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Author Topic: Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newton, CT - Multiple Deaths  (Read 276042 times)
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BabsKats
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« Reply #280 on: December 20, 2012, 03:06:34 PM »

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/16/us/connecticut-nancy-lanza-profile/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular

Tue December 18, 2012


Shooter's mother wanted her son to fit in, friend says

Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) -- Nancy Lanza was raising a quiet, socially awkward young man, the kind of teenager who, a former classmate recalled, would just go stand in the corner.

Lanza herself seemed nothing like her boy. She was affable and outgoing, and easily made friends.

Sure, she liked guns, say people who knew her. But she was responsible with them. She knew how to handle the weapons she collected.

How Adam Lanza apparently got hold of at least a few of them to commit a massacre in an elementary school is still unclear.

Authorities believe he killed his mother as she slept in her bed. She was shot four times in the head, Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver said Tuesday.


Shooter's mom kept guns for defense
Gunman's aunt speaks out
Lanza neighbor stunned
Shooting suspect's home Then, authorities say, Adam Lanza went to Sandy Hook Elementary -- which he'd once attended -- and killed 20 children and six adults.

Then, he used a handgun to kill himself with a shot to the front of the head, Carver said.

 ::snipping2::


CNN confirmed Monday afternoon with ATF that Adam Lanza and his mother frequented several gun ranges over the past several years. The agency will not identify which ranges.

Russ Hanoman, a friend of Nancy Lanza, said she was the "epitome of responsibility."

"They've painted her as some irresponsible gun freak, but she wasn't," he said. "She was a paragon for gun safety. She taught the boys how to use the guns responsibly."

 ::snipping2::
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grace-land
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« Reply #281 on: December 20, 2012, 08:51:04 PM »

http://www.freep.com/article/20121220/BUSINESS06/121220080/Connecticut-shooting-Thursday-funerals-Nancy-Lanza?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Funerals for Nancy Lanza, other Connecticut shooting victims continue Thursday
7:51 PM, December 20, 2012

KINGSTON, N.H. — A private funeral has been held in New Hampshire for the woman whose son shot her dead at their Connecticut home and then drove to an elementary school and killed 20 children.

The police chief in Kingston says the funeral for Nancy Lanza was held Thursday at an undisclosed location.

Chief Donald Briggs says about 25 family members attended the ceremony in the small town, where Lanza once lived.
 ::snipping2::
 
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grace-land
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« Reply #282 on: December 21, 2012, 01:42:16 AM »

http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Exclusive-Lanza-s-Call-to-Duty-Denied-4133287.php

Newtown shooter dreamed of being Marine
Updated 12:41 am, Thursday, December 20, 2012

NEWTOWN -- Adam Lanza aspired to be a Marine -- one of "the few, the proud."
 
Failing that, he planned to join another branch of military service.
 
That is what he told his mother, Nancy Lanza, his biggest cheerleader, and that is what she relayed to one of her closest friends, Ellen Adriani, of Newtown.
 
At first, Nancy Lanza supported her youngest son's dream. She liked the idea that the military would give him purpose, a career path and structure to his life. But the more she thought about it, the more she saw a downside.
 
"It became overwhelmingly clear to her that it (military service) wasn't right for him," Adriani said. "She squashed" any notion of Adam joining the Marines or any branch of the armed services by reminding him "that he didn't like to be touched," said Adriani, and that if he were injured, "doctors and medics would have to handle him to treat him."
 
Lanza, 20, harbored a dream of joining the military after he stopped taking college-level courses at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, said a local merchant who knew the Lanzas. Adam Lanza first made his military aspirations known when he was 17, about the time his older brother, Ryan, was attending Quinnipiac University.
Read more...
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KittyMom
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« Reply #283 on: December 21, 2012, 03:14:05 AM »

http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/19/understanding-why-autistic-people-may-reject-social-touch/

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/high-functioning-autism

I was thinking about the Lanza's today.  I can't imagine being a mom whose child rejected being touched. 

