Texas teachers could be armed with guns themselves following Friday’s stunning Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The state’s governor, Rick Perry, has expressed support – at least for allowing districts to determine whether their teachers can carry concealed weapons. It has also been reported that one Texas district already permits teachers to pack concealed handguns in class; Perry says he is open to expanding the idea. Perry told the NE Tarrant County Tea Party on Monday evening: “In the state of Texas, if you go through the process, have been trained, and you are a handgun-licensed individual, you should be able to carry a gun anywhere in the state.” In addition, Virginia Gov. McDonnell said Tuesday, “I know there’s been a knee-jerk reaction against that [but] I think there should at least be a discussion of that.” “If people were armed, not just a police officer but other school officials … certainly there would be an opportunity to stop aggressors coming into the schools.” “So I think that’s a reasonable discussion that ought to be had,” he added. Virginia and Colorado have already seen gun sales spike this week. In the Harrold Independent School District in Texas, a policy was already implemented in 2007 that allows teachers to carry concealed handguns in schools. Harrold superintendent, David Thweatt, has said “We’re a rural community. We’re in a county about a little smaller than the state of Rhode of island.” “We’re 30 minutes from law enforcement. Thirty minutes is an extremely long time.” In Connecticut last week, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his mother dead, then drove to the nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. He broke his way in before murdering 20 children as well as six adults in the school. After the slaughter, Lanza turned the gun on himself and shot himself dead. It was one of the worst high school massacre shootings in United States history and has sparked a wide debate on gun control and regulations in America. What do you think: Should teachers be allowed to carry guns? Yes, it could actually prevent violence! No, that would be utter insanity … View Poll »
A jury has ruled that the Los Angeles Unified School District must pay $6.9 million to a boy molested by his elementary school teacher. The award Tuesday is among the largest for a single victim in the history of the district, and comes as it seeks to settle s ex abuse suits involving nearly 200 plaintiffs stemming from high-profile allegations against a teacher at Miramonte Elementary School. The Los Angeles Times reports the jury found the district liable for the 2008 molestation by teacher
Connecticut school shooter Adam Lanza learned everything he knew about firearms – and obtained the ones he used in Friday morning’s massacre – from his mother. Adam’s mom, Nancy Lanza, became his first victim that fateful day. An avid gun collector, she reportedly bragged to friends and neighbors about her weapons and took her son to several firing ranges to teach him how to shoot. All in the months leading up to Adam murdering 27 innocent people. One of Nancy’s neighbors, Dan Holmes, said that Nancy was a gun enthusiast and collector, often taking her kids, Adam and Ryan Lanza , to the gun range. According to the N.Y. Post , this fed his knowledge of firearms, and will surely be discussed as part of the obligatory and necessary gun control debate . Adam Lanza used several different guns when he opened fire on Sandy Hook Elementary School. It is believed that all three weapons were registered to Nancy. Nancy Lanza was not a teacher at the school, despite initial reports claiming this. Nor was she killed at the school; Adam, who lived with her, shot her at home. From there, he went on to kill 20 kids and six adults before taking his own life as police arrived, making for one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history. Police have yet to disclose a motive for the attack, which left those who knew Lanza trying to discern whether anything in his past could have foreshadowed this. One of Lanza’s aunts, Marsha, described Lanza as a “quiet, nice kid” who had issues with learning, she said. Her husband is Lanza’s paternal uncle. “He was definitely the challenge of the family in that house. Every family has one. They have one. I have one. But never in trouble with the law, or with anything.” As for her connection to the school, if any? It’s unclear, though Lanza’s mother “battled” with the school board and ended up having her son home-schooled. “She had issues with school ,” said the aunt, who lives in Illinois. “I’m not 100% certain if it was behavior or learning disabilities, but he was a very bright boy. He was smart.”
