Sandy Hook elementary

The most terrifying thing that happened when I was in kindergarten was that my cat pooped in Billy Gardner’s lap during recess.  Since I had a crush on Billy, I was mortified.

Our dads all had their World War II rifles carefully stored deep inside a closet.  Most of those rifles were souvenirs.  A few were used to hunt, and people in those days hunted to eat rather than for sport.  Anyone who had an arsenal of guns was considered suspect.

Why?  Why?

These memories were sparked by the photo of the little boy walking behind an officer carrying a gun that would terrify the crap out of me.  His innocence is gone today.  He should be dreaming of Santa Claus and gifts under the tree.  He’ll probably have nightmares tonight and for many nights to come.

The magic of the holidays was destroyed at Shady Hook elementary school in Newtown, CT this morning by an act of domestic violence that escalated and spilled over into a mother’s kindergarten class.  Before shooting up his mother’s school, early news reports are that the perpetrator, Adam Lanza, allegedly killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, at home.  NBC reported that the guns were owned by Mrs. Lanza.

Connecticut has a lousy domestic violence record.  The media are characterizing this as school violence.  They don’t want to admit it is domestic violence escalated into a mass shooting.  They don’t realize shootings like this one could have been prevented by early medical intervention triggered by the domestic violence screening provision of ObamaCares.

Pres. Obama made a moving statement this afternoon and hinted that it is time to take on the NRA and the Second Amendment.  He reeled off a laundry list of recent mass shootings but neglected to mention the domestic violence-related tragedy at the Azana Salon and Spa in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

I decided it was time to take a look at the Second Amendment:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.  [emphasis added]

Do the people in these photos look like they are enjoying the security of a free State? 

We are all being terrorized by nut jobs with their arsenals of guns.  We are bankrupting our country fighting terrorists in foreign countries, but we can’t find the money to fund the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to keep us safe from the terrorists in our own homes.

This is the season of joy, peace, and love.  When are we going to value love more than war?  What do we need to do to secure peace in our homes as a pathway to peace in the world?

My heart breaks for all the people impacted directly or indirectly by the domestic violence in Newtown, CT today.