I hope that at some point, Lanza's father will tell the world what was done to help his son.  I hope he can bring something out that will help us all understand how this happened and how we can prevent it from happening again.  And I'm not talking about gun control.  I'm pointing at helping these kids while they are kids so that when they grow up they can cope.
 
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carpe noctem
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History repeats itself. It's a cyclical beast.


« Reply #284 on: December 21, 2012, 04:55:08 AM »

http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/19/understanding-why-autistic-people-may-reject-social-touch/

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/high-functioning-autism

I was thinking about the Lanza's today.  I can't imagine being a mom whose child rejected being touched. 

I hope that at some point, Lanza's father will tell the world what was done to help his son.  I hope he can bring something out that will help us all understand how this happened and how we can prevent it from happening again.  And I'm not talking about gun control.  I'm pointing at helping these kids while they are kids so that when they grow up they can cope.
 

Just my 2 cents. Young boys need to be trained to be young men. You can't just pop 'em out and expect them to mature all by their little lonesome.
They are constantly walking around - thinking to themselves... hey, what am I supposed to be doing?

They need their dads... or the next best thing. (a family friend/mentor)
Nancy loved him a lot - but couldn't do everything. There's a balance that is needed. Without that balance - he is left to figure out what it is to
be a man on his own. Some find it in a decent mentor - some find it running with the thug down the street (not good) - Adam found it in a basement playing
endless hours of a  shoot 'em up video game. (tragic results)

It's like a tree. It needs water and sun. Water only - doesn't grow well, or drowns. Sun only - dehydrates and the leaves fall off.

Balance. 1 part Yin 1 part Yang --- Confucius say: Off balance, produce bad nut.

That's what I think. Sorry if I offend anyone with that.
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For Natalee and Stephany, whatever it takes.

-JUSTICE FOR NATALEE ANN - BOYCOTT ARUBA
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"Don't talk about what you have done or what you are going to do." Thomas Jefferson
"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."Thomas Jeff
crazybabyborg
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« Reply #285 on: December 21, 2012, 08:40:56 AM »

SUCH a great, post Carpe and Kitty!! 

I can't tell you how many times I've started to post something on this thread and just deleted it before I did, because there are so many valid points and counterpoints. I'm angry that Nancy had guns at all in the house or took the shooter to a firing range. But......... maybe there were so few avenues to connect with her son or get him motivated to get out at all, so she grabbed at it, never conceiving that he had potential for real life violence. I understand a Mom struggling to reach her child, particularly when he had always been different and never fit in well. She must have noticed some shift in him that caused her to change directions, if the reports about her beginning the process of having him committed to a facility are true and being able to involuntarily commit anyone in Connecticut is almost impossible, if not absolutely impossible. I'd bet a lot that she had tried hard to convince him to seek help voluntarily. He was 20 and so there would have to be a formal procedure to attempt forcing treatment. I've wondered where Dad was and wondered what effect the divorce had on the shooter.

The shooter exhibited a lot of planning and evidenced awareness of guilt that horrible day. I have no compassion for him, and perhaps that speaks poorly of me, but I cannot relate to anything about him. He obviously could reason on some level and I just can't get past all those children and their teachers. With the ability to function he showed that day, I'm reminded he was 20 years old, had been capable of attending school, however awkwardly, and Mom, apparently, had been able to take a couple of days away with no ill consequences in the past. Whatever her misjudgements or mistakes were, she paid the biggest price she could for them. The problem is that she was incapable of protecting anyone else from him on that day.

This whole thing is such a horrible tragedy and long after it isn't front page news anymore, the families will go on struggling with loss.   
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grace-land
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« Reply #286 on: December 21, 2012, 12:53:11 PM »

http://06880danwoog.com/2012/12/21/jennifer-huettner-and-the-adam-lanza-she-knew/

Jennifer Huettner, And The Adam Lanza She Knew
Posted on December 21, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Jennifer spent 3 years as Adam’s teacher.

