Status Report – 27 Months After Newtown.

Posted on | March 13, 2015 | Comments Off on Status Report – 27 Months After Newtown.

Mike Magee

December 14, 2012 seems a long time ago – 27 months ago tomorrow. That is when 20 young souls, age 6 and 7, were shot down in Newton, CT. Two days after the tragedy, I wrote:

“Did we as a nation do all that was possible to avoid the disaster in Newtown, CT? Clearly no. Do the issues of what we didn’t do – manage our guns, manage our mentally ill, manage our violent culture – require elaborate study? Not really. What we require is thoughtful and deliberate action. Policy defines action. Actions seek to alter or curtail human behavior – move us forward toward our finer selves in the interest of the collective good.”

Was our nation able to overcome the destructive impulses of the NRA and pass meaningful laws to help ensure that these youngsters have not died in vain? No.

And yet, in the actions of our citizens, there is cause for hope. Since the tragedy, a group of Moms, Mayors, and Gun Survivors have coalesced. They are now 2 1/2 million strong and growing. They are asking each of us to “Join the campaign to expose the NRA’s state-by-state effort to gut our public safety laws.”

Since Newtown, “Everytown For Gun Safety” has been tracking the shootings of youngsters in schools across America, and analyzing and mapping the events. They have just released the findings for December 15, 2012 – December 9, 2014. To see their maps, and the entire report, go HERE .

In the meantime, here’s their quick summary:

“In the two years since the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, there have been at least 94 school shootings including fatal and nonfatal assaults, suicides, and unintentional shootings — an average of nearly one a week. During the last three months alone, there were 16 school shootings including a single week in which there were five incidents in five separate states. These school shootings resulted in 45 deaths and 78 non-fatal gunshot injuries. In 32 percent of these incidents at least one person died.”

“Of the K-12 school shootings in which the shooter’s age was known, 70 percent (28 of 40 incidents) were perpetrated by minors. Among these K-12 school shootings where it was possible to determine the source of the firearm, nearly two-thirds of the shooters (10 of 16) obtained their guns from home.”

“In 35 shootings— more than a third of all incidents — at least one person was shot after an argument or confrontation escalated and a gun was on hand. Regardless of the individuals involved in a shooting or the circumstances that gave rise to it, gunfire in our schools shatters the sense of security that these institutions are meant to foster. Everyone should agree that even one school shooting is one too many.”

I don’t believe that our legislators will have the courage to face off the NRA, and do what is right, without a countervailing political force. So I encourage you to have a look at Everytown, and to make your town part of the movement. Join Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America.

Don’t Give Up! Don’t Give In!

For Health Commentary, I’m Mike Magee