After Newtown Shootings, Push On To Expand Workers' Compensation For First-Responders
December 21, 2012
By DAVE ALTIMARI and JON LENDER
The Hartford Courant
In light of the Newtown school massacre, a state lawmaker said Friday that he will propose legislation to expand the circumstances in which emergency responders can receive workers' compensation.
"This is something that I've already discussed," said Rep. Stephen D. Dargan, D-West Haven, the co-chairman of the legislature's public safety committee. "I'm sure right after the holiday that this is going to be one of the bills that I am going to issue" for consideration in the session that starts Jan. 9.
The idea of expanding the workers' compensation law has been discussed before, with a big concern being the potential cost, Dargan said. "But if you limit the scope of it" to the sort of dire circumstances encountered by police at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Dargan said it might be possible.
For several years, state law has provided workers' compensation benefits to pay for counseling for police officers who are mentally or emotionally impaired by "use of deadly force or subjection to deadly force in the line of duty." Earlier this year, legislators added a similar provision for firefighters who witness the death of another firefighter on duty.
read more here
Showing posts with label Connecticut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Connecticut. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas is a lesson in forgiving too
Christmas is a lesson in forgiving too
by Chaplain Kathie
Pointman of Winter Park
December 25, 2012
"Tragedy the tragic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life." Greeks know a few things about tragedy as well as trauma. They use "trauma" to explain wounds. There is trauma a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury, but there are also two more that should be discussed when trying to explain what PTSD is.
In churches around the world the story of Christ's birth was retold but there was a part that is usually left out of the sermons.
Is it because there has been no proof that what Matthew wrote actually happened? No, because if that had been the case then much of what is preached would be left out as well. The reason it is left out is hope always triumphs over the evil that men do.
In October of 2007 when news came out a year following the children murdered in a tiny school house that Amish Forgive School Shooter, Struggle with Grief it was very hard to understand how that was possible after 10 girls were shot and 5 of them died but the families forgave the shooter and tried to comfort the family he left behind.
11 days ago more children were killed by a gunman in school called Sandy Hook. 20 of them died along with 6 of their teachers. The day after the shooting one of the girl's parents forgave the shooter.
Love has more strength than hate. One man decided to kill but families decided to think of others while grieving. One man decided that others must suffer for his own pain but people around the world decided they would show love to people they would never meet and grieve with them for the loss they felt.
Trauma is not something we are born with. It is something that happens to us that we had no control over. We are wounded but we can heal. We feel pain but we can overcome it.
by Chaplain Kathie
Pointman of Winter Park
December 25, 2012
"Tragedy the tragic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life." Greeks know a few things about tragedy as well as trauma. They use "trauma" to explain wounds. There is trauma a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury, but there are also two more that should be discussed when trying to explain what PTSD is.
an emotional upset "not living up to his own expectations"
an agent, force, or mechanism that causes trauma
In churches around the world the story of Christ's birth was retold but there was a part that is usually left out of the sermons.
Matthew 2:16-18
New International Version (NIV)
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Is it because there has been no proof that what Matthew wrote actually happened? No, because if that had been the case then much of what is preached would be left out as well. The reason it is left out is hope always triumphs over the evil that men do.
In October of 2007 when news came out a year following the children murdered in a tiny school house that Amish Forgive School Shooter, Struggle with Grief it was very hard to understand how that was possible after 10 girls were shot and 5 of them died but the families forgave the shooter and tried to comfort the family he left behind.
11 days ago more children were killed by a gunman in school called Sandy Hook. 20 of them died along with 6 of their teachers. The day after the shooting one of the girl's parents forgave the shooter.
Father of "Emilie Parker", Sandy Hook massacre victim, offers forgiveness to shooter's family
Love has more strength than hate. One man decided to kill but families decided to think of others while grieving. One man decided that others must suffer for his own pain but people around the world decided they would show love to people they would never meet and grieve with them for the loss they felt.
Newtown faces its first Christmas since Sandy Hook school shooting
Hundreds attend Christmas Eve services in Newtown, Conn. as visitors and volunteers arrived from out-of-town to support a community in mourning.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012,
NEWTOWN, Conn. — Newtown observed Christmas amid snow-covered teddy bears, stockings, flowers and candles left in memorial to the 20 children and six educators gunned down at an elementary school just 11 days before the holiday.
The outpouring of support for this community continued through Christmas Eve, with visitors arriving at town hall with offerings of cards, handmade snowflakes and sympathy.
"We know that they'll feel loved. They'll feel that somebody actually cares," said Treyvon Smalls, a 15-year-old from a few towns away who arrived bearing hundreds of cards and paper snowflakes collected from around the state. And on Christmas Day, out-of-town police officers were on duty to give police here a break.
JULIO CORTEZ/APOut of the traumatic tragedies love will prevail as it always has and we learned much from those willing to forgive. Christ asked for God to forgive the hands that nailed Him to the cross as much as He asked for those who abandoned Him to be forgiven. Most of us wonder how people are able to do that. How do you forgive someone that did so much evil on the earth especially to innocent victims? To look at those who do forgive is a lesson we can all learn from. With so much grace within them, maybe, just maybe, we can find grace within ourselves to forgive others for what they did to us and forgive ourselves in the process.
Christmas stockings with the names of shooting victims hang from railing near a makeshift memorial near the town Christmas tree in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn.
Trauma is not something we are born with. It is something that happens to us that we had no control over. We are wounded but we can heal. We feel pain but we can overcome it.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Ammunition easier to get than guns
Everyone seems to be focusing on assault weapons but no one seems interested in the fact the weapon isn't doing the killing by itself. They all need bullets. There are guns owned legally and some are illegal but the bullets are a lot easier for everyone to get their hands on.
How about we start to include bullets in the debate?
Why not require a license to buy bullets and that way illegal gun owners can't get bullets as easy as they do now. If they are involved in some kind of sport where they use an assault weapon, give them a special license to buy the bullets for them.
Why not require a license to buy bullets and that way illegal gun owners can't get bullets as easy as they do now. If they are involved in some kind of sport where they use an assault weapon, give them a special license to buy the bullets for them.
To Purchase Ammunition Online
Federal law requires that you must be at least 18 years old to purchase shotgun ammunition and 21 years or older to purchase handgun and rifle ammunition.
You do not need an FFL to purchase ammunition online.
All ammunition will be shipped UPS ground.
We can ship ammunition to your door via UPS.
When you are checking out, you must select UPS Ground if you are purchasing ammunition.