“He had Asperger’s,” Jennifer says, confirming media reports. After being home schooled in 7th and 8th grades, Adam took freshman classes in a portable classroom at the high school. He was 13 years old.
 
“He didn’t want to be around people,” Jennifer explains. “Our goal was to get him back in the building.”
 
Adam’s mother Nancy would drop him off, then sit in the next room while Jennifer worked with him.
 
“He was very OCD. He’d clean the desk with Purell,” Jennifer remembers.
 
“He had a great ‘Latin mind.’ The language is very structured, and that fit well with him. He always knew the answers — but he wouldn’t say anything.
 
“The day he made his first joke, I almost cried.”
 
The next year, Adam moved into the high school building.

“He trusted me,” Jennifer says. “He started talking — that was a big thing. And he looked at me, with big eyes.” They were not the same eyes, she says, that the world has seen in “that horrible picture.”
 
Every day as a sophomore “he wore the same uniform: a blue shirt and khaki pants. He probably had 5 sets of them. The next year, it was a green plaid shirt.”
 
And — as Newtown students have reported — he always carried a briefcase.
 
“The hallways were narrow. It was difficult to walk through,” Jennifer says. “Adam would have his shoulder against the wall, with his briefcase out to protect him. He always took the same route, and never deviated from it.”
 
But, Jennifer says, “I never saw him lose it, or have a tantrum.”
 
Newtown students — like those she knows now at Staples High — are “very respectful of differences,” she says. “There was never any meanness or bullying. They’d ask Adam to sit with them.”
 
After 3 years Adam left Newtown, to take classes at Western Connecticut State University. Jennifer says he earned his GED there.
 
“I understand he dropped out of WesConn after 2 years,” Jennifer continues. “Then he sat in his basement for 2 years. Something happened.”
 ::snipping2::
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Tamikosmom
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« Reply #287 on: December 21, 2012, 01:46:16 PM »

MAYBE if in a "gun free school zone" six unarmed faculty members had not been denied their Constitution right to carry a concealed weapon for protection of themselves and their precious charges ... they would be alive today and ... twenty children would be anticipating a visit from Santa.

 

Janet

++++++


NRA chief urges armed guards in 'every single school,' dismisses calls for gun control
Published December 21, 2012


National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre on Friday dismissed calls for increased gun control in response to the Connecticut school shooting, calling instead for Congress to support a plan putting armed police officers in "every single school" in America.

In an impassioned speech, marking the NRA's first in-depth public comments since the Newtown tragedy, LaPierre pointed the finger not at gun proliferation but violent video games, the media and the absence of armed guards at schools.

He argued that if banks and members of Congress can have protection, schools across America should be afforded the same security.

"It's now time for us to assume responsibly for our schools," he said. "The only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be permanently involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection."

He added: "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

Warning that the next mass killer could be "waiting in the wings," LaPierre urged immediate action to protect school children.

He said efforts over the years to pass laws for "gun-free school zones" have only told "every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk."

-snipped-

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/21/nra-chief-urges-armed-guards-in-every-school-dismisses-calls-for-gun-control/

 
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Loving Natalee - Beth Holloway
Page 219: I have to make difficult choices every day.  I have to make a conscious decision every morning when I wake up not to be bitter, not to live in resentment and let anger control me.  It's not easy.  I ask God to help me.
_____

“A person of integrity expects to be believed and when he’s not, he let’s time prove him right.” -unknown
kcrn
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« Reply #288 on: December 21, 2012, 02:06:06 PM »

MAYBE if in a "gun free school zone" six unarmed faculty members had not been denied their Constitution right to carry a concealed weapon for protection of themselves and their precious charges ... they would be alive today and ... twenty children would be anticipating a visit from Santa.

