What lessons have we learned?

Three months after 27 people were massacred in Sandy Hook, we have very little to show for our so-called earnest efforts to change gun violence in our country.

In two days, we had stories about three mass murderers, amid the reports that gun control legislation was going down in flames all around the country, except Colorado (good for them for standing up to the NRA).  Interestingly, each of those articles points to the warning signs that went unheeded.  At the end of one piece (another version from the AP), it states coldly, XX was never taken for a mental health diagnosis, but mom wanted him drug tested.  The missed opportunities to deal with these three men and their obvious mental health issues is not just a reflection of the denial of these parents, it led directly to the death and maiming of others.

We keep forgetting about the wounded.  Ask the survivors of Columbine what life has been like for them?  It is not only the deaths that we need to worry about.

Bloomberg has pledged to use his own money to combat the NRA.  And I applaud him, I really do.  But I think that one of the issues is that we don't feel personally involved in this struggle.  [Besides, Bloomberg's got some *gun violence* of his own to take care of.] Gun owners open their wallets all over the country, for nominal fees. I recognize that the real power in their money arsenal comes from the gun makers.

However, if around the country Americans were writing checks for $50 or something to pledge to stand up for gun control, perhaps the senators and congresspeople could not hide behind a silent constituency.  We could make cute bumper stickers, but more importantly, we can provide the templates for the calls, texts, emails and letters to the elected officials.
---------------------------
We need to follow the lead of the CT lawmakers and stand tough against those who would try to weaken these provisions.

Or we can declare our crazy and follow the NRA's lead, arming our schools to the teeth because that *will* solve all our gun violence problems, not to mention sell a lot of guns.