Ammunition cannot be shipped air freight, due to shipping regulations.
Ammunition and firearms must be purchased separately.
For safety reasons, we do not accept returns on ammunition.
Always make sure you use the correct ammunition for your specific firearm.
Check your local laws for any other regulations before ordering.
NRA Press Conference: Wayne LaPierre Calls For Armed Police Officers At Every School
Posted: 12/21/2012
By PHILIP ELLIOTT
The ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- The nation's largest gun-rights lobby is calling for armed police officers to be posted in every American school to stop the next killer "waiting in the wings."
The National Rifle Association broke its silence Friday on last week's shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school that left 26 children and staff dead.
The group's top lobbyist, Wayne LaPierre, said at a Washington news conference that "the next Adam Lanza," the man responsible for last week's mayhem, is planning an attack on another school.
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," LaPierre said.
He blamed video games, movies and music videos for exposing children to a violent culture day in and day out.
"In a race to the bottom, many conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate, and offend every standard of civilized society, by bringing an even more toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty right into our homes," LaPierre said.
read more here
Week after Sandy Hook mass murder, NRA says "more guns" is answer
NRA to talk about Sandy Hook as mourning continues
By CNN Staff
updated 10:45 AM EST, Fri December 21, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: NRA Executive Director Wayne LaPierre will speak at a news conference at 10:45 a.m.
NEW: Across the nation Friday morning, church bells rang in remembrance of the victims
The Obama administration has started debate on gun control
More funerals of the victims will take place Friday
(CNN) -- The National Rifle Association, the powerful gun rights group that has kept largely quiet since last week's deadly school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, will break its silence Friday.
NRA Executive Director Wayne LaPierre will speak at a news conference at 10:45 a.m. After the shooting, a debate over gun control has surged from the public and in Washington. The NRA, an important voice that has been missing thus far, will join the conversation.
On Tuesday, the group released its only statement on the shooting, saying in part that "the NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again."
read more here
He blamed the media, video games, the President and then called for more people to be armed. This is why regular, responsible gun owners need to protest the NRA. They are making all gun owners look like unfeeling jerks. This is just a week after the Sandy Hook mass murder with children still being buried!
By CNN Staff
updated 10:45 AM EST, Fri December 21, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: NRA Executive Director Wayne LaPierre will speak at a news conference at 10:45 a.m.
NEW: Across the nation Friday morning, church bells rang in remembrance of the victims
The Obama administration has started debate on gun control
More funerals of the victims will take place Friday
(CNN) -- The National Rifle Association, the powerful gun rights group that has kept largely quiet since last week's deadly school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, will break its silence Friday.
NRA Executive Director Wayne LaPierre will speak at a news conference at 10:45 a.m. After the shooting, a debate over gun control has surged from the public and in Washington. The NRA, an important voice that has been missing thus far, will join the conversation.
On Tuesday, the group released its only statement on the shooting, saying in part that "the NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again."
read more here
He blamed the media, video games, the President and then called for more people to be armed. This is why regular, responsible gun owners need to protest the NRA. They are making all gun owners look like unfeeling jerks. This is just a week after the Sandy Hook mass murder with children still being buried!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Accused Marine Faker "deeply sorry"
Accused Marine faker ‘deeply sorry’
Army Times
By Dan Lamothe
Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 20, 2012
A Marine veteran who made national news for standing guard outside a California school in uniform was accused Thursday of faking his military service, but denied he did so.
Craig Pusley appeared outside Hughson Elementary School in Modesto, Calif., on Wednesday in a desert camouflage uniform to help children feel safe following the massacre of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., he said. He added that he was inspired in part by another Marine veteran, Staff Sgt. Jordan Pritchard, who made headlines for similar actions at Gower Elementary School in Nashville, Tenn.
Media coverage of Pusley’s actions reported that he is 28 years old and got out of the Corps as a sergeant after deploying twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. In reality, Pusley graduated from boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, but was in the service less than a year and never made it past private first class, Marine officials said. He never deployed or made it through military occupational specialty school, leaving the Corps designated a “basic Marine,” MOS 8000.
read more here
Marine Dad stands watch over Nashville Elementary School
Army Times
By Dan Lamothe
Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 20, 2012
A Marine veteran who made national news for standing guard outside a California school in uniform was accused Thursday of faking his military service, but denied he did so.
Craig Pusley appeared outside Hughson Elementary School in Modesto, Calif., on Wednesday in a desert camouflage uniform to help children feel safe following the massacre of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., he said. He added that he was inspired in part by another Marine veteran, Staff Sgt. Jordan Pritchard, who made headlines for similar actions at Gower Elementary School in Nashville, Tenn.
Media coverage of Pusley’s actions reported that he is 28 years old and got out of the Corps as a sergeant after deploying twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. In reality, Pusley graduated from boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, but was in the service less than a year and never made it past private first class, Marine officials said. He never deployed or made it through military occupational specialty school, leaving the Corps designated a “basic Marine,” MOS 8000.
read more here
Marine Dad stands watch over Nashville Elementary School
First-responders recount initial chaos of school massacre
First-responders recount initial chaos of school massacre
By Vivian Kuo
CNN
December 19, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
First-responders recall chaos of Friday's Connecticut school massacre
The worst memory is of the parents' faces waiting for their children
The first-responders say nothing could have prepared them
Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) -- Amid the chaos that first-responder Ray Corbo witnessed on Friday, there is one image that he will never forget.
It isn't the woman who was taken to the hospital after being shot in the foot at Sandy Hook Elementary. It isn't the police officer he saw leaving the school's interior covered in someone's blood.
What will haunt Corbo forever is the memory of parents lined up outside the firehouse just a few hundred feet away from the school, waiting to pick up their children.
"As the children were coming down the street, little by little, classroom by classroom all holding hands, parents were claiming their children," says Corbo, the first assistant fire chief at Newtown Hook and Ladder No. 1. "After a little while, once they claimed their kid and signed them out ... they left.
"There were some sticking around and that's when we realized that they're probably not going to be leaving. They're gonna get the confirmation soon enough that they're not gonna be grabbing their child and hugging them and taking them home."
read more here
By Vivian Kuo
CNN
December 19, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
First-responders recall chaos of Friday's Connecticut school massacre
The worst memory is of the parents' faces waiting for their children
The first-responders say nothing could have prepared them
Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) -- Amid the chaos that first-responder Ray Corbo witnessed on Friday, there is one image that he will never forget.
