sandy hook...

On television, we've watched again and again, the same thing. Folks use the second amendment and a "well-regulated militia" to justify owning weapons that have been used in the merciless slaughter of children. There is nothing well regulated about arms sales in the US, except that the NRA uses its political clout and campaign contributions to insure that American politicians do not interfere with the horrid stupidity of having 300 million guns in the US.

As I've said before, hunting is one thing, AR-15's another. Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children's Zone wrote a book, "Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun" that offers insight into the escalation of violence in American cities and schools. Form your hand in a fist and observe the feelings within your mind. Hold a stick in your hand and wave it in the air. You will feel a sense of power from such a simple thing. Take a knife in hand and track your imaginings. Then imagine you are holding a gun. You have the power to take your own life or that of another person with ease, and folks have the possibility of becoming infused with darkness of their own making.

Sandy Hook Elementary School where children were killed five years ago is right down the road from Taunton Press and Fine Woodworking in New Town, CT. One of my editors from Woodcraft Magazine also lives in Sandy Hook. So, even here in Eureka, killings like the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week are not that far away. Today, in fact, I'll review the layout for an article in Fine Woodworking Magazine, knowing that 5 years after Sandy Hook, life goes on, just as it has had to go on for those who've lost loved ones in such horror.

I want people to read the Constitution of the United States and then explain to me why AR-15s and other similar weaponry should be allowed . We do not allow private citizens to own nuclear arms, or even bazookas and flame throwers. And so why should we allow any child to be put at risk by heavily armed gun crazed sick folks? And why should those sick folks have ready access to guns that even sane folks would never need except to kill others at rapid pace?

I am in awe of the brave young people who have stood up to take the lead in the debate. The NRA and all those politicians who've been sitting on their hands and making excuses since Sandy Hook and Columbine had better wake up and finally do something to protect our children from violence in school. If not, they will be brushed aside and as a teacher, I will give thanks.

Yesterday in wood shop at the Clear Spring School, my plan of having the first grade girls make troll dolls was quickly subverted. They turned the parts I had crafted into cats instead. That led to a cat show. Children in schools should be allowed time to be innocent, and teachers should be the protectors of that innocence. And not, as the president suggest, by carrying guns of their own.

Make, fix and create.