of the victims of Sandy Hook, and Aurora, Colo., and all the other victims of mass murders and glory killers in this country? What does he say now that it becomes clear that a ban on assault weapons won’t even be legitimately included in the gun legislation being shaped this week in the U.S. Senate? Any fool knows that Lanza couldn’t possibly have killed as many children as quickly as he did on the morning of Dec. 14 without an assault weapon in his hands. So how does the President and any other big politician who allows the gun nuts from the National Rifle Association to win again answer the larger question about weapons that make killings like the elementary-school massacre ridiculously easy: Full Story HERE Another Tragedy Averted - Just ON THE SAME DAY CONGRESS ANNOUNCED IT DID NOT HAVE THE VOTES TO PROPOSE BANNING THE SALE OF SEMI-AUTOMATIC ASSAULT RIFLE - ANOTHER MASSACRE WAS AVERTED BY MINUTES. ANOTHER YOUNG MAN WITH BOMBS AND A SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE WAS ABOUT TO OPEN FIRE AND BOMB MANY STUDENTS AT THE UCF CAMPUS IN FLORIDA...... The plan found detailed in his room thanks in part, apparently, to his roommate's 911 call and the quick response of campus police early Monday. Instead, he turned his gun on himself. Police found a handgun, an assault weapon, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, improvised explosive devices, and plans that apparently involved getting students out into hallways via a fire alarm – which was set off – and then opening fire on them. HERE. |
| What is an Assault Weapon? - HERE |
| WAUSAU, Wisconsin—The National Rifle Association will wait until the “Connecticut effect” has subsided to resume its push to weaken the nation’s gun laws, according to a top NRA lobbyist speaking at the NRA’s Wisconsin State Convention this weekend. Source |
| A call to arms for 'common sense' gun control CNN By Joe Sterling, CNN updated 12:50 PM EDT, Thu March 21, 2013 The drive for a tough federal gun control law has hit a political roadblock. But that's not silencing Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg. The loquacious vice president and the outspoken New York mayor on Thursday touted the "importance of passing common sense legislation to reduce gun violence," including the need for a stiff background check system for all gun sales. They joined families of those killed last December in the shooting massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, to push for new rules. They spoke at New York City Hall as prospects for a ban on semi-automatic weapons styled after military assault weapons appeared to founder. Bloomberg cited public opinion polls showing wide support for background checks, saying "there's no real debate" among Americans about this issue. He said nationwide background checks on all gun sales would save lives, and that the only question "is if Congress has the courage to do the right thing." A national requirement for background checks on all gun sales is needed because guns purchased in states with "weak gun laws" end up in states with stricter requirements, Bloomberg said. "We remain optimistic that Congress will take action this spring," he said. "There is no question that if this becomes law, it will keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. It will reduce violent crime. It will save lives. We know that's true, because in states that already require background checks on private sales, the rate of women murdered by an intimate partner armed with a gun is 38% lower than in states that don't have such background checks." The ban proposal, categorically opposed by the National Rifle Association, would get fewer than 40 votes, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday, far below the threshold needed to defeat a filibuster or pass the Senate. Instead, the ban could be offered as an amendment to the gun legislation on the Senate floor in order to get a vote on it, Reid said. Biden, who lauded Bloomberg's "immense" and "committed" gun control work, criticized those who say the proposals would violate rights. "Tell me how it violates anyone's constitutional rights to limit (ammunition clips) to 10 rounds," Biden said. "Think about Newtown. ... Think about how many children and teachers may be alive today had (the shooter) had to reload (more often than) he did." He worked to raise the spirits of people discouraged by the power of the gun lobby. Full article - Source. |
| Sorry Grace - The NRA Lied the Moment Away |
| Grace - 6 years old and loved school. |
| For the 'Grace' of God. The evil of assault weapons must end. Sorry Grace - updated bottom page |
| 6 Years old Grace McDonnell, a true beacon of light to her parents and friends. One has only to look into her loving innocent eyes and those of her extraordinarily brave parents, to see that the unnecessary evil done with such weapons has to be addressed and its our duty to do so. Where is our moral compass and for Gods sake who are we as a people, a specie?. |
| Updated: December, 23, 2015 - 3 years later - HERE |
| Updated April 24, 2013 |
Posted by ColinAndrews.net on April 24, 2013
Senate rejects expanded gun background checks
By Ted Barrett and Tom Cohen, CNN
updated 7:26 PM EDT, Wed April 17, 2013
Source
Washington (CNN) -- In a major defeat for supporters of tougher gun laws, the U.S. Senate on
Wednesday defeated a compromise plan to expand background checks on firearms sales as
well as a proposal to ban some semi-automatic weapons modeled after military assault
weapons.