It isn't the woman who was taken to the hospital after being shot in the foot at Sandy Hook Elementary. It isn't the police officer he saw leaving the school's interior covered in someone's blood.
What will haunt Corbo forever is the memory of parents lined up outside the firehouse just a few hundred feet away from the school, waiting to pick up their children.
"As the children were coming down the street, little by little, classroom by classroom all holding hands, parents were claiming their children," says Corbo, the first assistant fire chief at Newtown Hook and Ladder No. 1. "After a little while, once they claimed their kid and signed them out ... they left.
"There were some sticking around and that's when we realized that they're probably not going to be leaving. They're gonna get the confirmation soon enough that they're not gonna be grabbing their child and hugging them and taking them home."
read more here
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
It took 14 minutes to kill 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary
14 minutes to hit 26 people with multiple bullets that killed them and wounded two more adults. That's how fast this shooter was able to do it.
'Call for everything': Police scanner recording reveals early moments of Newtown tragedyYou can find a collection of videos for this on YouTube
By Tracy Connor
NBC News
Police radio traffic from the Newtown school shooting shows emergency responders initially thought there might be two gunmen on the loose and were not aware of the extent of the carnage inside Sandy Hook Elementary School.
But as the horrific event unfolded, first-responders can be heard asking for more support: "Call for everything," one says. The communications were not officially released, but were posted on YouTube by a scanner monitor and authenticated by police. Some of the dialogue is encrypted or garbled, but the transmissions that can be heard – with the sound of sirens blaring in the background — provide a glimpse of how Friday’s massacre unfolded through the eyes of police and paramedics.
The recordings begin at 9:35 a.m. with a dispatcher calmly reporting a 911 call about “somebody shooting in the building,” followed two minutes later by the chilling update that a caller was “continuing to hear what he believes to be gunfire.” One dispatcher notifies responding officers that a teacher reported seeing “two shooters, running past the gym.”
“Make sure you have your vests on,” a voice cautions officers in the early minutes.
At 9:49 a.m., an officer described what may have been (the shooter) shooting himself with one of his handguns as cops swarmed the building.
read more here
Newtown Victims' Lawsuits Curbed By NRA-Backed Law
I just got off the phone with a friend. He is a gun owner and I have no problem with that at all. I know a lot of them. I told him that there is no excuse to have an assault weapon, reminded him that real life is not like the movies. A gun owner with a handgun will not face off with someone shooting an assault weapon all the time. They are more likely to try if the shooter only has a handgun and there is an equal chance of the shooter being stopped as the hero trying to stop him. Again, a good time to remind people is we cannot assume everyone with a gun is able to shoot another person. While it is nice to live in fantasy land assuming everyone can do it, they won't.
The other point I brought up was that gun owners should have to be licensed and have to renew their license along with being insured. He said that shouldn't happen because that means more money. I said "tough shit" because look at the money it is costing these 26 families to bury their dead when all they did was show up for a day of classes at an elementary school.
Guns are dangerous and should never be taken lightly so if gun owners are serious about how valuable they are to have then let them prove it with getting a permit to learn how to use one, getting a license after they prove they know how to use it before they are able to buy it and having to renew it. Let them have to get insurance on it just like they do if they drive a car or motorcycle. Responsible gun owners should support and assault weapons ban because there is no evidence they are used for anything other than being able to shoot many bullets in a short time like the less than ten minutes it took for the shooter to kill 26 people with multiple bullets entering their bodies.
UPDATE
The other point I brought up was that gun owners should have to be licensed and have to renew their license along with being insured. He said that shouldn't happen because that means more money. I said "tough shit" because look at the money it is costing these 26 families to bury their dead when all they did was show up for a day of classes at an elementary school.
Guns are dangerous and should never be taken lightly so if gun owners are serious about how valuable they are to have then let them prove it with getting a permit to learn how to use one, getting a license after they prove they know how to use it before they are able to buy it and having to renew it. Let them have to get insurance on it just like they do if they drive a car or motorcycle. Responsible gun owners should support and assault weapons ban because there is no evidence they are used for anything other than being able to shoot many bullets in a short time like the less than ten minutes it took for the shooter to kill 26 people with multiple bullets entering their bodies.
Newtown Victims' Lawsuits Curbed By NRA-Backed Law
Huffington Post
Ben Hallman
Posted: 12/18/2012
The massacre of schoolchildren in Connecticut may yield new laws to limit the availability of military-style assault weapons. But one thing the latest tragedy will likely not produce: lawsuits against the company that manufactured the gun used in the killings.
Under a controversial law Congress passed seven years ago at the urging of the National Rifle Association, gun manufacturers are explicitly shielded from lawsuits that would seek to hold them liable for crimes committed with weapons they sold.
The 2005 law has drawn attacks from gun control advocates and constitutional scholars, who portray it as a powerful insulator for gun manufacturers, protecting them from the consequences of their lethal products. Why should gun manufacturers, they ask, enjoy a special liability protection not available to other companies that make potentially lethal products?
"Gun companies should be treated the same as any other company. There is no reason to give them special exemption from litigation," said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law. "It is an outrageous piece of legislation."
read more here
UPDATE
Connecticut Concealed Carry Permit
Requirements:
1. Is twenty-one years of age;
2. Is a legal resident of the United States;
3. Has a residence or business in the jurisdiction in which they are applying;
4. Intends to use the handgun for only lawful purposes;
5. Is a “suitable person” to receive a permit;
6. Has successfully completed an approved handgun safety course;
7. Has not been convicted of a felony or a violation of;
a. Criminal possession of a narcotic substance;
b. Criminally negligent homicide;
c. Assault in the third degree;
d. Reckless endangerment in the firstdegree;
e. Unlawful restraint in the second degree;
f. Riot in the first degree;
g. Stalking in the second degree;
8. Has not been convicted as a delinquent for the commission of a serious juvenile offense;
9. Has not been discharged from custody within the preceding twenty years after having been found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect;
10. Is not subject to a restraining or p[protective order issued by a court in a case involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person;
11. Is not subject to a firearms seizure order issued for posing a risk of personal injury to self or others after a hearing; or
12. Is not prohibited from possessing a firearm for having been adjudicated as a mentally incompetent under federal law.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Who is defending the rights of the children to live?
I was watching CNN when Piers Morgan had a heated exchange with the President of Gun Owners of America while Larry Pratt once again said teachers should have been armed, just as he had on MSNBC.
