After another mass shooting, Parkland activists sought momentum. In Texas, the response has been different.
God bless Texas . . .
Though those associated with the Parkland movement saw another grim opportunity to seek change and to gather momentum for gun control because of the Sante Fe attack, the shootings came with the reality that each community chooses to grieve — and respond — in a different way.
Organizers began to trickle into Santa Fe — some dispatched by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun-control group — almost immediately after the shootings last week in a subtle effort to console, offer help and discuss the politics of guns. Parkland students and other activists reached out but have kept a distance, sensing a lukewarm reception.
There has been little support for calls for gun control in this rural Texas town. Many do not blame guns for the tragedy, and this particular shooting lacks the obvious warning signs and suspicions that someone should have done something more to prevent it. Santa Fe has been grieving in private, a response more typical of such shootings than the burst of activism that happened after Parkland.
“subtle”
North Queensland feral pig hunt sparks online furore
Outrage in Oz . . .
Hill MP Shane Knuth posted a photo of himself and Kennedy MP Bob Katter with a mound of dead pigs at the Currajah Hotel in Innisfail at the weekend and the response was immediate.
While North Queenslanders, who see pig hunting not only as a right of passage but a necessity on the land, praised the event, outraged southerners voiced their disgust, accusing the hunters of “murder”.
They called the hunters vile, disgusting and horrible and said the pigs should be left alone.
Instead of shooting them, it was suggested that they could all be relocated to a fence in agricultural property, somewhere.
My Project ChildSafe Story: Raised to Respect Firearms
It happens every day in every state. And it isn’t that hard . . .
Moms worry. We worry if our kids are with us or without us. Worries about firearms, regardless of whether we own any, are similar to worries any parent has when raising children in a world full of powerful tools – from cars to bikes to power tools. It is possible to raise children to respect firearms, as well as use them safely. Here’s how.
Preparing kids to have adventures in life means raising them with tools. Raising kids around firearms often gets very serious. And while we have remain serious with firearms, it doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. So here are some thoughts on raising kids who respect firearms and the role they can play in our adventures in life.
When we become gun owners, we accept that there are certain things we will have to do: lock guns in safes, supervise children if firearms are present in the home and teach youngsters to respect them.
Christians, leave your guns at home — God doesn’t want idols in his churches
Some people prefer to live and worship in gun-free zones. Let them . . .
As an evangelical Christian who does not own a gun, I am appalled at the idea of believers being encouraged to bring their firearms with them when they go to church. (“At a church security seminar: Guns, God and ‘get those heads up’ when you pray,” May 22)
The gun lobby has once again crossed the line by suggesting, if not demanding, that there’s got to be a new “god” in the church that wields ultimate power over death. His name is “gun,” and “he” alone knows what’s best for you and your safety.
We are to believe that somewhere hidden in the authoritative word of God, we are remiss if we now come to worship unarmed. And all the while, with our eyes wide open during prayer and our minds far removed from God in case a shooter begins opening fire, we pretend to worship Him, instead really worshiping the guns that we believe keep us safe.
The Secret Service has known keys to preventing school shootings since 2002, but few schools use their research
Job 1: hire competent school administrators and law enforcement officers who aren’t content to listen in safety as people die . . .
Two months after the Columbine tragedy in 1999, experts from the US Department of Education and the US Secret Service collaborated to study the “school shooter” phenomenon. They published the study on their findings in 2002. The study focused on examining the thinking, planning and other behaviors of students who carried out school attacks. Particular attention was given to identifying pre-attack behaviors and communications that might be detectable — or “knowable” — and could help prevent future attacks. …
Following the publication of the Secret Service study on school shootings, my research on averted school shootings found that schools that prevented a shooting had done some of the things recommended by the Secret Service.
The case in Florida shows that many of these recommendations were followed and people spoke up when they saw something wrong. The issue is whether authorities need more power to intervene once they have been made aware of a potential threat, or whether they just need to do a better job with the power they already have.
This is how liberals think gun control works. pic.twitter.com/DeESLmdkzN
— A Libertarian Future (@LibertarianFutr) May 26, 2018