Long-Lingering Sorrow

I don't know about you guys, but I cannot keep it together. This Newtown tragedy is beyond words. Every parent I saw over the weekend was wandering around completely depressed, eyes rimmed with red. We're taking it extremely personally, as we should. It could have been any of our kids. It could have been any of our schools. It still can.

I got word of the first confused news reports right before I walked into our elementary school's holiday concert on Friday. Another school shooting? At an elementary school?  My vast arsenal of swears could not adequately express my disgust. I knew the town. Good family friends lived there, one a recently retired schoolteacher. It's as beautiful as the media says—idyllic really, with its wooded and winding lanes, old barns, and babbling brooks—as safe and peaceful as it gets. I was shaken. We all were. During the performance, our fourth graders sang a haunting rendition of "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and I was beside myself with the awful contrast between those earnest words issued in such sweet, melodic voices and the horrific crime scene one small state away.

It goes without saying, but bears repeating, how sorry I am for the families of the victims and the community at large. I am grief-stricken and no area is safe from my tears, not my desk, not my car, not the grocery store, not even Staples (Jesus Christ, Tammy, it's just a printer cartridge!). I've been hugging my kids to the point of near-strangulation, but it's not enough. If we can't even protect our own children, then what do our freedoms even mean?

Do the right thing, America. Do it now. Semi-automatic assault weapons have got to go. Background checks for any gun are a necessity. Mental health issues require our serious attention. When someone decides to wage war on our schoolchildren, maybe we should, I don't know, be more specific about the interpretation of our Second Amendment rights. When it happens over and over again, then we are irresponsible to the point of negligence. Only fewer guns will keep our children safe. Protect them with responsible action. We cannot possibly believe that our Founding Fathers would expect anything less. They can't govern from the grave. And neither can our children.

Comments

[Amy Grieve Ayers]

Well said Tammy.

[millie]

Thanks.

[NancyB]

Well said. My eyes well up at the most unexpected times and when I see little kids I guess their age to be close to 6 or 7.
We need to talk about mental illness, about violence, about guns.

[Nan Fornal]

Beautiful, Tammy!

[wrm]

The problem with saying that fewer guns will keep children safe is that it's just not true. There will always be *some* guns. Here in South Africa, couple of months ago, a kid took his policewoman mother's pistol to school and shot a kid who apparently was bullying him. There is absolutely no law that can be made that would have stopped him (BTW, we have complete registration of all firearms and background checks with fingerprints and interviews and everything).

Yes, I agree with you that mental illness should be addressed. But I'm not sure that that would have helped in this case.

The whole world is talking about this tragedy. Everyone wants to do *something*. The rational minority wants to do something which will have a real effect, rather than something which sounds good but won't have any effect.

[Mom]

Thanks for helping me put my feelings into words, Tammy. I've been weeping spontaneously ever since it happened. My keyboard is covered with tear spots and I carry a box of tissues around with me. I used to live in Newtown, and it truly is just like Tammy described it.

Now I feel the need to comment on wrm's comments. Wmr, I respect your right to your opinion. But do we really need assault weapons in the hands of the general population? Ammo clips with hundreds of rounds?

The loss of one child is a profound tragedy, particularly if the child is your own. But the loss of 20 at a time is a travesty. What does the rational minority recommend?

[Tammy]

wrm: Thanks for your perspective. It's interesting to hear how things work in other countries.

I still think fewer guns will keep children safer (perhaps I should have added the "r" to "safe" in my original post--no amount of legislation will keep every child safe). You're right--there will always be guns. But fewer guns--particularly fewer military-style assault weapons with high-capacity magazines--will mean fewer large-scale massacres, not to mention fewer accidental deaths that probably number much higher than what we saw last Friday.

The mental health issue needs major discussion, but I fear it's much more complicated than the gun issue. We can't even agree that everyone deserves healthcare in this country, never mind what is covered and who is going to pay for it. For me, the gun issue is a simple one: there's no place for semiautomatic assault rifles outside of a war zone.

But I'm willing to look at it from all angles. We owe it to those kids and their families.

[Monica]

Tammy for President?? your last paragraph is what the idiots who are only good for grandstanding and showboating NEED to realize---yes we have a right to bear arms but that law was in a time when it was needed...shouldnt it be amended by now? i can go on for pages but i bore you....i'm no liberal nor a conservative on this issue but something has got to give....20 innocent souls died...enough said

[Karen@Mignardise]

Excellent words for a truly difficult situation, Tammy. There's no way our founding fathers could have ever known about automatic weapons and large capacity magazines. I'd like to believe that if they did have that foresight, the Second Amendment would be worded differently. The mental health piece is hugely complex as well.
There are many, many people who need to be involved in this discussion for the sake of our children, and not for their own interests.
That said...I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season together and a peaceful new year.
Karen@Mignardise