Hallelujah - Song - to Wayne LaPierre, NRA

March For Our Lives - Santa Fe

The tailend of a long line of protesters about to reach the plaza.

Hey-hey, ho-ho, the NRA has got to go!

Plenty of Pets

Glad that I left our aging Isabella-girl at home.

I did observe one tiny dog snapping at another exuberant tiny pup.

Comfort animals offered much needed emotional support

especially as we listened to New Mexican school kids 

reading out loud the names & the ages of kids 

victimized by gun violence.

I had tears in my eyes.

A 15-year-old girl that came over to sit with me on a bench

shared that a kid showed up at her school with a bomb - for the fun of it!

Since then she is scared. Only 3 more years before she can vote!

A girl sitting on the edge of a sidewalk, holding a huge sign that told her story
of a bomb scare at an airport that now has her scared going to school.
Yep, she confirmed to me she was afraid.
Shocking.
I never had to experience such fears, not growing up and not as an adult.
My generation, Boomers, failed these kids.
While we protested for peace,
we got discouraged by being ignored and did not push enough for change.
Loudest Silence in US Social Protest
Emma Gonzalez
6 Minutes 20 Seconds

We Call BS on your inactions. YES!

Ban Assault Rifles

If it were up to me, ban all weapons,

but having to accept the 2. amendment right

we will settle for a ban on assault-style weapons.

Military-style weapons do not belong in civilian hands.

No,

the majority don't want all weapons banned.

We want effective & enforced background checks.

We want the loopholes that allow for illegal gun sales blocked.

We want recent legislation reversed 

that allows for those with mental disabilities to own guns.

Most important we want the see the political will in our politicians

to do what it takes to stem what amounts to a public health crisis,

gun violence. 

We support further studies on the matter,

but not on cost of delaying legislative action NOW.

Yes, guns are weapons of destruction.

Guns kill.

Knives & cars can kill but are not designed for such,

are not as effective in killing as weapons are.

Guns are not toys.

Ownership of guns needs regulations.

Same as ownership of vehicles needs regulations.

Guns are fun for some,

I urge those to put their entertainment aside

in favor of safety for us all, 

especially for our kids.

2016: NRA: $1,053,050 Total Contributions

 $1,052,550 - 99.0% to Republicans

Top Republican Beneficiaries: Senator Marco Rubio & Ted Cruz

2018 NRA: $309,168 Total Contributions 97.7% to Republicans

Support Senator Sanders' current bill 

S.2095 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2017

Bernie Sanders supported a ban on assault weapons since 1988!

Change The Culture - YES!

Slash the bloated military budget - YES!

Vote! Vote! Vote!

#MarchForOurLivesSantaFe

live via our Mayor Alan Webber @MayorWebber

#VoteThemOut - #VoteThemIn

I Stand For The Strictest Possible Gun Control

Learned last night via twitter that someone I know was killed, seemingly randomly, in what usually is a peaceful community, Marin County in California. I believe this is the first victim of a homicide that I know personally. I am shocked and saddened about the senseless loss of very special, peaceful loving man that travelled the country, maybe the globe to teach us on how to open our hearts. Steven and his wife, Lokita, had been long time residents and therapists of the community at Harbin Hot Springs, but had left the community to follow their own dream before it had burned down last month. They had come back to Marin for treatment of Lokita's cancer, so the loss of Lokita's husband and main support will be all the harder. I was not friends with the couple, but I had shared the same waters, we had soaked in the same pool for countless times. I knew them, liked them and know of no one holding a grudge toward them.

If it was up to me, yes, we would amend the second amendment, originally designed to resist a government gone rogue.

If it was up to me, we would update our constitution to reflect our modern times.

The muskets used in the days of the creation of the second amendment were cumbersome. They took time to load and made for a very different mode of engagement from what is possible these days. 

If it was up to me, since no guns of any kind will be able to resist a government that has the potential to use targeted drones from a serious distance, not to mention nuclear weapons, we would no longer allow the endangerment of civilians by other civilians carrying assault style weapons, who are we kidding!

If it was up to me, I would ban all assault weapons from possessions of civilians.

If it was up to me, I would impose very strict background checks with a suitable waiting periods on any purchase of guns.

If it was up to me, I would demand extensive and expensive training, certification and recertification for the ability to possess a gun.