The votes were on a series of amendments to a broad package of gun laws pushed by
President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in the aftermath of the Newtown school
massacre in December.
However, fierce opposition by the powerful National Rifle Association led a
backlash by conservative Republicans and a few Democrats from pro-gun states
that doomed key proposals in the gun package, even after they had been watered
down to try to satisfy opponents.
After the votes, Obama angrily criticized the NRA and senators who voted against the
expanded background checks for rejecting a compromise he said was supported by a strong
majority of Americans.
"Instead of supporting this compromise, the gun lobby and its
allies willfully lied about the bill," Obama told White House
reporters.
Noting polls that showed 90% support for such a measure, Obama called it a "pretty shameful
day for Washington" and wondered of Congress: "Who are we here to represent?"
He was flanked by relatives of gun violence victims as well as former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords,
a gun owner who was disabled in a shooting attack and supported Obama's proposals.
A statement by Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, said the Senate had
"ignored the will of the American people," adding that those senators who voted against the
expanded background checks chose to "obey the leaders of the powerful corporate gun
lobby, instead of their constituents."
To Erica Lafferty, the daughter of the principal of the Newtown, Connecticut, school who was
killed along with 20 first-graders and five other educators in the December attack, the vote
amounted to inaction in the face of a national tragedy.
"The next time there's a mass shooting and they're asked what they did to prevent it, they're
going to have to say nothing," she said.
- - - - - - - - -
CA Comment:
“The NRA lied to defeat this bill – Shame on them and shame on
the representatives who went against common sense and the
wishes of the majority of the people and unbelievably the parents
too who lost children at Sandy Hook. According to the irresponsible
and gauling NRA along with the nation who according to the
President of the NRA, were just suffering ‘the Connecticut effect”.
- - - - - -
Continued:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/politics/senate-guns-vote/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
A statement by Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, said the Senate had
"ignored the will of the American people," adding that those senators who voted against the
expanded background checks chose to "obey the leaders of the powerful corporate gun
lobby, instead of their constituents."
When the result was announced by Vice President Joe Biden, who presided over the
chamber for the vote, two women in the gallery of spectators shouted "shame on you" at the
senators.
"They are an embarrassment to this country that they don't have any compassion or care for
people who have been taken brutally from their families," said one of them, Patricia Maisch,
who grabbed the gun magazine from the attacker who shot Giffords and several other people
in Tucson in January 2011.
However, the NRA promised political retribution against supporters of tougher gun laws, and it
called the expanded background checks a first step toward a national gun registry and
government confiscation of firearms.
Obama called that claim misinformation, noting the Manchin-Toomey proposal prohibited
such a registry. He said the tactics of the NRA galvanized a vocal minority of gun owners
against the legislation, which caused some senators to flinch.
http://www.news9.com/story/22007565/background-checks-voted-down
So who voted against and why? Was the vote for their own agenda or the wishes of
the majority of America’s whose business in theory they are there to undertake.
