©Natalie Keshing
Editor-in-Chief
http://www.natswritings.com
Students Staged Walkout Today.
Seven Measures Congress Could Pass to Reduce & Prevent School Shootings.
Students vow to take political action if lawmakers do not provide “Concrete” solutions to gun violence. Students today spoke to Congress.
“A lot of us will be 18 by November and that’s when mid term elections start. So I can promise you this, do your jobs, give us concrete solutions and for once value our lives over bank accounts or we will vote you out.”
“When in coming weeks and months, more of my peers will be slaughtered in their classrooms and their deaths will be dismissed as collateral, you know we have a moral problem in this country.”
We must value the lives of students, teachers, counselors, coaches and principals before another mass shooting occurs with an AR-15 assault weapon. Not very many Senators, Congressmen or Congresswomen can tell you what it is like to experience TRAUMA, real trauma that rewires the brain completely. Unless they’ve been in war or have been shot with automatic assault weapons; it wreaks havoc on the body and brain of those students who survived.
The AR-15 is a very popular assault weapon. For most young disturbed gunmen, an AR-15 is their weapon of choice. Can Congress ban the AR-15 semi-automatic, bump stocks and high capacity magazines and people can keep their different guns for safety, protection and hunting? Let’s remember what Stephan Paddock in the Las Vegas concert shooting did on October 1, 2017. He had broken two very large windows and shot at innocent victims with automatic assault weapons using high capacity magazines. So many lives were affected in the most tragic way and not until you’re in a hospital in the intensive care unit, hanging on for dear life, do you understand the magnitude of such a horrible event happening to your loved one; a student or a child.
One of the emergency room doctors who treated those students who were shot in the Parkland Florida High School shooting said, “That had these injuries been inflicted with a hand gun instead of an AR-15 semi-automatic assault weapon, many of these people would have survived.”
At the Columbine school shooting, Frank Deangelis, a former Columbine Principal, on USA Today said, “The smell of food from the cafeteria could trigger memories for some students and the fire alarm sound certainly will. So might sirens or even the sound of a slamming door. Even camouflage clothes or the sight of police cars parked out in front of the school could frighten students.”
Deangelis went on to say, “We wish we could have given the people from Sandy Hook the same help they have today because for most of us it was a lot of trial and error. Balloons popping startled kids diving on the ground under their desks.”
Paula Reed, a teacher who survived the Columbine shooting, said, “These students have a traumatized brain. Trauma does rewire the brain. It actually makes changes in the brain. Making it feel normal again can take some time. Your powers of concentration really get shot going through a traumatic experience. So I read to my students out loud.”
Florida’s Governor Rick Scott approved the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act into law. The new legislation, which comes after the deadly shooting in Parkland, will impose a new age limit to buy firearms and a three-day waiting period for purchases. That’s progress but a 3 day waiting period might not be long enough.
The U.S. House of Representatives just passed the STOP School Violence Act with overwhelming bipartisan support Wednesday afternoon.
Arming teachers
If teachers, coaches, principals and counselors go through an extensive gun and swat training program to carry and conceal, it might deter those gunman. If a gunman enters the school and the school professional, who is carrying and concealing, shoots at the gunman, they might save lives but there is a risk they could also shoot an innocent student.
The Florida House Appropriations Committee voted along party lines to pass a statewide program that places trained, armed teachers in classrooms, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
President Trump promoted the idea of having “highly trained, gun adept” teachers and coaches in schools who could confront a shooter before first responders arrived or serve as a “deterrent to the cowards that do this.” This will deter some students knowing that they may very well be killed trying to commit another school massacre.
Strengthening federal background checks
President Trump has seemed open to strengthening the federal background check process for gun purchases, saying it should be a bipartisan effort to do so.
Jonas Oransky, Everytown for Gun Safety said, “It’s not that all sellers are dangerous or devious, but buyers who know that they can skip the background check can look for an unlicensed sellers.”
Oransky also pointed to the so-called “Charleston loophole,” which allows dealers to sell guns to a customer before a background check is completed during the time when National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) marks a document “delayed” but does not approve or deny it within three business days. He said a disproportionate number of buyers who obtain a gun before a background check is completed are domestic abusers, citing complex records and restraining orders that investigators need additional time to read through or discuss with the appropriate local law enforcement agency. Point well taken.
