Mass shootings and gun violence are happening way too often

[louisa05]

26 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

 

Some dumbshit in Ohio's legislature wants to allow teens to bring guns to school. 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/niraj-antani-guns-in-school_us_5aabe38ce4b05b2217fe54ea

[fraurosena]

Kids are family too.

[GreyhoundFan]

I'm against arming teachers, but this idiot's reasoning is a bit much: "Schools shouldn’t arm staff because they’re full of ‘lady teachers,’ Alabama lawmaker says"

Spoiler

Many arguments against arming teachers are reasonable enough.

Critics say more guns in the classroom could lead to negligent discharges, which happened as recently as Wednesday. Or their proliferation can spark chaos for police arriving to find an adult with a gun, leading to a bloody misunderstanding.

But few have taken a public stance against arming teachers by declaring that it would violate the feminine sensibilities of teachers.

Alabama state Rep. Harry Shiver (R) asserted that belief, saying that guns should not be placed in the hands of “our ladies” — meaning female teachers — many of whom he believes are “scared” of firearms.

“I’m not saying all [women], but in most schools, women are [the majority] of the teachers,” Shiver, a lawmaker representing a district northeast of Mobile, told AL.com in an interview published Thursday.

“Some of them just don’t want to [be trained to possess firearms]. If they want to, then that’s good. But most of them don’t want to learn how to shoot like that and carry a gun.”

Shiver did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The debate over arming teachers has raged since a former student entered a high school in Parkland, Fla., and killed 17 people on Valentine’s Day.

President Trump waded into the discussion a week later, saying that “if the coach had a firearm in his locker when he ran at this guy … if he had a firearm he would not have had to run. He would have shot and that would be the end of it,” in a reference to slain football coach Aaron Feis.

Proponents of arming teachers have also said that schools that arm teachers would deter would-be assailants, who would prefer softer targets.

Emma González, a leader among vocal students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, told CBS in an episode of “60 Minutes” airing Sunday that arming teachers is a “stupid” idea.

“If you’re a teacher and you have a gun, do you keep it in a lockbox or do you carry it on your person?” Gonzalez said. “If the teacher dies … and a student who’s a good student is able to get the gun, are they now held responsible to shoot the student who’s come into the door? I’m not happy with that.”

Shiver was voicing opposition to a proposed bill that would designate specially trained teachers and administrators on school grounds, requiring annual training of 40 hours that would include active-shooter drills and firearm safety, AL.com reported. That bill cleared the public safety committee and was heading to the State House for debate.

The lawmaker relied on his past as an educator to reinforce his position during the committee hearing Thursday morning.

“We don’t need to have a lady teacher in a school that’s got a firearm,” he said, according to NBC affiliate WSFA. “I taught for 32 years, and it’s mostly ladies that’s teaching.”

Shiver is correct about the demographic makeup. Nearly 80 percent of public school teachers were women in 2011-2012, according to Education Department data.

The connection to perceived fragility in women is less clear.

Gun ownership was at a nearly 40-year low in 2016, with fewer people owning more guns per person. Most gun owners are men. But gun ownership among women has held consistently since 1980 as ownership among men experienced a decline, TheTrace.org reported.

About one in five women owns a gun, the Pew Research Center found last year, and women appear to view firearms as a pure self-defense tool at higher rates than men.

While about 90 percent of men and women who own guns say it is used for protection, 27 percent of women say self-defense is the sole reason they own a firearm, Pew found. That is more than three times the men who say the same, at 8 percent.

That may not be surprising, given the apparent link between domestic violence and violent crimes involving guns.

 

[Ozlsn]

6 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I'm against arming teachers, but this idiot's reasoning is a bit much: "Schools shouldn’t arm staff because they’re full of ‘lady teachers,’ Alabama lawmaker says"

 

Is this a really ham-fisted attempt at reverse psychology?!

[AnywhereButHere]

18 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I'm against arming teachers, but this idiot's reasoning is a bit much: "Schools shouldn’t arm staff because they’re full of ‘lady teachers,’ Alabama lawmaker says"

  Reveal hidden contents

Many arguments against arming teachers are reasonable enough.

