MORE ACTION NEEDED TO GET GUN CONTROL REFORMS. Please take action, write to your political representatives at the State level and in Congress. Also sign the petition and join a Gun reform groups to let your voice count! United we stand against gun violence! Divided more of our school children will fall to more bullets, death, pain and sorrow.
I wrote the letter below on Christmas day 2012, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. A sole young deranged gun man, with an automatic rifle took the life of 20 children and 6 teachers. Several days ago we had a similar incident, at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed at least 17 people, stunning the town and much of the nation once again.
"The suspect was identified as
19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School who'd been expelled for disciplinary reasons, Broward County
Sheriff Scott Israel confirmed during an evening news conference. Sen.
Bill Nelson told Fox News that Cruz was wearing a gas mask and may have
had smoke bombs during the rampage." (Source: FOX News)
It's obvious that we must do more to protect our children. We can't let this bloodshed to continue. We can't let the NRA sell us more guns because the US already has 270,000,000 guns on its soil! According to Gun Control - ProCon.org, the US has the highest per capita number in the world; 22% of Americans own one or more guns, that is 88.8 guns per 100 people! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out! More guns produce more deaths! 33,000/year and 80,000 wounded. Please pass gun reform laws to protect all citizens from the mentally deranged, criminals, fanatics and terrorists! I'm not against the 2nd Amendment- just against the wrong people having powerful guns, like automatic rifles and high capacity magazines. These are weapons of war- used only to kill in large groups of people at once. Let's do something to stop this bloodbath! We must if you truly care for our school children.
Thank you!
Please help and protect our school children from gun violence, take action now; write to your politicians, sign petitions, and join groups, like Newtown Action Alliance (NAA) has have been pushing for a federal ban on assault weapons since the Sandy Hook tragedy. Click on the link below https://www.facebook.com/NewtownActionAlliance/posts/1598286016945324
Since then, we, the NAA, have built a coalition of 165+ organizations on the Campaign Against Assault Weapons. http://org2.salsalabs.com/…/1…/p/dia/action4/common/public/…
Please support these organizations who are working tirelessly to prevent our children from being massacred by #WeaponsOfWar in their schools.
To sign petition, Ban Assault Weapons and High Capacity Magazines Now!
PETITION BACKGROUND: Thoughts and prayers
are not enough. Americans deserve a strong response from our elected
leaders. Over 165 gun violence prevention groups and allies have joined
the Campaign Against Assault Weapons to ban #WeaponsOfWar to keep our
families and communities safe. We invite you to join our campaign by
signing our petition.
To sign click on this link:https://www.facebook.com/OccupyDemocrats/videos/1937483476344697/
My LETTER after THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING in 2012 (That I shared with the media, politicians, family friends and collegues)
My wife and I are teachers in the public schools with two of our children still attending (public schools) . I am an itinerant (traveling) ESL teacher with over 12 years of experience in many schools. I am also a NY Air National Guard member with over 28 years of service in the military, including 4 on active duty with the US Air Force.
I am writing you to ask for your support for EFFECTIVE & POWERFUL action to adequately protect our children and our schools.
We are the most armed country in the world with the highest death rate by handguns. Just several days ago NPR (National Public Radio. Sometime before Dec. 2012) reported that 100 thousand people get shot in the USA, and 30 thousand are fatal (Today, Feb 2018, this statistic has grown: 33,000 killed, and 80,000 wounded). More than the Vietnam war! Which lasted over 17 years, and it cost our country 52,000 young lives. It was the longest war in our country’s history. But this war is in our backyard! And it is even bloodier! This is intolerable, immoral and shameful! Don’t you think that we all need to do something to stop it?
Being armed to the teeth will only bring more unnecessary blood, death and sorrow in our land. That’s a fact, and that’s what the Bible tells us;
“Whoever uses the sword shall perish by the sword."
Soon after the Newtown shooting I have made the following pledges, and I hope you will join me in this effort to save our country and schools from this carnage;
1. I will continue reminding my colleagues, my family, friends, the media and political representatives; until meaningful, just and effective gun control laws are in place in our State and in this country, and when our schools will be safe, and when the violence and carnage finally stops. I will also remind NY State government officials to restore the correct amount of financial assistance to the poorest school districts in our State (mine is the Schenectady City Schools, near Albany, the capital of NY State), so that we can do our job; to teach our children and protect them better!
2. I will do this on the anniversary of Sandy Hook Elementary (12-14-13). Let’s do it for our children, the future of our country, and for peace, safety and tranquility of our families.
As a matter of fact, you can take action now!
Please, sign a petition for better gun law legislation. To do so log on to; http://www.avaaz.org/en/nra_enough/?bvVJCdb&v=20192
And to get more info on gun violence and to stop shootings in the USA visit; http://www.stoptheshootings.org/
This is what they say;
“This site has recorded 386 school shootings since 1992. That is 386 tragedies. Some get national attention, some don’t, but they are all devastating. Children ages 5-14 in America are 13x more likely to be murdered with guns as children in other industrialized countries (source: David Hemenway).”