There is plenty of talk about the rights of gun owners but not enough about people to go to school, to go to a movie, go shopping or simply do what they do in a normal day when an un-normal person gets their hands on assault weapons.
I decided to turn my computer back on and tackle this part of the debate we should be having when I read this.
The shooters Mom knew he was mentally ill enough to want to have him committed. Think about that for a second. She still had taken him to the gun range to go shooting and still had assault weapons in her home while she thought her son was dangerous. How can this be justifiable?
Getting back to Pratt and his comments about the rights of people to own guns, that is fine when they are responsible and respect the power of the weapons they own but when the same laws allow dangerous people to get their hands on assault weapons, that cannot be defended.
The shooters Mom, for whatever reason, did not remove those weapons even though she though her son needed to be committed. People still defend her right to have those guns? What about the rights of the 20 children to live? The 6 other adults to live? For the rest of the students in that elementary school to feel safe? For the families to feel that they had nothing to worry about when they sent their kids to school? Her guns were legally owned yet Pratt said the teachers should have been armed too? Her guns were legal but Pratt's answer is more guns. In what? The "right hands" because he is so sure that everyone that owns guns are responsible? He must have thought the shooters Mom was responsible as well because she bought the guns legally and had permits for them. We saw how all that turned out.
Real life is not the movies. In the movies people aim a weapon and it hits the target. Cops don't have to fire multiple times, miss and have to keep shooting until they hit the person they are aiming at. The director tells the person to just fall down. Real life isn't like that and it is time we stopped pretending it is.
There shouldn't have to be laws for someone to remove guns from a house with a mental illness so severe they should be committed. That is what should just be common sense and it is not happening.
If there is ever going to be an honest debate in this country about guns, then we need to stop pretending that every gun owner does the right thing.
UPDATE December 19, 2012
If you want a gun to protect yourself and your home, most people can understand that. If you want a gun to go hunting, most people are ok with that too. Why on earth do you want an assault weapon? You don't need them. If normal gun owners do not take a stand against assault weapons then you'll be part of the problem in the eyes of the rest of the country. Do the right thing and push these gun owner groups to come up with a solution that will protect your rights and the rights of others to not have to fear what some do with their "legal" guns.
There is plenty of talk about the rights of gun owners but not enough about people to go to school, to go to a movie, go shopping or simply do what they do in a normal day when an un-normal person gets their hands on assault weapons.
I decided to turn my computer back on and tackle this part of the debate we should be having when I read this.
EXCLUSIVE: Fear of being committed may have caused Connecticut gunman to snap
By Jana Winter
Published December 18, 2012
FoxNews.com
“From what I've been told, Adam was aware of her petitioning the court for conservatorship and (her) plans to have him committed," Flashman told FoxNews.com.
"Adam was apparently very upset about this. He thought she just wanted to send him away. From what I understand, he was really, really angry. I think this could have been it, what set him off.”
The shooters Mom knew he was mentally ill enough to want to have him committed. Think about that for a second. She still had taken him to the gun range to go shooting and still had assault weapons in her home while she thought her son was dangerous. How can this be justifiable?
Getting back to Pratt and his comments about the rights of people to own guns, that is fine when they are responsible and respect the power of the weapons they own but when the same laws allow dangerous people to get their hands on assault weapons, that cannot be defended.
The shooters Mom, for whatever reason, did not remove those weapons even though she though her son needed to be committed. People still defend her right to have those guns? What about the rights of the 20 children to live? The 6 other adults to live? For the rest of the students in that elementary school to feel safe? For the families to feel that they had nothing to worry about when they sent their kids to school? Her guns were legally owned yet Pratt said the teachers should have been armed too? Her guns were legal but Pratt's answer is more guns. In what? The "right hands" because he is so sure that everyone that owns guns are responsible? He must have thought the shooters Mom was responsible as well because she bought the guns legally and had permits for them. We saw how all that turned out.
Real life is not the movies. In the movies people aim a weapon and it hits the target. Cops don't have to fire multiple times, miss and have to keep shooting until they hit the person they are aiming at. The director tells the person to just fall down. Real life isn't like that and it is time we stopped pretending it is.
There shouldn't have to be laws for someone to remove guns from a house with a mental illness so severe they should be committed. That is what should just be common sense and it is not happening.
If there is ever going to be an honest debate in this country about guns, then we need to stop pretending that every gun owner does the right thing.
UPDATE December 19, 2012
If you want a gun to protect yourself and your home, most people can understand that. If you want a gun to go hunting, most people are ok with that too. Why on earth do you want an assault weapon? You don't need them. If normal gun owners do not take a stand against assault weapons then you'll be part of the problem in the eyes of the rest of the country. Do the right thing and push these gun owner groups to come up with a solution that will protect your rights and the rights of others to not have to fear what some do with their "legal" guns.
A conscious decision to love
Friday morning the horror of what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School was just breaking. We focused on all the horrible news as it came out. Reporters focused on the name of the shooter, the wrong name at first, and then his real name. Later on in the day the news of 3 being taken to the hospital was changed to reports on the children and teachers killed. By Saturday, the whole world knew how terrible it all turned out to be. Again, I won't type the shooters name. I just can't do it.
For now I want to point out this story about how average people became heroes and acted out of love.
An evil act pulled the trigger over and over again yet out of love, strangers showed up to see what they could do for this tiny community. Reporters managed to get through their own tears and heartache to cover the stories of the lives lost.
This showed what happens when we make a conscious decision to love while others decide to harm.
The children of Sandy Hook will heal and all the families grieving for the lives lost will find one day their pain is replaced with warm, loving memories but their acts of love will be remembered by the world for a very, very long time.
For now I want to point out this story about how average people became heroes and acted out of love.
Connecticut teachers were heroes in the face of death
By Ben Brumfield
CNN
December 18, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: "Remember these heroic women's names and forget the gunman's," a reader says
Teachers at Sandy Hook elementary acted heroically
Some were killed as they used their bodies to shield the children they taught
It will take more bravery to move on and heal
(CNN) -- Facing down a gunman, placing yourself in the path of flying bullets, forfeiting your life to protect innocents. It's a job description fitting for a soldier or police officer, but for a school teacher -- an elementary school teacher at that? What the teachers and principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School did for the children in their care could win a soldier in a war zone a Purple Heart.
Read more: 'This world is a better place because she has been in it'
But the soldier makes a conscious choice to face mortal danger when he or she enlists.
Sandy Hook's heroes did not.
click link above for more
An evil act pulled the trigger over and over again yet out of love, strangers showed up to see what they could do for this tiny community. Reporters managed to get through their own tears and heartache to cover the stories of the lives lost.
