The Young Shall Inherit the Earth

A huge crowd of teens exiting Union Station and heading to the Capitol to  call for action on gun violence pic.twitter.com/5VVWGFTGij

— Zoë Carpenter (@ZoeSCarpenter) February 21, 2018

Students at Maryland schools are walking out of classes today to take their message directly to the NRA sponsored representatives in Washington DC. As the Parkland survivors have demonstrated, now is the time for action against gun violence.

“Don’t Shoot” was created in solidarity with Saturday’s #marchforourlives and in response to the horrific, senseless gun violence in America. The youth have stood up against the NRA and I applaud them. I will be at the March on Saturday and then make it back for the Santa Monica Airport Artwalk. May we join in the spirit of nonviolence and togetherness. #art #artandsocialjustice

Jedediah Grady from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland: “I understand marching isn’t automatically going to change legislation...but it’s not just about change. Next year I’ll be able to vote.” pic.twitter.com/duvbBJoPU1

— Kara Voght (@karavoght) February 21, 2018

This is what democracy looks like. #GunReformNow pic.twitter.com/AMLVOSpaBY

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 22, 2018

March for Our Lives Donations

George and Amal, I couldn’t agree with you more. I am joining forces with you and will match your $500,000 donation to ‘March For Our Lives.’  These inspiring young people remind me of the Freedom Riders of the 60s who also said we’ve had ENOUGH and our voices will be heard.

— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) February 20, 2018

George Clooney will March For Our Lives ... pic.twitter.com/HlA8U2K4xW

— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) February 20, 2018

Please donate on the March For Our Lives' GoFundMe page. According to their mission statement, the campaign was started by Cameron Kasky, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. 

"Our team has been working hard since day one. The funds will be spent on the incredibly difficult and expensive process that is organizing a march like this. We have people making more specific plans, but for now know that this is for the march and everything left over will be going to the victims' funds."

Not including Oprah, George and Amal's donations, as of Feb. 20, the campaign has raised more than $1million towards its $1.5 million goal. 

The Luminist for Ana Grace

The Luminist

GreggChadwick 

  My condolences and thoughts to jazz player Jimmy Greene and his wife Nelba as they bear the senseless loss of their beautiful little girl Ana Grace who was a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Connecticut.

Jimmy Greene, the American saxophonist who recently taught at the University of Manitoba, has written a brief message following the death of his daughter.  Greene wrote:

"Thank you for all of your prayers and kind words of support. As we work through this nightmare, we’re reminded how much we’re loved and supported on this earth and by our Father in heaven. As much as she’s needed here and missed by her mother, brother and me, Ana beat us all to paradise. I love you sweetie girl. "

Our Nation Cries for the Children of Newtown, Connecticut

by Gregg Chadwick

 GreggChadwick

As I write this, an impromptu vigil is forming in front of the White House in Washington DC to mourn the victims of another senseless mass shooting and to call for much needed gun regulation. Today, a quiet school in Newtown, Connecticut was violated by a gun wielding murderer packing semi-automatic weapons with a back up assault rifle in his car.

The shooting was horrific and preventable. This is a national tragedy that needs a national response. Our glorification of weapons and our embrace of the use of violent force to resolve conflicts has led us to a crisis point. Do we continue to let our children be slaughtered in schools and theaters? Will we continue to allow almost unfettered access to military grade high powered weapons? Will we continue to cut funding for preventive mental health care?

Today, we make a decision as a nation. Twenty children and six adults were killed today at a Newtown, Connecticut school. I refuse to allow their memories to be forgotten and will not let this horror continue unabated across the nation. 

Because of their strict regulation of firearms, last year in Japan there were only 8 murders committed with guns in a country of 120 million. The year before there were 6 and during the previous year 11. Today, during one horrific attack in one school, one American gunned down more fellow citizens than the last 3 years of gun deaths in Japan combined.  Over 100 rounds of ammo were fired into children today. According to the FBI, we average 20 similar mass shootings in the US each year. Don't let the NRA fool you the Second Amendment is not unlimited. As recently as the 2008 Heller decision, the US Supreme Court has held that:

Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those “in common use at the time” finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons.

Today is the day to begin the long delayed discussion of gun control and lay the foundation for the implementation of sensible gun regulations across the United States.

President Obama Wipes Away A Tear During His Address to the Nation Concerning Today's Shooting in Newtown

More at:

A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths
Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Fatal Gaps: Can Dangerous People Buy Guns In Your State?

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