Answer shamefully is very obvious, ie: Of the Democrats who voted against the
amendment, Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Mark Begich, D-Alaska, Heidi Heitkamp, D-
N.D., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark. all are up for election next year in 2014 in "red" states,
barring Heitkamp, who isn't up for re-election until 2018.
..................................................................................................................
Mayors Against Illegal Guns issued this:
Today, a majority of US Senators (55) voted for common sense gun reform -- but they fell
short of the 60 votes we needed to close fatal gaps in our background check system. That
means 45 senators -- representing less than 40 percent of the country -- ignored the
American public and read the talking points the gun lobby handed them.
Find out how your senators voted and watch this short video I just recorded about the fight
ahead.
Some senators deserve real credit for their leadership today. They include Senators Manchin
and Toomey, Majority Leader Reid and Senators Schumer, Kirk, Collins, and McCain. And
President Obama and Vice President Biden showed the kind of bold leadership we can be
proud of tonight.
But there are those who should be ashamed for the way they voted -- and how they lied to
hide their motives.
We never thought this fight would be easy or fast. This was round one. Round two begins
tomorrow -- in the Senate, in the House, and in state houses across the country.
You’ve already changed the conversation in Washington. Today marks the biggest majority in
the Senate voting for major gun reform in 17 years -- and there's no turning back.
Please watch this short video and seize this moment by telling your senators what you think of
their vote:
http://DemandAction.org/WhatsNext
Thanks for being such an important part of the first major round of this fight. I look forward to
working with you in round two.
Thanks,
Mark Glaze
Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Senate rejects expanded gun background checks
By Ted Barrett and Tom Cohen, CNN
updated 7:26 PM EDT, Wed April 17, 2013
Source
Washington (CNN) -- In a major defeat for supporters of tougher gun laws, the U.S. Senate on
Wednesday defeated a compromise plan to expand background checks on firearms sales as
well as a proposal to ban some semi-automatic weapons modeled after military assault
weapons.
The votes were on a series of amendments to a broad package of gun laws pushed by
President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in the aftermath of the Newtown school
massacre in December.
However, fierce opposition by the powerful National Rifle Association led a
backlash by conservative Republicans and a few Democrats from pro-gun states
that doomed key proposals in the gun package, even after they had been watered
down to try to satisfy opponents.
After the votes, Obama angrily criticized the NRA and senators who voted against the
expanded background checks for rejecting a compromise he said was supported by a strong
majority of Americans.
"Instead of supporting this compromise, the gun lobby and its
allies willfully lied about the bill," Obama told White House
reporters.
Noting polls that showed 90% support for such a measure, Obama called it a "pretty shameful
day for Washington" and wondered of Congress: "Who are we here to represent?"
He was flanked by relatives of gun violence victims as well as former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords,
a gun owner who was disabled in a shooting attack and supported Obama's proposals.
A statement by Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, said the Senate had
"ignored the will of the American people," adding that those senators who voted against the
expanded background checks chose to "obey the leaders of the powerful corporate gun
lobby, instead of their constituents."
To Erica Lafferty, the daughter of the principal of the Newtown, Connecticut, school who was
killed along with 20 first-graders and five other educators in the December attack, the vote
amounted to inaction in the face of a national tragedy.
"The next time there's a mass shooting and they're asked what they did to prevent it, they're
going to have to say nothing," she said.
- - - - - - - - -
CA Comment:
“The NRA lied to defeat this bill – Shame on them and shame on
the representatives who went against common sense and the
wishes of the majority of the people and unbelievably the parents
too who lost children at Sandy Hook. According to the irresponsible
and gauling NRA along with the nation who according to the
President of the NRA, were just suffering ‘the Connecticut effect”.
- - - - - -
Continued:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/politics/senate-guns-vote/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
A statement by Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, said the Senate had
"ignored the will of the American people," adding that those senators who voted against the
expanded background checks chose to "obey the leaders of the powerful corporate gun
lobby, instead of their constituents."