Critics say more guns in the classroom could lead to negligent discharges, which happened as recently as Wednesday. Or their proliferation can spark chaos for police arriving to find an adult with a gun, leading to a bloody misunderstanding.

But few have taken a public stance against arming teachers by declaring that it would violate the feminine sensibilities of teachers.

Alabama state Rep. Harry Shiver (R) asserted that belief, saying that guns should not be placed in the hands of “our ladies” — meaning female teachers — many of whom he believes are “scared” of firearms.

“I’m not saying all [women], but in most schools, women are [the majority] of the teachers,” Shiver, a lawmaker representing a district northeast of Mobile, told AL.com in an interview published Thursday.

“Some of them just don’t want to [be trained to possess firearms]. If they want to, then that’s good. But most of them don’t want to learn how to shoot like that and carry a gun.”

Shiver did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The debate over arming teachers has raged since a former student entered a high school in Parkland, Fla., and killed 17 people on Valentine’s Day.

President Trump waded into the discussion a week later, saying that “if the coach had a firearm in his locker when he ran at this guy … if he had a firearm he would not have had to run. He would have shot and that would be the end of it,” in a reference to slain football coach Aaron Feis.

Proponents of arming teachers have also said that schools that arm teachers would deter would-be assailants, who would prefer softer targets.

Emma González, a leader among vocal students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, told CBS in an episode of “60 Minutes” airing Sunday that arming teachers is a “stupid” idea.

“If you’re a teacher and you have a gun, do you keep it in a lockbox or do you carry it on your person?” Gonzalez said. “If the teacher dies … and a student who’s a good student is able to get the gun, are they now held responsible to shoot the student who’s come into the door? I’m not happy with that.”

Shiver was voicing opposition to a proposed bill that would designate specially trained teachers and administrators on school grounds, requiring annual training of 40 hours that would include active-shooter drills and firearm safety, AL.com reported. That bill cleared the public safety committee and was heading to the State House for debate.

The lawmaker relied on his past as an educator to reinforce his position during the committee hearing Thursday morning.

“We don’t need to have a lady teacher in a school that’s got a firearm,” he said, according to NBC affiliate WSFA. “I taught for 32 years, and it’s mostly ladies that’s teaching.”

Shiver is correct about the demographic makeup. Nearly 80 percent of public school teachers were women in 2011-2012, according to Education Department data.

The connection to perceived fragility in women is less clear.

Gun ownership was at a nearly 40-year low in 2016, with fewer people owning more guns per person. Most gun owners are men. But gun ownership among women has held consistently since 1980 as ownership among men experienced a decline, TheTrace.org reported.

About one in five women owns a gun, the Pew Research Center found last year, and women appear to view firearms as a pure self-defense tool at higher rates than men.

While about 90 percent of men and women who own guns say it is used for protection, 27 percent of women say self-defense is the sole reason they own a firearm, Pew found. That is more than three times the men who say the same, at 8 percent.

That may not be surprising, given the apparent link between domestic violence and violent crimes involving guns.

 

Oh look - another misogynistic idiot. I mean, it's not like they were ever Bigfoot or anything, but still, sightings have increased exponentially since the election.

I'm not sure if he's calling women weak, stupid, over emotional, or some combination thereof. I was going to say that he didn't seem intelligent enough himself for the reverse psychology thing, but after thinking about it, @Ozlsn could be right! He may well be expecting a bunch of women to jump up and say "I can too carry a gun!!" So yeah, I guess he basically sees women as immature and gullible.

[onekidanddone]

18 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I'm against arming teachers, but this idiot's reasoning is a bit much: "Schools shouldn’t arm staff because they’re full of ‘lady teachers,’ Alabama lawmaker says"

  Reveal hidden contents

Many arguments against arming teachers are reasonable enough.

Critics say more guns in the classroom could lead to negligent discharges, which happened as recently as Wednesday. Or their proliferation can spark chaos for police arriving to find an adult with a gun, leading to a bloody misunderstanding.