This is totally out of character for me, but I am actually very affected by the shooting that happened Friday, which is weird as I am normally the first to mock tragedy to get a rise out of people for no reason other than personal enjoyment, laughs and giggles….but the fact that they were kids, little fucking kids and is just too fucking twisted for there to be any spin on it…even “last day of school” jokes don’t make me laugh….the whole thing makes me fucking sick to my stomach. That said, here’s an interesting article that I read earlier today – that in the wake of the events, I think is a good story, written by Liza Long, a blogger over at Anarchist Soccer Mom who will be getting a book deal now that this has gone viral…in what I think may be the first viral article…something I find relatively exciting…because it means people still read…you should read it…because guns aren’t the issue…violence behavior and mental health is…. Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants. “I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises. “They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.” “They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!” “You can’t wear whatever pants you want to,” I said, my tone affable, reasonable. “And you definitely cannot call me a stupid bitch. You’re grounded from electronics for the rest of the day. Now get in the car, and I will take you to school.” I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me. A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me. That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn’t have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist. We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work. At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he’s in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He’s in a good mood most of the time. But when he’s not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off. Several weeks into his new junior high school, Michael began exhibiting increasingly odd and threatening behaviors at school. We decided to transfer him to the district’s most restrictive behavioral program, a contained school environment where children who can’t function in normal classrooms can access their right to free public babysitting from 7:30-1:50 Monday through Friday until they turn 18. The morning of the pants incident, Michael continued to argue with me on the drive. He would occasionally apologize and seem remorseful. Right before we turned into his school parking lot, he said, “Look, Mom, I’m really sorry. Can I have video games back today?” “No way,” I told him. “You cannot act the way you acted this morning and think you can get your electronic privileges back that quickly.” His face turned cold, and his eyes were full of calculated rage. “Then I’m going to kill myself,” he said. “I’m going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.” That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts. I did not respond, except to pull the car into the opposite lane, turning left instead of right. “Where are you taking me?” he said, suddenly worried. “Where are we going?” “You know where we are going,” I replied. “No! You can’t do that to me! You’re sending me to hell! You’re sending me straight to hell!” I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. “Call the police,” I said. “Hurry.” Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn’t escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I’m still stronger than he is, but I won’t be for much longer. The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork—“Were there any difficulties with… at what age did your child… were there any problems with.. has your child ever experienced.. does your child have…” At least we have health insurance now. I recently accepted a position with a local college, giving up my freelance career because when you have a kid like this, you need benefits. You’ll do anything for benefits. No individual insurance plan will cover this kind of thing. For days, my son insisted that I was lying—that I made the whole thing up so that I could get rid of him. The first day, when I called to check up on him, he said, “I hate you. And I’m going to get my revenge as soon as I get out of here.” By day three, he was my calm, sweet boy again, all apologies and promises to get better. I’ve heard those promises for years. I don’t believe them anymore. On the intake form, under the question, “What are your expectations for treatment?” I wrote, “I need help.” And I do. This problem is too big for me to handle on my own. Sometimes there are no good options. So you just pray for grace and trust that in hindsight, it will all make sense. I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am Jason Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness. According to Mother Jones, since 1982, 61 mass murders involving firearms have occurred throughout the country. Of these, 43 of the killers were white males, and only one was a woman. Mother Jones focused on whether the killers obtained their guns legally (most did). But this highly visible sign of mental illness should lead us to consider how many people in the U.S. live in fear, like I do. When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.” I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology. But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise—in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 percent) than in the non-incarcerated population. With state-run treatment centers and hospitals shuttered, prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill—Rikers Island, the LA County Jail and Cook County Jail in Illinois housed the nation’s largest treatment centers in 2011. No one wants to send a 13-year old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.” I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. That’s the only way our nation can ever truly heal. God help me. God help Michael. God help us all.
Shop owner Tamara Doherty paces outside her store just down the road from Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and ad ults at the school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. All the victims of the Connecticut elementary school shooting were killed up close by multi
Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47, was killed as she, along with school psychologist Mary Sherlach, attempted to overtake gunman Adam Lanza during the Dec. 14 mass shooting at the school. Hochsprung and Sherlach reportedly both lunged at Lanza in an effort to defend the students and teachers at the school. Both women were killed. All the victims of the Connecticut elementary school shooting were killed up close by multiple rifle shots, a medical examiner said.