 

Janet

++++++


NRA chief urges armed guards in 'every single school,' dismisses calls for gun control
Published December 21, 2012


National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre on Friday dismissed calls for increased gun control in response to the Connecticut school shooting, calling instead for Congress to support a plan putting armed police officers in "every single school" in America.

In an impassioned speech, marking the NRA's first in-depth public comments since the Newtown tragedy, LaPierre pointed the finger not at gun proliferation but violent video games, the media and the absence of armed guards at schools.

He argued that if banks and members of Congress can have protection, schools across America should be afforded the same security.

"It's now time for us to assume responsibly for our schools," he said. "The only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be permanently involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection."

He added: "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

Warning that the next mass killer could be "waiting in the wings," LaPierre urged immediate action to protect school children.

He said efforts over the years to pass laws for "gun-free school zones" have only told "every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk."

-snipped-

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/21/nra-chief-urges-armed-guards-in-every-school-dismisses-calls-for-gun-control/

 

I watched him speak & surprisingly, much of what he said made sense to me. I dont think however that we should arm all of our teachers like some have suggested. Thats alot to put on teachers whojust want to teach. Im a nurse & i work in a "gun free" hospital but i would never want the responsibility of carrying a gun. The nra suggests & i wholeheartedly agree, that we have an armed police officer in every school in america. Also they want a model for school safety plans. I think alot of what he ssid is good. I dont think a complete ban on guns would change anything but i do agree that there are some types of guns that should not be allowed to be available. I give the nra full respect in their idea that our children deserve as much protection as our politiciand, even more. I just think that there has to be a way to employ an armed police officer in each of our schools. My kids school has a resource officer that they share with the middle school but i think each school should have one inside that building and ready at all times. Im more than willing to pay extra taxes for the safety of children.
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Tamikosmom
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« Reply #289 on: December 21, 2012, 02:16:35 PM »

kcrn

May if unknown designated trained faculty carrying a concealed weapon would serve as a deterrent against the evil intent of a would-be shooter.

All I know is ... the Sandy Hook "gun free zone" implied that six faculty and 20 children were sitting ducks.  They never stood a chance.  It would have only taken one shot to take him down.

Janet
 
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Loving Natalee - Beth Holloway
Page 219: I have to make difficult choices every day.  I have to make a conscious decision every morning when I wake up not to be bitter, not to live in resentment and let anger control me.  It's not easy.  I ask God to help me.
_____

“A person of integrity expects to be believed and when he’s not, he let’s time prove him right.” -unknown
crazybabyborg
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« Reply #290 on: December 21, 2012, 03:25:23 PM »

As I've said, I don't own a gun and know little about them or how to use one. I must say, though, that there have been times I would have been more comfortable in my home if I had one. On the seldom occasions that there are unexplained noises in the house, I'd be more comfortable investigating the source, holding a gun..... just in case. My Mom's house was broken into, and it would have been easier for me to go through it initially, if I had been holding a gun and knew how to use it. Given that, I have to believe that each one of those teachers at Sandy Hook on that fateful day, wished they had something to defend themselves and the children they were charged with. All they had were their bodies to shield them and they sacrificed themselves trying. As radical as it sounds, I'm not sure that it's such a bad idea that there be access to a weapon inside a classroom. Certainly it would require training and effective limited access to teacher only, but IMO, that would be both cheaper than a permanent armed guard per school, and far more efficient in a situation like Sandy Hook. A guard is one person who can only be at one location at any given time and would almost certainly be less well prepared than a shooter. Having never shot a handgun, I know that under the circumstances that the Sandy Hook teachers faced, I would have been able to get the kids against a wall or behind their desks and position myself to crouch behind something with a gun trained on the door. I could do that and it would have made a difference.