But few have taken a public stance against arming teachers by declaring that it would violate the feminine sensibilities of teachers.

Alabama state Rep. Harry Shiver (R) asserted that belief, saying that guns should not be placed in the hands of “our ladies” — meaning female teachers — many of whom he believes are “scared” of firearms.

“I’m not saying all [women], but in most schools, women are [the majority] of the teachers,” Shiver, a lawmaker representing a district northeast of Mobile, told AL.com in an interview published Thursday.

“Some of them just don’t want to [be trained to possess firearms]. If they want to, then that’s good. But most of them don’t want to learn how to shoot like that and carry a gun.”

Shiver did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The debate over arming teachers has raged since a former student entered a high school in Parkland, Fla., and killed 17 people on Valentine’s Day.

President Trump waded into the discussion a week later, saying that “if the coach had a firearm in his locker when he ran at this guy … if he had a firearm he would not have had to run. He would have shot and that would be the end of it,” in a reference to slain football coach Aaron Feis.

Proponents of arming teachers have also said that schools that arm teachers would deter would-be assailants, who would prefer softer targets.

Emma González, a leader among vocal students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, told CBS in an episode of “60 Minutes” airing Sunday that arming teachers is a “stupid” idea.

“If you’re a teacher and you have a gun, do you keep it in a lockbox or do you carry it on your person?” Gonzalez said. “If the teacher dies … and a student who’s a good student is able to get the gun, are they now held responsible to shoot the student who’s come into the door? I’m not happy with that.”

Shiver was voicing opposition to a proposed bill that would designate specially trained teachers and administrators on school grounds, requiring annual training of 40 hours that would include active-shooter drills and firearm safety, AL.com reported. That bill cleared the public safety committee and was heading to the State House for debate.

The lawmaker relied on his past as an educator to reinforce his position during the committee hearing Thursday morning.

“We don’t need to have a lady teacher in a school that’s got a firearm,” he said, according to NBC affiliate WSFA. “I taught for 32 years, and it’s mostly ladies that’s teaching.”

Shiver is correct about the demographic makeup. Nearly 80 percent of public school teachers were women in 2011-2012, according to Education Department data.

The connection to perceived fragility in women is less clear.

Gun ownership was at a nearly 40-year low in 2016, with fewer people owning more guns per person. Most gun owners are men. But gun ownership among women has held consistently since 1980 as ownership among men experienced a decline, TheTrace.org reported.

About one in five women owns a gun, the Pew Research Center found last year, and women appear to view firearms as a pure self-defense tool at higher rates than men.

While about 90 percent of men and women who own guns say it is used for protection, 27 percent of women say self-defense is the sole reason they own a firearm, Pew found. That is more than three times the men who say the same, at 8 percent.

That may not be surprising, given the apparent link between domestic violence and violent crimes involving guns.

 

Now they will have to invest in a fainting couch for each delicate 'lady teachers' 

[GreyhoundFan]

I was thinking maybe he's afraid for women to have guns because the "wimmen" would come after him.

[fraurosena]

Oh no! 

 

[SnazzyNazzy]

Oh sweet baby Jesus, not another one.

 

[fraurosena]

An update on the situation. Two victims, one in a stable condition, the other, sadly is in critical condition. The shooter is deceased.

 

[samira_catlover]

Excuse me, but I LIVE down here in St.Mary's County, MD.  (MAJThis murder happened a few miles away from where my husband works---and around here, 20 miles out is nothing, so this happened in MY BACK YARD.  We're basically interested in supporting the Navy Air base, and doing a chunk of farming, with a bit of supporting people who want to be kinda-near DC/Beltway and able to commute.  This is frankly an obscenity, and (MAJOR PROFANITY ALERT)---fuck DeVos and her "thoughts and prayers"--they don't make kids bullet-proof, and I wish someone would call her about about the NRA cocks she and her sort suck.

