The National Rifle Association has unveiled its National School Shield proposal. And I’m here to tell you that I am one unhappy parent. It offers eight recommendations, the first three of which have to do with training various school personnel to carry weapons on school grounds. Several other recommendations relate to a safety assessment tool. [...]
Tag Archives | Sandy Hook Elementary School
America Has an Anger Problem
In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, I mused on my Facebook page about the bully aspect to this story. One person rightly commented that we don’t just have a gun problem in America. We also have bullying and anger problems, ones that we’re neglecting in commentary about violence. So why aren’t [...]
FLOTUS & State of the Union Guests: More Than a Nice Invitation
The White House just released the list of guests who will be joining Michelle Obama in the traditional First Lady’s Seating Box for the State of the Union address. There are always some Americans invited whose stories are personally compelling and add something along the lines of what sportscasters call “color commentary” for an event. [...]
Abortion and Guns: Pick Your Amendment, the 14th or the 2nd
I came to Jackson as a part of the project on sexual education, religion and public policy. But, the truth is a much wider net had to be cast. I couldn’t talk about sex-ed without talking about contraception. I couldn’t talk about contraception without talking about abortion. Abortion is inextricably linked to the larger cycle [...]
Why Obama’s Gun Control Proposal is a Step in the Right Direction
President Obama stood in front of masses of media and announced his proposals for gun control in the wake of a number of school shootings in the past month, including a horrible tragedy here in my home state of Connecticut just two towns up the road at Sandy Hook Elementary. President Obama has proposed several [...]
Fear of Asperger’s Syndrome: Overreaction After the Sandy Hook Tragedy
The last few days since the Sandy Hook massacre the media has been full of gossip and speculation about the young man who committed this horrific crime. Journalists have talked about his introverted personality, his social awkwardness, and being a troubled teenager. There has been speculation that he has Asperger’s Syndrome or some kind of [...]
It’s Not Too Soon to Have a Real Debate About Guns
In the past week, I have seen 20 children and six adults lost in my very own community. One of the adults who lost her life is someone I grew up with, graduated high school with, and played basketball with as a child. In the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the [...]
The Newtown Tragedy: Why Have So Few Things Changed Since Gabby Giffords Was Shot?
I wish we didn’t need to keep thinking about the topic of how gun violence seems to be so intertwined with how we as Americans think about, or don’t think about, mental health and the treatment of mental illnesses in our country. I wrote the following article at Politics Daily after former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby [...]
You Don’t Have to be a Parent to Worry About Guns
“We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. And each time I learn the news I react not as a President, but as anybody else would — as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there’s not a parent in America who doesn’t feel the same overwhelming grief [...]
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I Want My Mother Back
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Charles Ramsey and the Racial Language Barrier
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Brave’s Merida is Herself Again. But for How Long?
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Can “Maybe” Empower Our Children in Times of Fear?
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When Big Pharma “Strong” Arms Mothers, We All Lose