Eliminating bump stocks
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, “top officials in the Justice Department believe they can ban bump stocks through the regulatory process. However, gun manufacturers and owners are likely to sue if they are banned without any legislation from Congress.”
A little history on “Bump stocks were approved in 2010 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after concluding the devices did not turn guns into machine guns, which are prohibited under the National Firearms Act.”
Limiting high-capacity magazines
While it may not prevent an attack, it may save lives in an attack.
Raising the age limit to buy certain guns
After hosting survivors of gun violence and their parents at the White House, President Trump publicly backed raising the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic weapons to 21.
Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan said, “Certainly, nobody under 21 should have an AR-15.”
Banning ‘assault-style’ rifles
It’s happening, the consideration and commitment to save future children and teachers lives.
Washington Examiner reported, to their credit the House Democrats introduced a ban on semi-automatic firearms in February called the Assault Weapons Ban of 2018. More than 150 Democrats signed the legislation.
According to a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris survey, 61 percent of respondents support banning the AR-15 firearm, used in many of the recent mass shootings in the U.S., including Parkland. Just 39 percent of respondents said adults who pass a background check should be allowed to purchase the firearm.
Kudos to Dick’s Sporting Goods which announced on February 28, 2018 that it would stop selling assault-style rifles and prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing a firearm.
Cutting ties with the NRA
Companies who have severed ties with the NRA include Avis, Delta, Enterprise, First National Bank of Omaha, Metlife, NorthAmerican, Symantec, Budget, Starkey, Hertz National, SimpliSafe, Paramount Rx, Chubb, United, TRUECar, Alamo. It was stated in the news the NRA is completely out of step with the vast majority of the people who want to reinstate the assault weapons ban.
“Now more than ever the NRA is showing just how out of step they are with the American people,” Cuomo said in a statement, calling the NRA’s agenda “dangerous.”
Update 02/28/2018. We are living in very difficult times with all the domestic terrorist mass school shootings that continue to happen. With the worst that took place at an outside concert in Las Vegas, NV and nothing has been said about this mass shooting.
More than ever people want to protect their second amendment rights because of the mistrust in our government agencies and the deep infiltrated corruption that controls almost every law enforcement agency like FBI, CIA, DOJ, State Dept and even Congress.
Gun owners believe it’s the fault of a mentally disturbed person who fires the weapon and not the weapon. Most gun owners are responsible adults; adult being the critical difference. The age limit is still 18 and there are considerations like Florida Governor Scott who intends to work with the Florida State Legislature to increase the age from 18 to 21.
We have to ask ourselves as concerned citizens, parents and students, “Don’t these assault weapons like an AR-15 semi-automatic or full automatic allow a mentally disturbed person to kill many students and teachers more quickly?
Can a police officer with a handgun stop a gunman with an AR-15 assault rifle? During the Republican baseball practice shooting, the gunman used a high power rifle. The two Capital police officers who were on duty were able to take down the gunman with their hand guns from cover. Congressman Scalise was shot and almost died. Luckily, this gunman wasn’t shooting with an AR-15 semi-automatic or full automatic with a bump stock and a high capacity magazine. This is a very dangerous assault weapon that can kill a lot of people very quickly.
A disturbed gunman with AR-15 semi-automatic can shoot directly at a police officer and most likely will injure or kill the police officer first because of the speed of the multiple bullets in one magazine during the time the police officer with a hand gun shoots one bullet. The officer can take cover increasing his chances of taking down the gunman.
Companies like FedEx expressed their position on gun policy and safety which differs from the NRA. FedEx opposes assault rifles being in the hands of citizens and views assault rifles and large capacity magazines as a danger to schools, workplaces and communities. They support restricting them to the military.
Broward Sheriff Deputy Scot Peterson’s lawyer said, Peterson told arriving Coral Springs police officers that he believed the shots were coming from outside of the school. Radio transmissions indicated that there was a gunshot victim in the area on the football field. But that hasn’t been confirmed yet. Emergency first responders were not immediately allowed to go into the school and tend to those children and teachers who were shot. In addition the security cameras at the school weren’t providing life footage. The cameras were 20 minutes behind. So if the video footage was 20 minutes late had the shooting already taken place? Yet officers said they could hear the shooting.