If it was up to me, I would impose liability insurance on gun owners just as we are required to have for owning (not even driving) vehicles.

If it was up to me, guns would not be allowed in public places, except for extensively trained police and security force.

If it was up to me, every gun owner would be required to have martial arts training and non-violent conflict resolution training under their (black) belts.

If it was up to me, the possession of guns would be made so expensive and troublesome that like in Japan barely anyone would want to bother with it.

If it was up to me, finally, I would find it only appropriate for gun owners to pass through a crowd of protesters, kinda like pregnant women have to when they visit clinics that provide abortions.

If it was up to me, we would do everything possible to stop this madness of deaths by gun violence, by civilians (adults and children) as well as due to police brutality.

Mark Manson amplifies a seeming lack of compassion and interaction with mass shooters prior to their heinous acts, when they expressed troubling ideas no body cared to take seriously, something that has been on my mind too.

Nicholas Kristof  in the New York Times argues with his usual eloquence and intelligence that we are all crazy for not at the very least take modest steps toward curbing the carnage that leaves America resembling a battlefield.

Jim Jefferies, the Australian stand up comedian says it best still, check him out for much needed laughs around this damn issue of gun control.

Sign this Move On petition or this petition of an attempt to ban assault weapons or any other you can support and contact your representatives and take whatever steps you can to prevent more violence.

Check on Nicholas Kristof's a lot more balanced Inconvenient Gun Facts in the New York Times on January 16th, 2016.

Relevant!

16 US Mass Shootings in 2012

Japan has the second lowest murder rate in the world! Thile the US had over 12,000 firearm-related homicides in 2008, Japan experienced only 11 and in 2006 an astounding 2. By comparison 587 Americans were killed in 2008 just by guns that had discharged accidentally.

"To get a gun in Japan, first, you have to attend an all-day class and pass a written test, which are held only once per month. You also must take and pass a shooting range class. Then, head over to a hospital for a mental test and drug test (Japan is unusual in that potential gun owners must affirmatively prove their mental fitness), which you'll file with the police. Finally, pass a rigorous background check for any criminal record or association with criminal or extremist groups, and you will be the proud new owner of your shotgun or air rifle. Just don't forget to provide police with documentation on the specific location of the gun in your home, as well as the ammo, both of which must be locked and stored separately. And remember to have the police inspect the gun once per year and to re-take the class and exam every three years."

"Japanese police receive more hours of training than their American counterparts, are forbidden from carrying off-duty, and invest hours in studying martial arts in part because they "are expected to use [firearms] in only the rarest of circumstances"

"American law is designed to enshrine access to guns, while Japan starts with the premise of forbidding it"

"Though it's worth considering another police state here: Tunisia, which had the lowest firearm ownership rate in the world (1 gun per 1000 citizens, compared to America's 890) when its people toppled a brutal, 24-year dictatorship and sparked the Arab Spring."

Above parts were taken out and highlighted by me from The Atlantic.

"In 2010, there were more than 30,000 deaths caused by firearms when the number of homicides, suicides and accidental deaths are tallied." - CNN

Juan Cole in Truthdig asks some pertinent powerful questions like:

- Why doesn’t anyone blame George W. Bush for these mass shootings? He’s the one who led the charge to let the assault weapons ban expire.

- Why aren’t the politicians in Congress who take campaign money from assault weapons manufacturers ever held accountable by the public?

-  A relatively small number of corporations produce and market semiautomatic weapons for the civilian market. Why aren’t they named and shamed?

- Juan Cole states that firearms are used in 300,000 crimes a year in the U.S.

We can not afford to sit on the sidelines any longer. Demand change, act, contact:

National Rifle Association: 1-800-672-3888
Speaker of the House, John Boehner: 1 (202) 225-0600
Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid: 
1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343)

The White House Comment Line: 1-202-456-1111


Join a Gun Control Group :
*Brady Campaign bradycampaign.org
*Coalition to Stop Gun Violence csgv.org/index.php
*Violence Policy Center vpc.org/index.htm

Sign petitions on SignOn.org and another and tell the NRA Enough!

Finally there is a lovely suggestion of committing to acts of kindness for every child that perished in this recent senseless act of violence, which of course can be extended to include the adults, the heroic teachers and please, let's not forget all the children and all the victims  of US drone attacks!