The timeline for the Uvalde massacre is becoming clearer. After shooting his grandmother in the face and taking her truck, the gunman got to Robb Elementary School at 11:28 Tuesday morning and started firing into the school windows. A police officer responded to a call about the shooter but drove by him, instead mistaking a teacher for the suspect. The gunman got into the school through a door that had been propped open, and began his rampage down a hallway, ending up at about 11:30 in two joined fourth-grade classrooms, 111 and 112, with students and two teachers.
After reading this chilling timeline, I reiterate: strict liability in tort for any loss, damage, injury or death arising from the use of a firearm against the buyer, seller, manufacturer and user of the firearm. Add on mandatory insurance for each gun akin to automobile insurance and a license with an exam and picture ID for each licensee and you will find a solution. Felony with 1 year of community service and fine of $10,000 for failure to acquire the insurance and acquire a license each as separate crimes. Maybe that would make a difference.
Only one solution to these mass shootings: stop making and selling assault weapons to a civilian population and collect/buyback and destroy the 20 million such weapons that are out there. The one and only purpose of such weapons is to proactively slaughter as many people as possible. They are not used for defense or hunting.
It's not going to happen and the gut wrenching reality is, the majority of Americans are literally being held hostage by the most evil of people draped in a bastardized interpretation of the 2nd Amendment - and that falls directly into the laps of the 5 supreme court justices in the majority opinion of DC v. Heller: Scalia (deceased), Roberts, Kennedy (retired), Thomas, Alito.
And, now we wait for the next horrifying massacre. It is sickening beyond belief.
The sheer horror of this repeating national disaster is dwarfed by aspects of why. Why? And it’s clear, too clear. Too clear. This is who we are, through and through. The cops blinked, arrested parents in agony, and paused. The slaughter was clear. Who cared? This wasn’t an elite private school. The killer was better ignored. The governor and the cops lied about it all, repeatedly. Texas worships guns, not Hispanic children
I wrote this as a comment in today's Robert Hubbell's Today's Edition. I hope it is OK to make the same comment in two places: The Republicans have become the party of death. I say this not only after the deaths of children in Uvalde, deaths that resemble a horror movie. The Republicans' Supreme Court's commitment to deaths via gun and the deaths of women from botched abortions is matched only by its commitment to the death of democracy through its refusal to involve itself in gerrymandering cases.
Clarity: "The events in Uvalde have dealt a devastating blow to the theory that a good guy with a gun will prevent gun violence." ~ Heather Cox Richardson
That police department and city government are going to cease to exist after the judgements are in from the class action lawsuit by the parents against that collection of clucks.
In our school district’s mandatory active shooter training, we listened to police and 911 tapes as we watched little dots move around on a map of the school in each shooting scenario. Green dots were people alive, red were dead, maybe yellow for the shooter, blue for police. They just kept telling us the shooter would pass by locked doors. And that is my only personal line of defense against a shooter in my classroom.
We have an excellent Site Resource Officer, SRO. And that program in Southlake TX is really strong! They are involved in our classrooms, making connections, teaching safety, a part of our community. But they can’t be everywhere.
When I saw our SRO double checking locked doors the afternoon of Uvalde, she said the debriefing of the events had her really shaken! As I watched the news I understood why. I and several of the teachers sent her texts of support that night. A conscientious police officer would be very upset by these reports!
So proud of Beto standing up to the good ol boys club at the press conference about this shooting rampage! I know my county has the worst voting record in the United States, but I hope this will get people to the polls! Beto for Texans!
It's so horrifying that it nearly defies comprehension. The country, including its children, has been taken hostage by gun makers and their enablers — the NRA and Republicans at all levels of government, but especially in DC. They fail to comprehend how young people feel and will respond.
Ted Cruz, calling for teachers to be armed (again, rinse and repeat) is like a "Saturday Night Live" parody. The failure of law enforcement at the school has lit a fuse. You can tell by watching Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today speak out today and deflecting all blame for the cowardice and ineptness of police at the school. Desperation smells like victory in November.