This showed what happens when we make a conscious decision to love while others decide to harm.
The children of Sandy Hook will heal and all the families grieving for the lives lost will find one day their pain is replaced with warm, loving memories but their acts of love will be remembered by the world for a very, very long time.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Mort Zuckerman Pledges $200 Million To Mental Health
Billionaire Mort Zuckerman Pledges $200 Million To Mental Health Research
Luisa Kroll
Forbes Staff
The state of preventative mental health care in the U.S. has been thrust onto the national scene in recent days, after the monstrous murder of 27 people including 20 children in an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. While it is not clear what motivated the lone gunman or from what disease he suffered, if any, few think he could have been right in his head.
Probably coincidentally, one of the country’s richest people announced today a gift that will attempt to come up with new therapies and potential cures for a range of mental health disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s but also autism, schizophrenia and mood disorders. New York real estate billionaire, Mortimer Zuckerman, has pledged $200 million to endow a Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University to be named after him.
read more here
Luisa Kroll
Forbes Staff
The state of preventative mental health care in the U.S. has been thrust onto the national scene in recent days, after the monstrous murder of 27 people including 20 children in an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. While it is not clear what motivated the lone gunman or from what disease he suffered, if any, few think he could have been right in his head.
Probably coincidentally, one of the country’s richest people announced today a gift that will attempt to come up with new therapies and potential cures for a range of mental health disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s but also autism, schizophrenia and mood disorders. New York real estate billionaire, Mortimer Zuckerman, has pledged $200 million to endow a Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University to be named after him.
read more here
Sick freaks in Westboro hate group going after Sandy Hook families
This group of best known military haters has finally managed to prove just how sick and twisted they are.
Anonymous sics Westboro again
The hacktivist collective continues its attack on the infamous hate group, shutting down its website
BY KATIE MCDONOUGH
Anonymous has shut down Westboro Baptist website (Godhatesfags.com) with a denial of service attack (DDOS), the latest from the hacker collective after the hate group/church announced plans to picket victims of Sandy Hook’s funerals. As Salon’s Natasha Lennard wrote on Sunday:
Hacker collective Anonymous was swift to respond, releasing private information of Westboro members including email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses. This video, decrying the church for spreading “seeds of hatred,” was also released. It warns, “We will destroy you. We are coming.”
read more here
Why was Fort Hood left off the list of mass shootings?
TRANSCRIPT: We have wept with you,' Obama says in Newtown speech
November 2009 - U.S. army psychologist Major Nidal Hasan opened fire at a military base in Fort Hood, Texas, leaving 13 dead and 42 others wounded.
January 2011 - a gunman opened fire at a public gathering outside a grocery in Tuscon, Arizona, killing six people including a nine-year-old girl and wounding at least 12 others. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was severely injured with a gunshot to the head.
July 2012 - Masked gunman opens fire at midnight cinema screen of new Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 and injuring 58. Suspect James Holmes is arrested by oplice and awaiting trial.
August 2012 - Gunman kills six people at SIkh temple in Wisconsin before being shot dead by police. Suspect is named as white supremacists Wade Michael Page.
"Since I’ve been President, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by a mass shooting. The fourth time we’ve hugged survivors. The fourth time we’ve consoled the families of victims. And in between, there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and big cities all across America - victims whose - much of the time, their only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"But that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that has visited Tucson, and Aurora, and Oak Creek, and Newtown, and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that - then surely we have an obligation to try.History of Mass Shootings
November 2009 - U.S. army psychologist Major Nidal Hasan opened fire at a military base in Fort Hood, Texas, leaving 13 dead and 42 others wounded.
January 2011 - a gunman opened fire at a public gathering outside a grocery in Tuscon, Arizona, killing six people including a nine-year-old girl and wounding at least 12 others. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was severely injured with a gunshot to the head.
July 2012 - Masked gunman opens fire at midnight cinema screen of new Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 and injuring 58. Suspect James Holmes is arrested by oplice and awaiting trial.
August 2012 - Gunman kills six people at SIkh temple in Wisconsin before being shot dead by police. Suspect is named as white supremacists Wade Michael Page.
God did not need more angels and heroes in Heaven
God did not need more angels and heroes in Heaven
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
December 17, 2012
Like most Americans last night I was watching the memorial service for the Shady Hook victims. As first responders entered the assembly, people stood on their feet and applauded them, offering hugs and saying "thank you" knowing how much pain they were in. They rushed to the school to save lives but they discovered within minutes, the shooting was over, the gunman was dead and so were 6 heroic teachers and 20 children.
I listened to President Obama's heartfelt words as he tried to comfort the people of Newtown and a grieving nation. When he said "God called them home" it showed how confused we all can be when something horrifying happens. We tell ourselves a lot of things to try to make sense out of the senseless.
When a person dies a natural death because bodies can get sick, wounded and age, then God in His mercy does "call them home" and then the eternal soul returns to Him. When it is not a natural death, to say "God called them home" can leave the impression God decided to do it just as much when we say "God needed more angels."
God did not need more angels and heroes in Heaven. We needed them here on earth.
This morning I was reading this. Newtown begins heartbreaking ritual of saying goodbyes
"All across this land of ours, we have wept with you," Obama said Sunday night.
Last night I waited as I listened to members of the clergy representing different faiths offered words of comfort for the right words to come. While their words were honest and from their hearts, many were still left wanting answers.
When these teachers used their bodies to save these tiny children, they were heroes and God opened His arms to perfect peace in His presence. The teachers surviving this are also heroes because they put the children in their care ahead of themselves. The tiny children were slaughtered and the survivors will be forever changed by something that was not planned for them by God.
I have often asked why God didn't strike someone dead before they were able to do what they ended up doing. The truth is, God does not murder. He did not kill the angels as they turned their backs on Him. If He would not kill them, how can we expect Him to kill evil people here on earth?
We don't know what God tried to do to prevent this. We know the shooter shot his Mom several times before he went to Shady Hook. Maybe He tried to stop the shooter through his Mom? We don't know. Maybe He was trying to get through to the shooter as he drove to the school? Maybe He tried to get through to him before he pulled the trigger the first time, the second time and many times afterwards? Again, we don't know. We do know that the shooter finally took his weapon and turned it on himself.
While we focus on the evil done by a man's freewill choices, we must also look at the actions of the teachers in their own freewill choices to protect and save. We must look at the first responders and their freewill choices to risk their lives for the sake of others everyday no matter what they face. To see the parents who made the freewill choice to love their children and the choice of a nation to be moved to grieve for them.