Many professions require training of some sort. We require staff (even office staff) to be certified in CPR. We take one afternoon every three years and bring in the Red Cross to teach, demonstrate, and test. It takes a few hours and costs $300.00. For teachers to be able to perform defensively in an emergency situation with a few steps similar to what I described, shouldn't be a huge deal. A staff day should do it. The whole idea seems radical to me, but once I get past the idea of it, I'm not sure there's a better answer. We can work on mental health issues, and assault weapon issues, and moral decay issues, but we need to take steps to protect children first. I don't know of a more efficient way to do that. I am convinced that arming classrooms would be a deterrent to anyone thinking about attacking a school.
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kcrn
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« Reply #291 on: December 21, 2012, 03:52:46 PM »

kcrn

May if unknown designated trained faculty carrying a concealed weapon would serve as a deterrent against the evil intent of a would-be shooter.

All I know is ... the Sandy Hook "gun free zone" implied that six faculty and 20 children were sitting ducks.  They never stood a chance.  It would have only taken one shot to take him down.

Janet
 
Thats why i think an armed officer at the front door would have made a difference. They are trained & willingto pull that firearm at a moments notice. If there had been an obviously armed officer at that door, i dont believe adam lanza would have had the guts to shoot his way into that school. Bulletproof windows & doors & an armed officer standing right at that door may have been a deterrent for him. We will nwver know though. I know teachers & i know that many of them would not want to have a gun in their classroom full of children. I just think thats alot to expect of them. Maybe have a principal or other person at the school entrance who has access to a firearm as well. I just dont see every teacher in a school having a loaded weapon in their desk drawer as a good idea. The security of the school itself should be an issue as well. A buzzed in intercom entrance is not enough obviously. Maybe sounds radical, but bulletproof windows & doors, a system to lock all classroom doors at a push of a button, an armed officer & possibly an armed principal all sound like good ideas to me. Im not trying to be argumentative in any way but will we have to arm our daycare workers, sunday school teachers & sports coaches next? Make the school a panic room if that is what is required but i cant see how arming 50 or more staff members is such a great idea either
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KittyMom
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« Reply #292 on: December 21, 2012, 03:57:46 PM »

http://06880danwoog.com/2012/12/21/jennifer-huettner-and-the-adam-lanza-she-knew/

Jennifer Huettner, And The Adam Lanza She Knew
Posted on December 21, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Jennifer spent 3 years as Adam’s teacher.

“He had Asperger’s,” Jennifer says, confirming media reports. After being home schooled in 7th and 8th grades, Adam took freshman classes in a portable classroom at the high school. He was 13 years old.
 
“He didn’t want to be around people,” Jennifer explains. “Our goal was to get him back in the building.”
 
Adam’s mother Nancy would drop him off, then sit in the next room while Jennifer worked with him.
 
“He was very OCD. He’d clean the desk with Purell,” Jennifer remembers.
 
“He had a great ‘Latin mind.’ The language is very structured, and that fit well with him. He always knew the answers — but he wouldn’t say anything.
 
“The day he made his first joke, I almost cried.”
 
The next year, Adam moved into the high school building.

“He trusted me,” Jennifer says. “He started talking — that was a big thing. And he looked at me, with big eyes.” They were not the same eyes, she says, that the world has seen in “that horrible picture.”
 
Every day as a sophomore “he wore the same uniform: a blue shirt and khaki pants. He probably had 5 sets of them. The next year, it was a green plaid shirt.”
 
And — as Newtown students have reported — he always carried a briefcase.
 
“The hallways were narrow. It was difficult to walk through,” Jennifer says. “Adam would have his shoulder against the wall, with his briefcase out to protect him. He always took the same route, and never deviated from it.”
 
But, Jennifer says, “I never saw him lose it, or have a tantrum.”
 
Newtown students — like those she knows now at Staples High — are “very respectful of differences,” she says. “There was never any meanness or bullying. They’d ask Adam to sit with them.”
 
After 3 years Adam left Newtown, to take classes at Western Connecticut State University. Jennifer says he earned his GED there.
 