"And fifty-four percent of voters approve of arming teachers with concealed weapons, while only 34% oppose it, a net approval of +20"
Are you people on the other side of the big drink completely insane? Are half of you looking forward to shoot-outs between teachers and cops with innocent students the victims? Considering how well your cops handled this one - how long do you think it will take?
Mothers Against Drunk Drivers has been very effective with campaign since 1980. Maybe we need Mothers Against Gun Violence ? There needs to be a concentrated, focused effort here. https://www.madd.org/the-problem/
Along with the outrage over the shooting, the pathetic response, and the treatment of waiting parents, the outrage at what the children suffered should outweigh it all. As they watched the teachers die, their classmates die one by one, the hell they suffered waiting their turn is hard to imagine but we must. We must cram their despair down the throats of every gun worshiper, starting with Abbott, Cruz, Murdoch, Shammity, etc. it’s the only way we can honor them.
Time for me to write to my Kentucky senators - again. What would you suggest I tell MM and RP this time? I am tired of having the 20,000,0000 assault rifle owners bully the rest of the US population. That's 6% bullying the rest of us.
What we have here is a hostage situation. A well armed and vocal minority is holding 200 million Americans at gun point. What they want is to take over the country for frightened white guys, and destroy democracy.
HCR thank you for the letter today. As I read this line toward the end “ Today, more than 4000 protesters, including Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, gathered in the 93 degree heat outside the NRA convention to share their stories of gun violence and their contempt for leaders who refuse to stand against it.”. Why are we referring to these people as “leaders”? We need to jettison that title in favor of a more accurate phrase: “persons who hold power.” Because they are NOT leaders.
There will be no effective gun legislation while the 2nd Amendment is in force.
Politically impossible? Maybe. With the poll numbers HCR reports, maybe not. The more people who come to believe it’s possible, the more possible it becomes. But let’s start the conversation.
It is more than apparent the status quo is madness.
Another issue that seems to be getting little notice: in Buffalo and Uvalde the victims were primarily people of color while the shooter was a young white male. I expect copycats.
After reading this chilling timeline, I reiterate: strict liability in tort for any loss, damage, injury or death arising from the use of a firearm against the buyer, seller, manufacturer and user of the firearm. Add on mandatory insurance for each gun akin to automobile insurance and a license with an exam and picture ID for each licensee and you will find a solution. Felony with 1 year of community service and fine of $10,000 for failure to acquire the insurance and acquire a license each as separate crimes. Maybe that would make a difference.
Only one solution to these mass shootings: stop making and selling assault weapons to a civilian population and collect/buyback and destroy the 20 million such weapons that are out there. The one and only purpose of such weapons is to proactively slaughter as many people as possible. They are not used for defense or hunting.
It's not going to happen and the gut wrenching reality is, the majority of Americans are literally being held hostage by the most evil of people draped in a bastardized interpretation of the 2nd Amendment - and that falls directly into the laps of the 5 supreme court justices in the majority opinion of DC v. Heller: Scalia (deceased), Roberts, Kennedy (retired), Thomas, Alito.
And, now we wait for the next horrifying massacre. It is sickening beyond belief.
The sheer horror of this repeating national disaster is dwarfed by aspects of why. Why? And it’s clear, too clear. Too clear. This is who we are, through and through. The cops blinked, arrested parents in agony, and paused. The slaughter was clear. Who cared? This wasn’t an elite private school. The killer was better ignored. The governor and the cops lied about it all, repeatedly. Texas worships guns, not Hispanic children
This is who we are.
I wrote this as a comment in today's Robert Hubbell's Today's Edition. I hope it is OK to make the same comment in two places: The Republicans have become the party of death. I say this not only after the deaths of children in Uvalde, deaths that resemble a horror movie. The Republicans' Supreme Court's commitment to deaths via gun and the deaths of women from botched abortions is matched only by its commitment to the death of democracy through its refusal to involve itself in gerrymandering cases.