And a USA Today graph (published on Fri. Dec 21, 2012, on pg. 11A), these are the worldwide statistics of the worlds highest gun homicides;
USA ……………………………….......... 67%
Germany ……………………………….. 26.1%
Australia………………………………... 11.8%
U.K. (England & Wales)…….................. 5.9%
Japan………………………………......... 1.8
I am not advocating taking away the 2nd Amendment, and/or all types of handguns from good, sensible, mature and healthy citizens, who use guns for protection and/or for fun. I am just calling for effective/common sense protection of our schools that take away guns from the wrong people. Simple and effective security with several layers of protection in order to effectively meet the threat of more shooters, and to avoid other massacres.
Let me present my suggestions. If our government isn't willing to pass effective gun control reforms, then we need to protect our schools and public buildings.
First, install metal detectors and cameras at each school main entrance. Second make all accessible windows/doors bulletproof, (at a minimum only those accessible/reachable from the outside, e.g. bottom floors). Third, install fire doors/ladders in all classrooms, (this will provide a way out for teachers/students, hence allow them to escape in a fire and/or in event there a shooter in the building. Fourth, have several (or at least one) highly trained and armed guards and/or police in each school. If police protection can’t be provided, then we should consider asking school employees to volunteer (in facing/defending against he threat of a shooter), and arming them (of course after they’ve been well trained/screened to handle a gun and how to repel/eliminate such threat). Fifth, we should invite neighbors to volunteer and patrol the immediate outdoors of our schools to alert the authorities of any suspicious individuals and/or activity. And sixth, install security cameras at all entrances and other strategic areas, like school grounds like sport fields, etc.
These defenses and security measures should be implement as soon as possible for our children and our citizens. If we they aren't put in place, and no gun reforms are passed, rest assured that the probability of another carnage like the one at Newtown and Parkland (added today 2-20-18) will likely happen again. If, our leaders in Congress fail again, then it will be blood on their hands, and also on our consciences, if we chose to do nothing! Let's remember, though, that we and ultimately we’ll have to answer to God.
God created human life to be loved/cherished/protected, and at the end of our life He will ask us if we did our part in loving and protecting it to the best of our abilities. And at that point in time we won’t be able to make excuses and/or lie our way out. God will look straight in our conscience, our eyes and hearts, and we won't be able to save ourselves.
So, what will our response be to ourselves, to our school children/teachers, and finally to God Almighty? I hope it’ll be a strong and effective one.
We know that the problems aren’t just guns/ammunition, but rather the ease and large quantity of weapons available (270 million, 89% of the US population), and although many people blame this violence on mental health issues (crazy people)- that’s not the case according to crime experts (CNN, 10pm news, 12-23-12). In fact, they stated that 75% of violent crimes are committed by healthy criminals. Like the one in Newtown, CT. Whatever the reason; we must take these weapons of war out of the hands of the wrong people! (added 2-20-18)
I'd like to conclude with, psalm 91, because God is the only protection that we have in our schools;
“You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, Say to the Lord, “My refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust”.
May God bless Sandy Hook’s and Parkland's children and teachers who have given their lives. I hope not in vain.
My hope and prayer for this Christmas and the future is this; that we all work together and unite in this effort to stop/prevent gun violence committed by our own people against our own children and teachers. The new American uncivil war.
I hope these children and teachers have not died in vain, for our good, for our country and for the whole world. That America’s culture of violence and death may soon turn into a culture of peace and life.
Thank you
Ottavio Lo Piccolo
(See below to contact our leaders in NYS and Congress)
Please help our students and taxpayers get OUR FAIR SHARE
by contacting your elected officials: (I’ve already done so, also at the Federal level, I’ve already written to Pr. Obama, (now also Pr. Trump) VP Biden, Senators Schumer, Gellibrand, & Speaker Boehner, now Paul Ryan)
To email these officials is easy;
1. Just go to Google and enter: contact (name of official)
2.Click on their site
3. Fill in required info (your name address, tel. # & email
4. Then hit send and you’re done, but do it for as many of officials as possible.
THANK YOU!
President Donald Trump
VP Mike Pence
Speaker Paul Ryan
Majority Wip Mitch McConnel
The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
eMail: http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php
Senator Hugh T. Farley
LOB 711
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: 518-455-2181 Fax: 518-455-2271
eMail address: farley@nysenate.gov
Senator John J. Flanagan
LOB 805
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: 518-455-2071
Fax: 518-426-6904
eMail address: flanagan@nysenate.gov
Senator John A. DeFrancisco
416 Capitol
Albany, NY 12247
518-455-3511
eMail address: jdefranc@nysenate.gov
Senator Dean Skelos
LOB 909
Albany, NY 12247
518-455-3171
eMail address: skelos@nysenate.gov
Assemblyman Sheldon Silver
LOB 932
Albany, NY 12248
Phone: 518-455-3791
eMail address: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Sheldon-Silver/contact/
Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara
Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248
eMail address: angelosantabarbara2012@gmail.com
Assemblyman Phil Steck
Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248
eMail address: psteck@nycap.rr.com
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan
LOB 836
Albany, NY 12248
Phone: 518-455-4851
eMail: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Catherine-Nolan/contact/
Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr.
LOB 923
Albany, NY 12248
Phone: 518-455-5491
eMail: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Herman-D-Farrell-Jr/contact/
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