When the result was announced by Vice President Joe Biden, who presided over the
chamber for the vote, two women in the gallery of spectators shouted "shame on you" at the
senators.
"They are an embarrassment to this country that they don't have any compassion or care for
people who have been taken brutally from their families," said one of them, Patricia Maisch,
who grabbed the gun magazine from the attacker who shot Giffords and several other people
in Tucson in January 2011.
However, the NRA promised political retribution against supporters of tougher gun laws, and it
called the expanded background checks a first step toward a national gun registry and
government confiscation of firearms.
Obama called that claim misinformation, noting the Manchin-Toomey proposal prohibited
such a registry. He said the tactics of the NRA galvanized a vocal minority of gun owners
against the legislation, which caused some senators to flinch.
http://www.news9.com/story/22007565/background-checks-voted-down
So who voted against and why? Was the vote for their own agenda or the wishes of
the majority of America’s whose business in theory they are there to undertake.
Answer shamefully is very obvious, ie: Of the Democrats who voted against the
amendment, Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Mark Begich, D-Alaska, Heidi Heitkamp, D-
N.D., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark. all are up for election next year in 2014 in "red" states,
barring Heitkamp, who isn't up for re-election until 2018.
..................................................................................................................
Mayors Against Illegal Guns issued this:
Today, a majority of US Senators (55) voted for common sense gun reform -- but they fell
short of the 60 votes we needed to close fatal gaps in our background check system. That
means 45 senators -- representing less than 40 percent of the country -- ignored the
American public and read the talking points the gun lobby handed them.
Find out how your senators voted and watch this short video I just recorded about the fight
ahead.
Some senators deserve real credit for their leadership today. They include Senators Manchin
and Toomey, Majority Leader Reid and Senators Schumer, Kirk, Collins, and McCain. And
President Obama and Vice President Biden showed the kind of bold leadership we can be
proud of tonight.
But there are those who should be ashamed for the way they voted -- and how they lied to
hide their motives.
We never thought this fight would be easy or fast. This was round one. Round two begins
tomorrow -- in the Senate, in the House, and in state houses across the country.
You’ve already changed the conversation in Washington. Today marks the biggest majority in
the Senate voting for major gun reform in 17 years -- and there's no turning back.
Please watch this short video and seize this moment by telling your senators what you think of
their vote:
http://DemandAction.org/WhatsNext
Thanks for being such an important part of the first major round of this fight. I look forward to
working with you in round two.
Thanks,
Mark Glaze
Mayors Against Illegal Guns
| Sorry Grace |
| 3 Years later and 28,600+ more Americans killed by a gun. |
| The NRA - National Gun Association Lied and the politcicians showed they had no fiber and so here we are 3 years later, in the land of more guns than cars, another 28,600+ lives taken with a gun. Compare US with UK (left) |
| The US has the highest gun ownership rate in the world - an average of 88 per 100 people. That puts it first in the world for gun ownership - and even the number two country, Yemen, has significantly fewer - 54.8 per 100 people |
| Guns in UK v USA In 2012, 409 people were shot and killed by American police in what were termed justifiable shootings. In that same year, British police officers fired their weapons just once. No one was killed. In 2013, British police officers fired their weapons all of three times. No one died. According to The Economist, "British citizens are around 100 times less likely to be shot by a police officer than Americans. Between 2010 and 2014, the police force of one small American city — Albuquerque in New Mexico — shot and killed 23 civilians; seven times more than the number of Brits killed by all of England and Wales’s 43 forces during the same period. The Economist argues that the reason for this disparity is actually quite simple: guns are comparatively rare in the UK. Most cops don't carry them and criminals rarely have access to them. The last time a British officer was killed by a gun was in 2012. In the US last year, 30 police officers were shot and killed in the line of duty. An average of 32 people are killed by a gun in America every day, |
| The gun insanity in USA - remembering Newtown and the 28,600 + deaths since. - yes you read that right. Dec 23, 2015 |