WILL march in DC this Saturday, and if you can't make it to a local march, PLEASE send me a PM with your name/online nick and I'll add it to ribbons on my protest sign. #RESIST

[WiseGirl]

On 3/20/2018 at 1:02 PM, samira_catlover said:

WILL march in DC this Saturday, and if you can't make it to a local march, PLEASE send me a PM with your name/online nick and I'll add it to ribbons on my protest sign. #RESIST

I will be there too. I can do this too if you get bombarded with names. 

[candygirl200413]

https://twitter.com/i/moments/976633045498384384

It's a twitter moment entitled:: Clear backpacks will be required at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School. One thing that jumped out to me personally is that people will still try to bring weapons in (which a girl shared about how that happen to her school as of recently who switched to this policy.

[samira_catlover]

21 hours ago, WiseGirl said:

I will be there too. I can do this too if you get bombarded with names. 

BOMBARD AWAY, FOLKS, and bring it on, and cram-jam my message box, pretty please if you cannot make DC or a sister march!  I have plenty of space on signs (hope you don't mind being on rainbow ribbons!), and a sign HAS two sides.  There was a school shooting here in my rural county, so it's REALLY personal. #March_For_Our_Lives #RESIST

 

[WiseGirl]

@samira_catlover I get where you are coming from about it being personal. I have to admit, I'm so excited for the kids and so happy that no speaker will be over the age of 21. #March_For_Our_Lives #RESIST

[GreyhoundFan]

"‘Grannies for gun control’: These grandmothers are taking to the streets for the March for Our Lives"

Spoiler

Sophie Ruotolo has never been much of an activist.

But after watching school shooting after school shooting play out on the news for years, she’s had enough. It was time to do something more.

On Saturday, as hundreds of thousands flood downtown Washington for the anti-
gun-violence March for Our Lives, Ruotolo will walk out of her downtown apartment and into her first D.C. protest.

One thing sets her apart from other would-be first-timers: Ruotolo is 97 years old.

Although the march has been billed as a youth-centered movement led by students, for students, the cause at its core — gun control — has rallied many adults to their cause. Hollywood celebrities have donated millions to the event and announced on social media that they’ll be marching this weekend. Teachers from throughout the nation have organized groups to travel to the District. Parents will march alongside their kids.

And in a traffic circle blocks from the White House, about 50 seniors will hold their own rally in solidarity with the student-led rally along Pennsylvania Avenue.

They’ve been preparing for weeks.

With the help of a local print shop, the seniors have amassed 45 T-shirts, 11 picket signs and a big, green banner they plan to string up between two walkers.

They’ll work the protest in shifts. That way, no one has to stand outside in the cold all day.

The most die-hard of the bunch will picket from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. with signs that denounce the National Rifle Association, demand universal background checks for gun buyers and declare themselves “grannies for gun control.”

And, because they’re grandparents, they’ll also be handing out cookies.

Hundreds of them.

“We’ll be handing out heart-shaped cookies because we want to say to those young people, ‘We love you, and we’re going to do what we can to help take care of you,’ ” Tina Hobson said.

They hope their demonstration brings attention to the fact that it’s not just children who care about this issue, but that it touches people of all ages.

Resident Phyllis Richman, 78, who worked as The Washington Post’s restaurant critic for more than two decades, said that seeing students who have participated in protests and walkouts around the country these past few weeks filled her with a renewed drive to do something to help.

In the retirement community, she said, there is constant programming meant to entertain the seniors who live there: Movie nights, speakers, gym class, spa nights.

“All these things, they’re here to entertain us, and we don’t want to be entertained. We want to help,” Richman said. “We get discounted because we’re women and we’re old and we’re any number of things.”

“But we’re not dead yet,” added Ruotolo.

Richman, who protested the Vietnam War in her youth, called her friend, Hobson, 88, to start organizing.

They thought up slogans for their signs and persuaded grandchildren to design logos.

Hobson, who was married to D.C. city councilman Julius Hobson until his death in 1977, said she is no stranger to activism and was delighted by the opportunity to organize for something she believes in: changes to gun laws.

On the wall in her apartment, Hobson collects buttons and swag from marches she’s attended in years past. Among her prized causes are civil rights, environmental protection, statehood for the District and women’s rights.