When souls come to this earth from Heaven, they come with a task to do, sometimes great and sometimes small. What they were supposed to do has been removed from the future of those left behind. It is then the job of the rest of us to finish what they would have done had they lived to do it. To strive to make this earth a better place in their memory. To be kinder. To be more thoughtful of others. Above all, to love as God loves us.
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
December 17, 2012
Like most Americans last night I was watching the memorial service for the Shady Hook victims. As first responders entered the assembly, people stood on their feet and applauded them, offering hugs and saying "thank you" knowing how much pain they were in. They rushed to the school to save lives but they discovered within minutes, the shooting was over, the gunman was dead and so were 6 heroic teachers and 20 children.
I listened to President Obama's heartfelt words as he tried to comfort the people of Newtown and a grieving nation. When he said "God called them home" it showed how confused we all can be when something horrifying happens. We tell ourselves a lot of things to try to make sense out of the senseless.
When a person dies a natural death because bodies can get sick, wounded and age, then God in His mercy does "call them home" and then the eternal soul returns to Him. When it is not a natural death, to say "God called them home" can leave the impression God decided to do it just as much when we say "God needed more angels."
God did not need more angels and heroes in Heaven. We needed them here on earth.
This morning I was reading this. Newtown begins heartbreaking ritual of saying goodbyes
"All across this land of ours, we have wept with you," Obama said Sunday night.
Last night I waited as I listened to members of the clergy representing different faiths offered words of comfort for the right words to come. While their words were honest and from their hearts, many were still left wanting answers.
When these teachers used their bodies to save these tiny children, they were heroes and God opened His arms to perfect peace in His presence. The teachers surviving this are also heroes because they put the children in their care ahead of themselves. The tiny children were slaughtered and the survivors will be forever changed by something that was not planned for them by God.
I have often asked why God didn't strike someone dead before they were able to do what they ended up doing. The truth is, God does not murder. He did not kill the angels as they turned their backs on Him. If He would not kill them, how can we expect Him to kill evil people here on earth?
We don't know what God tried to do to prevent this. We know the shooter shot his Mom several times before he went to Shady Hook. Maybe He tried to stop the shooter through his Mom? We don't know. Maybe He was trying to get through to the shooter as he drove to the school? Maybe He tried to get through to him before he pulled the trigger the first time, the second time and many times afterwards? Again, we don't know. We do know that the shooter finally took his weapon and turned it on himself.
While we focus on the evil done by a man's freewill choices, we must also look at the actions of the teachers in their own freewill choices to protect and save. We must look at the first responders and their freewill choices to risk their lives for the sake of others everyday no matter what they face. To see the parents who made the freewill choice to love their children and the choice of a nation to be moved to grieve for them.
When souls come to this earth from Heaven, they come with a task to do, sometimes great and sometimes small. What they were supposed to do has been removed from the future of those left behind. It is then the job of the rest of us to finish what they would have done had they lived to do it. To strive to make this earth a better place in their memory. To be kinder. To be more thoughtful of others. Above all, to love as God loves us.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
PTSD in first responders
PTSD in first responders: emergency personnel’s repeated exposure to trauma can cause severe emotional stress
By Stephen M. Pfeiffer, PhD
From firefighters and EMTs to law enforcement officers and ER nurses, emergency services personnel spend their lives on the front lines, constantly exposed not only to dangerous circumstances but also traumatic scenes and events that can leave a lasting mark. Studies have shown that PTSD in first responders and others who work under such circumstances is a common risk – one that, despite its prevalence, may be overshadowed by the physical dangers associated with emergency service careers. However, it is critical for employers and medical professionals alike to be aware of PTSD risk, and to take steps toward preventing and effectively treating the disorder.
read more here
Several of the classes I had when I got certified in Crisis Intervention focused on taking care of the responders instead of just the survivors. When the "victims" survive the event, they can be pretty sure they will not have to experience something like that again but the responders know it may be a different day and a different circumstance, but they will face something like it over and over again.
When we heard about the shootings in Newtown and the Medical Examiner talking about the 20 tiny bodies with multiple bullet wounds, that heart wrenching news was followed by the fact there was only one funeral director in town that would have to face 28 funerals.
They will need a lot of help, just like the teachers, parents and friends of all of those killed but there is one more group that will need help that cannot be forgotten. The first responders rush to the school not knowing what they would find there, if they were risking their lives, would be slaughtered or if they would walk into horror beyond their imagination.
I doubt even their worst fears could have come close to what they saw when they walked down the halls of Sandy Hook.
Help them grieve as soon as they can so they can start to heal from all of this.
September 11, 2009
About the Video: When National Guards go to Iraq or Afghanistan, they serve with the regular military but have to come home, back to police departments, fire departments and responding to natural traumatic events. What we don't think about is that they are also bring the war back home inside of them, but doing what they always do. Being there when we need them.
Misinformation is being posted on social media sites about Sandy Hook
FROM CNN
[Updated at 11:50 a.m. ET] Inaccurate information about the Connecticut elementary school shooting is spreading on social media, and authorities could prosecute those responsible, Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance told reporters Sunday.
Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance addresses reporters on Sunday morning.
"Misinformation is being posted on social media sites," he said. "There has been misinformation from people posing as the shooter in this case, posing using other IDs. Mimicking this crime and crime scene and criminal activity that took place in this community. There's been some things in somewhat of a threatening manner. ... These issues are crimes. They will be investigated. ... Prosecution will take place when people who are perpetrating this information are identified."
read more here
[Updated at 11:50 a.m. ET] Inaccurate information about the Connecticut elementary school shooting is spreading on social media, and authorities could prosecute those responsible, Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance told reporters Sunday.
Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance addresses reporters on Sunday morning.
"Misinformation is being posted on social media sites," he said. "There has been misinformation from people posing as the shooter in this case, posing using other IDs. Mimicking this crime and crime scene and criminal activity that took place in this community. There's been some things in somewhat of a threatening manner. ... These issues are crimes. They will be investigated. ... Prosecution will take place when people who are perpetrating this information are identified."
read more here
Teachers at Sandy Hook "absolute superheroes"
Parents: Teachers 'absolute superheroes'
CNN Weekend Shows
Added on December 15, 2012
Parents whose children survived the Sandy Hook shooting tell CNN's Soledad O'Brien how teachers protected their kids.