The FBI also received a detailed call warning, “I know he’s going to explode” on January 5, 2018 also warning that Cruz had posted disturbing images of slaughtered animals on his Instagram account indicating he wanted to kill people. The call to the FBI lasted 13 minutes. The caller called police officials in Parkland, FL and there was no response. The FBI stated on February 16, 2018, that the tip was not forwarded to the FBI Miami Field Office. In addition to 26 calls that were made to Broward Sheriff’s Department. For more on protecting young innocent children please read Child Trafficking for Pedophile Rings in the US; a Worldwide Epidemic.
03/01/18 Here is the timeline of the shooting that took place at the Florida High School.
2:21 PM Shooting Begins
2:28 PM Shooting Ends
2:32 PM Form Perimeter command
2:47 PM Swat Enters School
2:50 PM Cruz Buying Drink at Subway
Update 02/28/18: Students who are all traumatized and survivors of this disturbing shooting aren’t giving up their fight for stronger gun control laws and efforts.
These students and teachers are literally fighting for their lives because no one knows where the next domestic terrorist shooting will take place but it has already been reported that some teachers are willing to participate in the carry and conceal idea that President Trump proposed.
Update 2/25/18. President Trump wants to train teachers in the schools to carry and conceal. Some said teachers don’t want that kind of responsibility. School teachers are already locking their school rooms while in class. The fear now is palpable and this last horrific shooting has come home to put real fear in parents and students across this nation.
Governor Scott’s gun proposal to the Florida state legislature is to raise the age from 18 to 21, pass and ban sale of bump stocks, pass a “Red Flag Law” (to confiscate guns from people deemed too dangerous to possess them), allot $450 million to harden Schools and $50 million for mental health.
Governor Scott said, “The second amendment doesn’t kill people; evil kills people. We weigh individual rights. I believe in the 2nd Amendment. We should ban specific people from weapons. I want the teachers to teach and law enforcement to be able to protect the students.”
There were a number of security lapses last month. On January 5, 2018 someone called the FBI tip line warning about Nikolas Cruz and said, “I know he’s going to explode.” In November, the woman who’s home the shooter was staying at called the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department 911 number and said, “I cannot have him on the premises now. He put the gun to the head of his brother.”
Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, asked Governor Scott, “I understand people say it’s the person who fires the assault weapon. But don’t these assault weapons allow an evil person to kill people more quickly?”
Shootings in the past with assault weapons: AR-15-style rifles have been used in recent mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado; Santa Monica and San Bernardino, California; Orlando, Florida, Las Vegas and now Parkland, Florida.
December 2015 San Bernardino 14 Dead
June 2016 Orlando 49 Dead
October 2017 Las Vegas 58 Dead
November 2017 Sutherland Springs 26 Dead
February 2018 Parkland 17 Dead
As a parent Andrew Pollack, who lost his daughter to the latest Florida high school shooting, was broken and shared in the meeting held at the White House with President Trump, “I’m pissed because my daughter, I’m not going to see again. She’s not here.” Mr. Pollack also shared with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, “Hire experts and check each school individually. Every Governor needs to be proactive. My daughter’s death can’t be in vain. It has to be the last one. Deputy Peterson was there and he’s a coward. Let’s make the schools safe. It’s a lot of failure that needs to be addressed. I could write you a book about the incompetence of that school. Make it the new norm. It’s got to be like an airport check.” A Florida high school student who went through the horrific experience named Delany said, “It’s very daunting to go back to a place where there was such horror. I just want to be a student.”
When the Coral Springs Police arrived at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, they were surprised to find Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson & two other deputies and an armed school officer had not entered the high school building while the shooting was taking place.
Update 02/23/18 The security cameras at the Florida High School shooting were 20 minutes behind and were not showing live footage to the police department while the shootings were taking place.