Clarity: "The events in Uvalde have dealt a devastating blow to the theory that a good guy with a gun will prevent gun violence." ~ Heather Cox Richardson
That police department and city government are going to cease to exist after the judgements are in from the class action lawsuit by the parents against that collection of clucks.
In our school district’s mandatory active shooter training, we listened to police and 911 tapes as we watched little dots move around on a map of the school in each shooting scenario. Green dots were people alive, red were dead, maybe yellow for the shooter, blue for police. They just kept telling us the shooter would pass by locked doors. And that is my only personal line of defense against a shooter in my classroom.
We have an excellent Site Resource Officer, SRO. And that program in Southlake TX is really strong! They are involved in our classrooms, making connections, teaching safety, a part of our community. But they can’t be everywhere.
When I saw our SRO double checking locked doors the afternoon of Uvalde, she said the debriefing of the events had her really shaken! As I watched the news I understood why. I and several of the teachers sent her texts of support that night. A conscientious police officer would be very upset by these reports!
So proud of Beto standing up to the good ol boys club at the press conference about this shooting rampage! I know my county has the worst voting record in the United States, but I hope this will get people to the polls! Beto for Texans!
Thank you Heather!
It's so horrifying that it nearly defies comprehension. The country, including its children, has been taken hostage by gun makers and their enablers — the NRA and Republicans at all levels of government, but especially in DC. They fail to comprehend how young people feel and will respond.
Ted Cruz, calling for teachers to be armed (again, rinse and repeat) is like a "Saturday Night Live" parody. The failure of law enforcement at the school has lit a fuse. You can tell by watching Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today speak out today and deflecting all blame for the cowardice and ineptness of police at the school. Desperation smells like victory in November.
"And fifty-four percent of voters approve of arming teachers with concealed weapons, while only 34% oppose it, a net approval of +20"
Are you people on the other side of the big drink completely insane? Are half of you looking forward to shoot-outs between teachers and cops with innocent students the victims? Considering how well your cops handled this one - how long do you think it will take?
Mothers Against Drunk Drivers has been very effective with campaign since 1980. Maybe we need Mothers Against Gun Violence ? There needs to be a concentrated, focused effort here. https://www.madd.org/the-problem/
Professor, thank you very much for posting Mike Baker's Timeline of student calls to & from Room #111. Brave children under intense stress.
Along with the outrage over the shooting, the pathetic response, and the treatment of waiting parents, the outrage at what the children suffered should outweigh it all. As they watched the teachers die, their classmates die one by one, the hell they suffered waiting their turn is hard to imagine but we must. We must cram their despair down the throats of every gun worshiper, starting with Abbott, Cruz, Murdoch, Shammity, etc. it’s the only way we can honor them.
Time for me to write to my Kentucky senators - again. What would you suggest I tell MM and RP this time? I am tired of having the 20,000,0000 assault rifle owners bully the rest of the US population. That's 6% bullying the rest of us.
What we have here is a hostage situation. A well armed and vocal minority is holding 200 million Americans at gun point. What they want is to take over the country for frightened white guys, and destroy democracy.
HCR thank you for the letter today. As I read this line toward the end “ Today, more than 4000 protesters, including Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, gathered in the 93 degree heat outside the NRA convention to share their stories of gun violence and their contempt for leaders who refuse to stand against it.”. Why are we referring to these people as “leaders”? We need to jettison that title in favor of a more accurate phrase: “persons who hold power.” Because they are NOT leaders.
Repeal the 2nd Amendment.
There will be no effective gun legislation while the 2nd Amendment is in force.
Politically impossible? Maybe. With the poll numbers HCR reports, maybe not. The more people who come to believe it’s possible, the more possible it becomes. But let’s start the conversation.
It is more than apparent the status quo is madness.
Another issue that seems to be getting little notice: in Buffalo and Uvalde the victims were primarily people of color while the shooter was a young white male. I expect copycats.