{"id":1839,"date":"2022-05-27T13:15:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T13:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/?p=1839"},"modified":"2022-05-27T13:15:35","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T13:15:35","slug":"may-27-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/?p=1839","title":{"rendered":"May 27, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a compilation of the \u2018major\u2019 school mass shootings since the horrific events of Columbine 23 years ago.^{1<\/sup>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n}

1999: \u00a0Columbine High School in Littleton, CO.\u00a0\u00a0 Twelve students and a teacher were killed and 20 more were injured.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2005: Red Lake Senior High School, Red Lake, MN.\u00a0\u00a0 Seven people killed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2006: West Nickel Mines School, Nickel Mines, PA.\u00a0 \u00a0Five students killed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2007: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.\u00a0 Thirty-two people killed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2012: Sandy Hook Elementary, Newton, CT.\u00a0 \u00a0Twenty first graders and six employees killed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2012:\u00a0 Oikos University, Oakland, CA.\u00a0 Six students and one staff member killed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2015:\u00a0 Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, OR.\u00a0\u00a0 Nine people killed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2018:\u00a0 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, FL.\u00a0 Seventeen people killed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2018:\u00a0 Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe, TX.\u00a0\u00a0 Ten people killed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022:\u00a0 Robb Elementary School, Uvalde, TX.\u00a0 Twenty-one people killed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This list does not include the individual shootings that took place at various schools around the country.\u00a0 Just in 2022 up to this point, there have been 27 incidents at schools around the country where students have died violent deaths at school at the hands of other students.^{2<\/sup> And as I have pointed out in previous posts, gun violence is now the leading cause of death in minors in this country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n}

One would think that in a reasonable society all of the data above would be sufficient for everyone to agree that 1) we have a problem and 2) we need to figure out a way mitigate this insanity.\u00a0 You would obviously be wrong.\u00a0 In the 23 years since Columbine, not only has there been zero progress in enacting any type of reasonable gun control measures, the fact is, access to guns and less restrictive gun laws have become the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More and more states have enacted laws enabling almost anyone to carry a concealed weapon without a permit or training.\u00a0 That is certainly the case here in Montana. \u00a0As I have pointed out previously, the Republican-controlled state legislature pushed through a law which was signed by the governor allowing students 18 years old to carry weapons on college campuses!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States Supreme Court is poised to strike down a law in New York State that will ultimately allow more people to carry weapons in New York.\u00a0 If anyone has ever been to New York City and walked through Times Square in the summer or taken a crowded subway, you can see why allowing more people to carry weapons in New York is a really, really bad idea.\u00a0 It\u2019s bad enough that here in sparsely populated Montana, you have to wonder when you\u2019re at the supermarket or a restaurant how many of the people around you are \u2018packing\u2019.\u00a0 Translate that to an extremely high-density environment like New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No other country on the planet would allow this.\u00a0 If you think that allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry to carry a concealed weapon will \u2018Make America Great Again,\u2019 I just have no words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since it is clear that the Republicans, no matter how many children are killed, will do nothing to enact laws restricting access to guns, or even push for universal background checks, it is necessary to look for other solutions.\u00a0 Senator Ted Cruz was arguing for making it more difficult to enter schools.\u00a0 I don\u2019t agree with Ted Cruz on virtually anything but he might be on to something here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Cruz and many other MAGA Republicans pushed so hard for Trump\u2019s infamous border wall, I think it is only reasonable that they would support building impenetrable walls around our schools complete with man traps.\u00a0 Perhaps they\u2019d also entertain building moats around the schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can see it now.\u00a0 Students having to get to school up to 1 hour before classes begin so they can go through the security line, complete with metal detectors, in order get through the security fence.\u00a0 We can turn the schools into stalags in order to protect the kids since politicians are unwilling to do anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I guess that\u2019s the price we\u2019ll have to pay to ensure we can live in a country where access to assault rifles and high-capacity magazines are more important than saving children\u2019s\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n