“I understand he dropped out of WesConn after 2 years,” Jennifer continues. “Then he sat in his basement for 2 years. Something happened.”
 ::snipping2::

And that explains a lot.  I taught in public schools yrs ago.  My most heartbreaking moment was when a student that I'd poured so much time, attention, and love in was arrested soon after graduation for murder.  This young lady was such a sweet girl when I knew her.  Her home life was stable as long as she was with grandmother.  But her mom wouldn't leave her alone and kept taking her back.  Up and down, up and down.  I had some long serious discussions with her.  She knew right from wrong.  She knew her mother wasn't the person she needed to rely on.  She knew she was better off with her grandmother.  But, she loved and yearned for a relationship with her mom.  Now, she didn't have a disability.  But, somewhere in a 4 yr period, that girl I knew changed.  It was and is heartbreaking.  I think of her often in prison, growing old, because of a stupid choice and a longing for something that her mom wouldn't give her.

Given all that, add Aspergers' to the mix, and what do you do? 

And can I just say, as a parent, even when your child shuts you out, you still continue to reach out to them.  You never give up.  You call, you visit, you send cards, you send letters, you text, you email, you DO, so that your child always knows you love them.  They never doubt it.
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crazybabyborg
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« Reply #293 on: December 21, 2012, 04:03:55 PM »

 I agree that keeping a gun in a teacher's desk drawer is not a good idea. I'm thinking along the lines of a fire alarm pull with a teacher code release. Bullet proofing glass or guarding against school intruders wouldn't have helped at Columbine. I agree that arming a classroom teacher is a big responsibility for them and certainly I don't want a responsibility to hunt down a shooter, to fall to them. I just want to equip a teacher with something to defend his/her children long enough for police response. Something to stave off certain death long enough for help to arrive.
« Last Edit: December 21, 2012, 04:05:37 PM by CBB » Logged
KittyMom
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« Reply #294 on: December 21, 2012, 04:13:11 PM »

As I've said, I don't own a gun and know little about them or how to use one. I must say, though, that there have been times I would have been more comfortable in my home if I had one. On the seldom occasions that there are unexplained noises in the house, I'd be more comfortable investigating the source, holding a gun..... just in case. My Mom's house was broken into, and it would have been easier for me to go through it initially, if I had been holding a gun and knew how to use it. Given that, I have to believe that each one of those teachers at Sandy Hook on that fateful day, wished they had something to defend themselves and the children they were charged with. All they had were their bodies to shield them and they sacrificed themselves trying. As radical as it sounds, I'm not sure that it's such a bad idea that there be access to a weapon inside a classroom. Certainly it would require training and effective limited access to teacher only, but IMO, that would be both cheaper than a permanent armed guard per school, and far more efficient in a situation like Sandy Hook. A guard is one person who can only be at one location at any given time and would almost certainly be less well prepared than a shooter. Having never shot a handgun, I know that under the circumstances that the Sandy Hook teachers faced, I would have been able to get the kids against a wall or behind their desks and position myself to crouch behind something with a gun trained on the door. I could do that and it would have made a difference.

Many professions require training of some sort. We require staff (even office staff) to be certified in CPR. We take one afternoon every three years and bring in the Red Cross to teach, demonstrate, and test. It takes a few hours and costs $300.00. For teachers to be able to perform defensively in an emergency situation with a few steps similar to what I described, shouldn't be a huge deal. A staff day should do it. The whole idea seems radical to me, but once I get past the idea of it, I'm not sure there's a better answer. We can work on mental health issues, and assault weapon issues, and moral decay issues, but we need to take steps to protect children first. I don't know of a more efficient way to do that. I am convinced that arming classrooms would be a deterrent to anyone thinking about attacking a school.
At one time in this state, we had School Resource Officers on every campus.  It was usually staffed by police officers and sheriff's deputies that would work their days off.  They were paid a nominal fee, wore their uniforms & guns.  At the lower grades, they would mainly work traffic duty in the loading zone, patrol hallways making sure the exits were locked, give presentations on appropriate topics to kids/staff, and occasionally sit in on meetings with parents where staff felt their presence would keep the tone down.