CNN Weekend Shows
Added on December 15, 2012
Parents whose children survived the Sandy Hook shooting tell CNN's Soledad O'Brien how teachers protected their kids.
Paperwork to have these assault weapons still deadly
Paperwork to have these assault weapons still deadly
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times
December 16, 2012
On Friday, moments after the reports started to come out about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, I posted Shooting reported at Connecticut elementary school The CNN report was from 11:19 and it was posted at 11:24. Like most Americans I was glued to the reports coming out because I couldn't make any sense out of this. I kept waiting to hear the reason behind something like this. This is Sunday and there has still been no explanation for it. The reason may never be known and that really hurts because of all the people killed by this one person.
I read how the Mom of the shooter collected the guns he used and purchased them legally but then I read nonsense about how she was a "responsible" gun owner. While she did have all the paperwork to have these assault weapons, she could not have been a responsible person considering she was also living with her adult son with some sort of mental illness. Mentally ill people do not suddenly "snap" and this shooter didn't either. He used his own Mom's guns to kill her and then went to the school to kill more topped off with shooters rifle was rigged to reload quickly.
The Medical Examiner said the children were shot multiple times and by the accounts of the time it took to do this, it was only within minutes from the time the 911 calls were made and officers responded.
Some say she had the weapons for protection but if she had only one handgun locked up then maybe this all could have been prevented. How many guns can a person use at the same time? The shooter used the Bushmaster rifle on the kids and teachers more than the handguns he brought into the school.
Since Friday people have been defending the rights of gun owners against calls for action to prevent mass murders. Maybe the fact this was a school filled with very young children will cause people to wonder about automatic weapons. To this day I still have not heard a single, solid defense regarding the necessity of having an automatic weapon although I do defend the right for people to own regular guns and hunting weapons. As confusing as it gets, even normal gun rights advocates will be sickened by this comment tweeted by an Evangelical talk host.
This person actually must believe that the killing of these tiny children and heroic teachers was because God's feelings were hurt without ever once noticing how many times it was shown God was there on Friday when teachers risked their lives to save the children and when first responders rushed in not knowing what they were facing. He must actually believe God would defend assault weapons no matter how they are used because "responsible" gun owners want to have them no matter how others use them.
I have no problem with my friends owning guns, since most of them do. They have all different kinds of handguns so even if I don't understand their need I can respect it because I respect them. If you think about the number of guns in this country at 300 million, it is easy to acknowledge how few times something like this has happened but all of us also have to acknowledge that the shooters were all unstable and still able to get their hands on assault weapons.
Isn't it time to talk about what real responsibility is?
Huckabee jumped in on this one too!
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times
December 16, 2012
On Friday, moments after the reports started to come out about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, I posted Shooting reported at Connecticut elementary school The CNN report was from 11:19 and it was posted at 11:24. Like most Americans I was glued to the reports coming out because I couldn't make any sense out of this. I kept waiting to hear the reason behind something like this. This is Sunday and there has still been no explanation for it. The reason may never be known and that really hurts because of all the people killed by this one person.
I read how the Mom of the shooter collected the guns he used and purchased them legally but then I read nonsense about how she was a "responsible" gun owner. While she did have all the paperwork to have these assault weapons, she could not have been a responsible person considering she was also living with her adult son with some sort of mental illness. Mentally ill people do not suddenly "snap" and this shooter didn't either. He used his own Mom's guns to kill her and then went to the school to kill more topped off with shooters rifle was rigged to reload quickly.
The Medical Examiner said the children were shot multiple times and by the accounts of the time it took to do this, it was only within minutes from the time the 911 calls were made and officers responded.
Some say she had the weapons for protection but if she had only one handgun locked up then maybe this all could have been prevented. How many guns can a person use at the same time? The shooter used the Bushmaster rifle on the kids and teachers more than the handguns he brought into the school.
Since Friday people have been defending the rights of gun owners against calls for action to prevent mass murders. Maybe the fact this was a school filled with very young children will cause people to wonder about automatic weapons. To this day I still have not heard a single, solid defense regarding the necessity of having an automatic weapon although I do defend the right for people to own regular guns and hunting weapons. As confusing as it gets, even normal gun rights advocates will be sickened by this comment tweeted by an Evangelical talk host.
The most unhinged reactions to the shooting
Conservatives are adamant about not "politicizing" the tragedy. Perhaps they should look at their Twitter feeds
BY ALEX SEITZ-WALD
DEC 14, 2012
Evangelical radio host Bryan Fischer had a similar, if far loonier, message. “Here’s the bottom line — God is not going to go where He is not wanted,” he said on his radio show today. “We kicked God out of our public school system. I think God would say to us, hey, I would be glad to protect your children, but you gotta invite me back into your world first. I’m not going to go where I’m not wanted. I am a gentleman… Back when we had prayer, the Bible and the Ten Commandments in schools, we did not need guns.”
This person actually must believe that the killing of these tiny children and heroic teachers was because God's feelings were hurt without ever once noticing how many times it was shown God was there on Friday when teachers risked their lives to save the children and when first responders rushed in not knowing what they were facing. He must actually believe God would defend assault weapons no matter how they are used because "responsible" gun owners want to have them no matter how others use them.
I have no problem with my friends owning guns, since most of them do. They have all different kinds of handguns so even if I don't understand their need I can respect it because I respect them. If you think about the number of guns in this country at 300 million, it is easy to acknowledge how few times something like this has happened but all of us also have to acknowledge that the shooters were all unstable and still able to get their hands on assault weapons.
Isn't it time to talk about what real responsibility is?
Huckabee jumped in on this one too!
Friday, December 14, 2012
Massacre of children leaves many asking, 'Where’s God?'
I am so tired of religious leaders taking the easy way out of saying "there is no good answer" when the worst tragedy happens. It shows they lack the ability to see God in all things including times when evil is committed. They forget that God will not interfere with man's freewill. It is up to them if they listen to His voice to do good in this world or to turn away and do evil against others.
Today we focus on the pain and the horror of so many children being killed along with innocent adults just trying to teach them so they could have a better future. That future will now include remembering this evil act, yet I refuse to ask "where was God" because I know He was there.
Some parents are holding onto their children tonight and some will thank God it wasn't them at the same time they grieve for the other parents. Some parents are waiting to be able to claim the bodies of the children they kissed goodbye this morning as they sent them off to school. Some of them are asking "where was God" and some will blame God. All of them will be searching for answers and turning to clergy for help but if they hear "there are no easy answers" their healing will not begin.
