Communities across Maryland have been reeling in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Some residents said they feared dropping their children off at school while others demanded action from legislators.
addressed her students Monday before Prince George's County schools observed a minute of silence to honor the victims of Friday's school shooting in Newtown, CT.
"Take care of yourself. Take care of each other. And take care of the place," she told students.
In Wheaton, parents reacted to the tragic news and talked about school safety in Montgomery County.
Frances Frost, a contributor to the Local Voices section on Wheaton Patch, wrote in an email: "As a mom of 4, I can't imagine a greater loss for a parent such as a senseless act like this that snatches away innocent lives."
"As for our elementary schools, I feel like my children are relatively safe, although the portables do make me a little nervous," Frost continued. "But I realize that no one can be 100% safe all the time and I pray that every day my children come home safely."
In Anne Arundel County, parents throughout the county dreaded Monday morning.
“I started to tear up and was wailing by the time I got home,” posted reader Wendy Worth Cronin.
Another local reader, Kelly Proctor, wrote, “I drove by the school later and got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes at the sight of the police car at the elementary school.”
Police and schools around the state have also be re-evaluating the safety of students.
On Monday, Howard County school officials reported they would hold staff meetings to review emergency plans at each school, discuss visitor policies and guidelines for reporting suspicious activity, according to a statement from the county.
Prince George's County police and the Montgomery County Police Department increased police presence in schools, though police have no indication of a threat to any schools. In Montgomery County, police may remain at schools all week.
Prince George's officials also sent school safety reminders to teachers Monday in light of the heroic efforts of Sandy Hook teachers.
Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Police Chief Jim Johnson Monday called for tougher gun laws, but a representative of the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore said it is too early to discuss stricter gun laws.
TELL US: Maryland already had one school shooting incident earlier this year in Perry Hall. What should legislators and school officials do to prevent another shooting from occurring in the state?
You don't know what you are writing about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5XzQ1BS7gU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dm5XzQ1BS7gU
Look, we place reasonable limits on gun ownership. All the hand wringing about "semi-automatic' wepons is ridiculous. Most modern wepons are semi-automatic. This is because they are more efficient and easier to use. Banning certain types of wepons will not prevent tragedies like this, at best, it could reduce the number of people killed or wounded. Focusing on mental health and keeping guns out of the Hands of people with mental illness can help prevent these shooting from occurring at all.
His AR 15 was found in the trunk of his mothers car he stole. So reports Pete Williams of NBC News. "NBC’s Pete Williams reported this morning that, according to federal and state officials, there were four handguns found at the scene of the Connecticut school shooting, instead of two as previously thought. Adam Lanza also had an assault-style rifle that he reportedly left in his car." http://www.mediaite.com/tv/reports-lanza-attempted-to-buy-rifle-days-before-shooting-was-denied/ That does not change one thing for you people does it? Not one thing changes even though your entire premise has been blown up in your faces. Get a grip potential civil rights deniers. Get a grip.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/18/us/connecticut-lanza-guns/index.html
Wake up, sheeple! Before it's too late.
Sanchez may take this opportunity to slam NBC News as unreliable (lets him transfer the blame for his error), but I have learned over many years that any and all reports released while the event is occurring or just after are very likely to be inaccurate - be it mass killings, tsunamis, hurricanes, blizzards, whatever. Every news outlet wants to be first out with breaking news and sometimes they release whatever they hear without verification. Brian Ross of ABC has gotten caught by this on several occasions. To his main point: This country is a democracy, and if the majority stands up for a change in the gun laws, it will be the law - Even if the 2nd Amendment requires changes. Note I said changes, not repeal. I think having a 2nd Amendment is vital, but the current 18th century document needs to be updated for the 21st century.
I doubt you even read it.
I believe Honeygo Hal is right. The 2nd amendment has been mangled by the current SCOTUS. It described a situation that is now over 200 years old and I believe the writers did not realize what was going to happen with "arms". In my opinion, the amendment as designed is no longer meaningful and was not originally intended for your personal protection. You disagree. The current makeup of the SCOTUS disagrees. That very well might change over the next 4 years. There is no doubt the framers of the constitution in the period in which they lived wanted to prevent an invading army from taking over our country, thus the reason for the phrase that starts the amendment, "A well regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state". They had no clue what technology would bring at the time they wrote that amendment. No one did. We will never agree on this. But I bet we will agree that school, mall, etc. mass shootings will continue to occur and occur and we are not done burying people.
Incorrect. The phrasing was not to protect from an invading army, but to protect from a tyrannical government. In other words, the States (as individual "countries") when unified did not want another King taking over and thus mandated that the people of the state be allowed to be armed should they need to rise up in such a case. Certainly anachronistic, but understandable and relevant to some today. Now, that was RAW (rule-as-written) but there is also RAI (rule-as-intended). Where did the Second Amendment come from? What laws were used as a basis? A key basis was old English laws focusing on allowing individuals to arm themselves (at the time with melee weaponry and occasional archaic firearms), for both hunting and protection. There were no such things as police to protect individual families or small communities; it was up to the citizens to do this. Thus, the Second Amendment stemmed from an individual's right to do what authorities could not: constantly protect themselves, their families, and their property. The Supreme Court recognized this in recent cases, using it as the basis for their decisions on whether the Second Amendment was an individual right or a militia's right.
"In the interview, Mr. Cuomo did not offer specifics about the measures he might propose, but, while discussing assault weapons, he said: “Confiscation could be an option. Mandatory sale to the state could be an option. Permitting could be an option — keep your gun but permit it.” Cuomo, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, birds of a feather.
We have more than just the words of the second amendment to understand what the founders were thinking about in regards to the right to bear arms. I think they knew exactly what they were doing. The founders distrusted centralized government and especially standing armies. They felt that citizens should have the means to protect themselves from their own government if necessary. See the quotes below for some insight. "Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." - James Madison "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike especially when young, how to use them." - Richard Henry Lee
Chris, I do have strong feelings and after hearing the head of the NRA suggest we arm the country today, I am even more concerned. I can't imagine the terror that went through those children waiting to be killed. But as I said, minds change very slowly. We have staked out our positions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_weapon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle So the term assault weapon really means nothing.