This week, her apartment was filled with another kind of memento: mock-ups for the signs she and her fellow residents will carry Saturday.

“We want to get people’s attention,” Hobson said. “So we made sure to include some signs that people might find upsetting. You know, things like ‘bury guns, not kids.’ If that makes you uncomfortable, good.”

Ruotolo, who has 12 great-grandchildren, was on the phone with her 4-year-old great-granddaughter last week when she realized the preschooler was describing an active-shooter drill she had at school that day.

The little girl didn’t know what they were doing, Ruotolo said, but the teachers told students to hide under their desks and to be quiet.

“That hurt me so much,” Ruotolo said. “What kind of childhood do children have today?”

The next day she ran into Hobson. She told her she wanted to volunteer at the rally.

It’s not the first time that Hobson organized a protest at her community.

Hobson and Harriet Fullbright, 84, assembled a small group of women to rally in support of the Women’s March on Washington last year. The setup was similar: They stood in the Thomas Circle roundabout with signs, encouraging cars to honk and greeting rally-goers as they passed.

Some in the retirement community were concerned the women would hurt themselves. They told them it would be best to not go.

But, they did it anyway.

“Protests aren’t dangerous, and we’re not just some fragile old ladies who can’t handle ourselves,” Fullbright said. “We know our limits. We can do this.”

This year, Fullbright said, they have the full support of their community.

On Wednesday, during the height of the nor’easter that rolled through the District this week, a group of them set out to pick up their signs from a print shop about two-and-a-half blocks away.

Bill Fischer, 86, leaned on his cane for support as snow and wind blew past. Hobson held his arm and guided him across the slippery grates.

“Wow, you made it,” Print Express manager Leila Mouenhi exclaimed as the group walked in.

Hobson smiled, then shrugged.

They weren’t going to let a few inches of snow stop them.

 

[onekidanddone]

For all these children in Parkland, Chicago, Ferguson Missouri, for a kid buying a bag of skittles, for Newtown. For all these children who are no longer children.

 

One more for now.

 

[samira_catlover]

The 16-year-old girl shot in the St. Mary's (MD) school shooting was removed from life support last night after declaration of brain death. May her soul, and the souls of all the murdered folk, rest in peace.

[onekidanddone]

4 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"‘Grannies for gun control’: These grandmothers are taking to the streets for the March for Our Lives"

I looked on the March For Our Lives website and see that there are two Grannie marches near me. So I'm thinking of going.  No, I'm not a grandma, yes I just might be one of the youngest person there, and it won't have the same vibe as the big one downtown.  But shit I am just not physically able to do a big march.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

26 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

I looked on the March For Our Lives website and see that there are two Grannie marches near me. So I'm thinking of going.  No, I'm not a grandma, yes I just might be one of the youngest person there, and it won't have the same vibe as the big one downtown.  But shit I am just not physically able to do a big march.

 

I would consider going to one of the granny marches, especially since there will be cookies! Also, my dog would be in heaven because he loves getting attention from lots of people. Sadly, I have to work.

[LeftCoastLurker]

I have to work too, so will not be able to participate BUT my 17 and 15 yo daughters are planning to attend our local event. Yea for them!

[FloraKitty35]

I am marching tomorrow in Philadelphia.

[Destiny]

I have to work, but someone shout extra loud for me. I’m there in spirit.

[onekidanddone]

I went to check back on the website just now and one of the two senior marches was taken off the list to RSVP. So I wonder if it  is full, or if I could just show up.  There is another march at a smaller senior living community.  I'm not sure what to do.  Do I just pick one and show up? Now I'm all anxious.

[GreyhoundFan]

2 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

I went to check back on the website just now and one of the two senior marches was taken off the list to RSVP. So I wonder if it  is full, or if I could just show up.  There is another march at a smaller senior living community.  I'm not sure what to do.  Do I just pick one and show up? Now I'm all anxious.

I believe the RSVP was only up to a certain number of hours beforehand. I don't think the senior marches are going to be so full that you can't just show up. I hope you do get to go!