The President met with students and parents at the White House and many told their terrifying stories. One mother from the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was there. Her son, who was only six years old, was shot and killed with many other little children on that horrible day. One father was there who had lost his daughter in the Columbine Shooting, 19 years ago. He and his wife have established school programs to identify and help those children who are having issues at school and at home. Other teachers and students spoke about their school districts in Washington DC and how they were implementing programs to address any danger with students in school but no one talked about the fact that an average of 2,200 little girls go missing every year from the Washington DC area alone as identified in the article Child Trafficking and Pedophile Rings in the US. Now a Worldwide Epidemic.
Update 02/20/18, the State Legislature in Florida voted not to pass a legislative bill that would have banned assault rifles. The Legislature’s non-action sparked fury for the high school students and their parents who were demanding more gun control laws.
Florida high school students were getting on buses and going straight to the Tallahassee Capital. They were angry, upset and still in shock. They want real change in gun control laws. Individually, their voices will be heard. Explaining their own personal stories trying to make a case for more gun control laws to be passed.
Only these students can explain their personal experiences, who were all affected as witnesses and victims of this horrific shooting. They are now, forever changed on that Valentine’s Day in 2018. This wasn’t supposed to be part of their high school history and memories to look back on. This shooting affected 3,200 students. Not to mention the many parents who lost a child to gun violence. Legislators can’t begin to understand what the students at Margory Stoneman Douglas High School suffered on that day and will continue to suffer with fear of being in school, nightmares, depression and post traumatic stress disorder.
Now in the aftermath, of a horrible shooting in a Florida high school, members in the community are still in shock the question is, “Did the FBI Botch the High School Shooting?“
02/19/18 Did the FBI botch the Florida high school shooting?
President Trump spent the weekend visiting with many victim’s families at hospitals and with law enforcement and security officials.
Questions! What did the FBI know? What did the FBI not know? And why wasn’t the communication that was reported in 36 calls and more than six weeks ago informing the FBI that Nikolas Cruz was very dangerous and a mentally disturbed person and people were afraid of what he might do.
Florida Governor Scott said, “This is grounds for the FBI Director Christopher Wray to leave. To resign.” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “Governor Scott was on the ground with me non-stop. He was with families in the hospital. He was outraged with FBI Director Wray only responding with, ‘Well, we will get to the bottom of it.’ He believes these families deserved more.” They certainly deserved a stronger response, saying, whoever did this will be fired and we will hold those accountable for the missteps in the Florida high school shooting that left 17 dead and 15 injured on February 14, 2018.
Steve Rogers, a former FBI joint terror task force member said, “The FBI botched it terribly. The American people are loosing confidence in this agency because this is not the first thing they’ve botched. Let me add this, that the Director of FBI should not only resign but the entire leadership executive officers should resign as well and if they don’t resign they should be fired. In law enforcement there is something called a blue wall of silence and I am beginning to believe that a blue wall of silence is being put up and they have to tear down that wall. FBI Agents, who know more then what we’re being told as to who, what, when, where and why this happened.”
President Trump said, “The distractions with the Russia probe got in the way with the FBI doing it’s job in Florida.” Rogers added, “Yes, I do believe this. I worked in law enforcement for 38 years and as a supervisor I set priorities and the priorities of the FBI should be protection of the American people first. All this stuff going on with the Russia probes and political probes that has to be second to everything else and it was the day James Comey testified before Congress. That’s when the FBI was politicized and weaponized and it has to be get back to its basics, that is to conduct comprehensive investigations, especially in the view of the fact that FBI had leads, that could have led them right to this guy.”
02/14/18 Breaking News: A shooting at a high school In Parkland, FL was reported. Numerous people were injured and there are fatalities. The FBI responded to the shooting. Just in, it appears there are 17 fatalities involved in this shooting. Authorities like to notify family members before they report on those that have been fatally wounded.
The lives taken were twelve inside the building, two outside, two at the hospital, and one died in route to the hospital. The first menacing thing the gunman did was he tripped the fire alarm wearing a gas mask and when students were headed to the hallways he started shooting. A fire alarm drill had taken place earlier in the day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Lt. Colonel Tony Shafer on Fox News said, “This shooter meticulously planned this out. Other kids knew there was something wrong with him. A lot of questions to ask, like how did this shooter get the gun?” Alarming, google search AR-15 and this pops up.