The upper grades were different.  You had fights & drugs that officers were involved in investigating.  But, after yrs of having this presence in the school, budget cuts meant those positions were the first to go followed by school nurses.  Now, on duty officers perform traffic duty in am and pm and have to be called for fights/drugs.  We joke that if you want to drive fast or commit a crime, do it during loading/unloading times because all the officers are occupied at the schools.  Sad.  We can fund research to grow hair on a bald man's head, make sure he can have a 4 hr erection, and study the sexual habits of animals, but we don't have the money to provide a safe/protected environment for our children and mental health for those in need.  Until parents start standing up to the stupidity of the gov't spending we'll continue to have these circumstances. 
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crazybabyborg
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« Reply #295 on: December 21, 2012, 06:34:12 PM »

It's interesting to read Darrell Scott's comments from May 27, 1999. His daughter died from gunshot wounds sustained during the Columbine incident. He, along with others, was addressing the House Judiciary sub committee looking into "Pending Firearms Legislation and the Administration's Enforcement of Current Gun Laws". Here are his comments:


"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good &evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.
"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.
"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent
I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact.
What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws.
Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him.

To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!
My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"
- Darrell Scott
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Tamikosmom
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« Reply #296 on: December 21, 2012, 07:27:08 PM »

AMEN!!

CBB ... Thank you for posting Darrell Scott's commentary.  It is definitely a Tamikosmom's keeper.

Janet
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Loving Natalee - Beth Holloway
Page 219: I have to make difficult choices every day.  I have to make a conscious decision every morning when I wake up not to be bitter, not to live in resentment and let anger control me.  It's not easy.  I ask God to help me.
_____

“A person of integrity expects to be believed and when he’s not, he let’s time prove him right.” -unknown
grace-land
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« Reply #297 on: December 21, 2012, 07:54:25 PM »

 an angelic monkey
Video at link

http://abcnews.go.com/US/sandy-hook-shooting-moment-silence-victims/story?id=18034034

Sandy Hook Shooting: Moment of Silence for Victims
Dec. 21, 2012

Incessant rain and a dreary morning failed to keep onlookers away from a moment-of-silence memorial in Newtown, Conn., to pay their respects to the 26 people who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
 
Officials scheduled the event to recognize victims of the massacre that began at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 14, when gunman Adam Lanza shot his way into Sandy Hook elementary and launched a shooting spree at the school, taking 26 lives, including 20 children, and then his own.
  ::snipping2::
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texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #298 on: December 21, 2012, 08:21:42 PM »

After hearing many debates and discussions over the last week, one that I've been thinking about a lot and think could be helpful is to possibly have some (Admin) that have a concealed weapon on each campus.  I know some districts in Texas allow teachers to carry concealed weapons, but I'm not sure that's a good idea in all classrooms.  Resource officers could be a deterrent as well, but if that's one officer for all campuses like we've had here in the past; that's just not enough imo.   

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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
texasmom
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #299 on: December 21, 2012, 09:14:23 PM »

CBB, I've read Darrell Scott's comments this week too.  Very well stated then, and so important to remember now too. 

I've also watched and read several speeches and/or discussions with Dr. Suzanna Gratia-Hupp.  I remembered the Luby's massacre in Killeen Texas in 1991 like it was yesterday, but her name didn't ring a bell until I started listening to her testimony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanna_Hupp

One that really stood out for me was this speech regarding the 2nd Amendment.  I didn't save the exact link that I watched earlier this week, but I think this is the same speech.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ggg0LwhrH0

Her comments after Virginia Tech...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ggg0LwhrH0

There's a lot more out there, but hopefully those links will give a start to anyone interested.
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
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