God was there when teachers risked their lives to pull children to safety. He was there when police officers rushed to the school only thinking about the kids not knowing what they were rushing into or if they would also die this day.
He was there when arms reached out to comfort and when the nation sent up prayers to heaven for strangers they would never meet. He is there when crisis responders drop whatever they were doing and rush to be there for all of those in need including the responders having to cope with seeing all the children.
God is always there when times of crisis come but we focus on the evil other people are capable of.
The gunman pulled the trigger of the guns and according to reports this far, he was shooting at random. Why he did it we may never be able to understand but even knowing why will not change the outcome. We do know that parents loved their children and their children loved them. We do know that teachers wanted to give these children a bright future as they hoped one day these children would grow up to change the world for the better. We do know that the members of the police force and emergency responders cared about the members of their community enough that they were willing to risk their lives for them. While evil did surface this day, love did as well.
If you are a member of the clergy don't give them easy answers or try to back out of giving any answers at all. They don't need you to fix them right now but help them cope with this horror and listen to them. Don't tell them one of the stupidest things I've ever heard come out of the mouth of a pastor, "God only gives us what we can handle" because when you tell them something that sickening you are telling them that God either did it to them or He allowed it to teach them a lesson. If you think that gives anyone comfort ask yourself how you'd feel hearing that. To be there for them you have to really be there for them, all of you. Your ears must listen, your heart must feel and your prayers for them must include God giving you the right words to come out your mouth to actually give some comfort to them even if it is tiny compared to the depth of their pain.
Today we focus on the pain and the horror of so many children being killed along with innocent adults just trying to teach them so they could have a better future. That future will now include remembering this evil act, yet I refuse to ask "where was God" because I know He was there.
Some parents are holding onto their children tonight and some will thank God it wasn't them at the same time they grieve for the other parents. Some parents are waiting to be able to claim the bodies of the children they kissed goodbye this morning as they sent them off to school. Some of them are asking "where was God" and some will blame God. All of them will be searching for answers and turning to clergy for help but if they hear "there are no easy answers" their healing will not begin.
God was there when teachers risked their lives to pull children to safety. He was there when police officers rushed to the school only thinking about the kids not knowing what they were rushing into or if they would also die this day.
He was there when arms reached out to comfort and when the nation sent up prayers to heaven for strangers they would never meet. He is there when crisis responders drop whatever they were doing and rush to be there for all of those in need including the responders having to cope with seeing all the children.
God is always there when times of crisis come but we focus on the evil other people are capable of.
The gunman pulled the trigger of the guns and according to reports this far, he was shooting at random. Why he did it we may never be able to understand but even knowing why will not change the outcome. We do know that parents loved their children and their children loved them. We do know that teachers wanted to give these children a bright future as they hoped one day these children would grow up to change the world for the better. We do know that the members of the police force and emergency responders cared about the members of their community enough that they were willing to risk their lives for them. While evil did surface this day, love did as well.
If you are a member of the clergy don't give them easy answers or try to back out of giving any answers at all. They don't need you to fix them right now but help them cope with this horror and listen to them. Don't tell them one of the stupidest things I've ever heard come out of the mouth of a pastor, "God only gives us what we can handle" because when you tell them something that sickening you are telling them that God either did it to them or He allowed it to teach them a lesson. If you think that gives anyone comfort ask yourself how you'd feel hearing that. To be there for them you have to really be there for them, all of you. Your ears must listen, your heart must feel and your prayers for them must include God giving you the right words to come out your mouth to actually give some comfort to them even if it is tiny compared to the depth of their pain.
Massacre of children leaves many asking, 'Where’s God?'
By Dan Gilgoff and Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editors
December 14, 2012 06:17 PM ET
(CNN) – As he waited with parents who feared that their kids were among the 20 children killed at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday, Rabbi Shaul Praver said the main thing he could do for parents was to merely be present.
“It’s a terrible thing, families waiting to find out if their children made it out alive,” said Praver, who leads a synagogue in Newtown, Connecticut, and was among nine clergy gathered with parents at a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the shooting occurred.
“They’re going to need a lot of help,” Praver said of those who are close to the dead.
From the first moments after Friday’s massacre, which also left six adults and the shooter dead, religious leaders were among the first people to whom worried and grieving families turned for help.
Over the weekend, countless more Americans will look to clergy as they struggle to process a tragedy in which so many of the victims were children.
“Every single person who is watching the news today is asking ‘Where is God when this happens?’” says Max Lucado, a prominent Christian pastor and author based in San Antonio.
Indeed, many religious leaders on Friday stressed that the important thing is for clergy to support those who are suffering, not to rush into theological questions. A University of Connecticut professor on Friday hung up the phone when asked to discuss religious responses to suffering, saying, “This is an immense tragedy, and you want an academic speculating on the problem of evil?”
“There is no good answer at that time that anyone can hear and comprehend and take in,” said Ian T. Douglas, the bishop for the Episcopal diocese of Connecticut, referring to counseling family and friends of the dead. “They’re crying out from a place of deep pain.” read more here
Shooting at Connecticut Elementary School
Breaking news, check back with CNN for more information.
Shooting reported at Connecticut elementary school
CNN
December 14th, 2012
11:19 AM ET
A shooting has been reported at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut Emergency services are on the scene
President Obama live at 3:15 grieving along with the rest of the nation "our hearts are broken today."
As reports came out during the early hours the last reports are:
The gunman is the 24 year old son of the kindergarten teacher killed.Check back with CNN for more later. Please hold all of the families in your prayers.
7 other adults were killed.
18 children killed.
3 wounded.
First responders were clearly shaken and most of them were from this small community.
UPDATE 3:36
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy
"Earlier today a number of our citizens, beautiful children had their lives taken away from them."
Lt. Paul Vance, State Police confirmed
27 killed 18 Children dead at school, 2 died at the hospital
7 Adults dead.
Secondary crime scene with another person connected to this has been found dead.
UPDATE 6:59
27 Dead, Including 20 Children, At Sandy Hook School Shooting In Newtown
The Hartford Courant Staff
6:47 p.m. EST, December 14, 2012
NEWTOWN
Twenty-seven people, including 20 children, are dead after a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Another person was found dead at 36 Yogananda St. in Newtown, sources told The Courant, and the gunman was found dead inside the school.
The shootings at the school took place in two rooms, one of which is a kindergarten classroom, sources said. One entire classroom is unaccounted for.
The report also stated that the shooter's Mom was not killed in the classroom but at home.
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