Some students were leaving not realizing a shooting was taking place. These kinds of shootings usually result in the disintegration of the family. Someone said, “its easier to buy guns, ammunition and bump stocks.” The shooter apparently used an AR-15 semi-automatic assault-style rifle that killed 17 innocent people. In the news, it was reported there is a very strong lobby in Congress that prevents legislation to impose more vetting laws.
Initially, Superintendent Robert Runcie spoke to the media and was clearly very upset and in shock. He said, “It’s a day where we pray everyday not to happen. There were no warnings and indications that this was going to happen. Parents are afraid to send their kids to school. We cannot live in a world of fear. There are mental health issues in this country that are growing and it is something that has to be addressed to recognize individuals in distress. (Save the children in child trafficking for pedophile rings in the US) We’re going to deal with this as a community and my prayers go out to the families and this entire community. No sane person is going to commit such an atrocity. We are going to have to step up our efforts to prevent these kinds of atrocities.” Before the shooting, Mr. Runcie was giving a teacher of the year a new car and then came the call. From a joyful time to listen to his staff who was telling Mr. Runcie of the shooting that had taken place.
Initially, it was reported that at least 20 people were injured later that was changed to 15 injured. The shooting started in the hallways and then moved to one classroom. The school was immediately put into locked down and kids were told to remain barricaded. Some teachers locked the doors in their classrooms to protect the students.
Law enforcement officials said kept reporting there are numerous fatalities. During the shooting there were multiple shots, one after another that were being heard. A frightening situation for all the students and teachers in the high school. The shooting took place in Broward County Florida, the sixth largest school district in America with 270,000 students, 373 schools and 30,000 employees. Fourteen individuals have been taken to nearby local hospital.
At the time, authorities described the suspect at the South Florida high school as a white male in a burgundy shirt and black pants. Law enforcement officials were searching Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with 3,200 students in a three story building in Parkland, Florida, about 45 miles north of Miami. As the students were escaping, so was the gunman blending in and later was caught off campus walking on a sidewalk. At 3:45 pm ET, the shooter was taken into custody and students were reportedly still in the school but have now been released. There was a video showing the suspect in custody but he was leaning forward and appeared to be injured himself. The suspect was taken to Broward Health North Hospital. It could be the shooter purposely took something to injure himself. The shooter has been identified as Nikolas Cruz, 19 years old and described as a former student. The suspect has been released by the hospital and is now in jail appearing at his first court hearing. People who knew Cruz said he obsessed with guns. He had a fascination with shooting guns and bombs and that gave him an exhilarating feeling. He was expelled from the high school. The young disturbed man had very questionable pictures on social media. Some saying there were pictures of abuse on small animals on his Instagram account. That he had participated in a local white supremacist militia training exercise but that was later debunked in the news media. He was described by his former classmates as a loner and with a volatile temper. The brothers moved in with a family friend. Officials think, the attack on Valentine’s Day was intentional because he had troubles with a girl.
A student, Michael Catz reported, “he heard what sounded like a garbage truck like banging and then I heard boom boom boom and I got under my desk.” Multiple students were telling their individual stories and it was very clear they were all in shock saying they saw a lot of blood, a teacher shot and four students that appeared dead. Some parents rushing to the school for their children’s safety were stuck in traffic around the high school. Because this was Valentine’s Day, there were a lot of balloons throughout the high school and some students thought the shootings were balloons popping.
Tragically, for students throughout this nation, this is their new normal. Since Columbine there have been 273 school shootings, 439 were shot and 121 students killed in school shootings throughout the nation. 150,000 students have been affected since the Columbine shooting. This chaos is turning into a very raw reality. When a gunman killed 20 first graders and six adults with an assault rifle at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, it rattled Newtown, Connecticut and reverberated across the world.
President Trump is getting briefings on the shootings. The White House continues to monitor the unfolding situation.
Just spoke to Governor Rick Scott. We are working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting.
My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 14, 2018
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 14, 2018
My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 14, 2018
Just a tragic day and we send our prayers and condolences to the families of those injured or fatally shot. ~ Natalie
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