This 2012 photo provided by the family shows Emilie Alice Parker. Parker was killed Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and ad ults at the school. All the victims of the Connecticut elementary school shooting were killed up close by multiple rifle shots, a medical examiner said. Dr. H. Wayne Carver said at a news conference Saturday the deaths are classified as homicides. He said he believes “everybody was hit
The astonishing Connecticut school shooting Friday claimed the lives of 26 people in Newtown, Conn., will be tragically remembered for the 20 small children slain. Six adults were also killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, however, notably Dawn Hochsprung, the principal and a committed educator beloved by students. The principal died trying to protect the students she cared for every day. The gunman, identified as 20-year-old Adam Lanza , started his rampage in the school’s main office, where Hochsprung had reportedly come out of a meeting. Hochsprung was killed in the shooting, the horrific sound of which was reportedly broadcast over the school’s PA system around 9:40 a.m. Friday morning. “She was really nice and fun, but was also very much a tough lady in the right sense,” Tom Prunty, a friend whose niece goes to Sandy Hook and was uninjured, told CNN. “She was the kind of person you’d want to be educating your kids. And the kids loved her.” In all, the death toll has reached 28 total: 20 children, six adults – including Dawn Hochsprung – Adam Lanza and his mother, Nancy, who he shot at another location. Our hearts go out to all those impacted by the Connecticut school shooting .
She lost her job after sneaking lunches to a 4th grader whose family sent him to school without food each day. According to KTVI : A St. Louis County cafeteria worker is out of a job after giving away free meals to a child in need. For two years, Dianne Brame worked as a cafeteria manager at Hudson Elementary in Webster Groves, keeping kids’ bellies full for their all-important task of learning. The lunch lady loved her job: “I knew kids by their names, I knew their likes and dislikes, so it was just fun.” But recently, she came across a fourth grader who consistently came without money. She says he used to be on the free lunch program, but language barriers got in the way of reapplying: “I sent them paperwork so that they could get back in contact with me, but it didn’t happen,” she says. For days, Brame snuck the boy lunches. She explains, “I let his account get over $45 which I’m only supposed to let it get over $10, and I started letting him come through my lunch line without putting his number in, and they look at that as stealing. I thought it was just taking care of a kid.” She was trying to protect him from the bullying: a cruel side dish to the default cheese sandwich given to kids without lunch money. “The kids would ridicule and tell them, ah you don’t have any money, that’s why you have to eat cheese sandwiches every day,” Brame says. On Tuesday, word got around to Brame’s supervisor, who put her between a rock and a hard place: either leave, or move to another school in a demoted position. The 60 year-old former manager felt she didn’t have a choice. “My husband died in February, I lost my home, car got repo’ed,” she explains, “Hudson is in walking distance from me, so I took the firing. Fire me.” Gary Woodruff, whose daughter attends Hudson Elementary, finds the punishment to be harsh: “It just seems a little excessive that they would do that to a lunch lady, I mean it’s a little bit ridiculous, especially nowadays with the economy and what not.” Now, jobless and with the holidays right around the corner, Brame is on a tighter budget—giving cookies instead of pricier presents. According to Brame’s employer, she does have the opportunity to appeal the decision. But Brame says she doesn’t want to bother, especially because she knows she violated protocol. Looking back, she says she wouldn’t change a thing: “I don’t think any kid should be hungry. I don’t. And it’s my belief that some of these kids who go to school and get meals, that may be the only meal they eat that day.” SMH…you can’t even feed hungry kids now. Thanks to thousands of people, Mrs. Brame was rehired after their responses to her story. Images via shutterstock/Facebook
According to the Associated Press, the gunman is a 24-year-old man whose mother was a kindergarten teacher there. She was killed. An official said the gun used in the attacks was a .223-caliber rifle. A massive, deadly shooting broke out Friday morning at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 65 miles northeast of New York City. Of the 27 people confirmed dead, 20 are children – 18 were originally reported and now two more have perished at the hospital. “The shooter is dec
