Today marks a dark day in United States history. Three years ago today, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut was terrorized by a maniac who murdered 26 people, including 20 children. The story and details surrounding this incident are common knowledge worldwide and have become a sad memory of an issue that this country has yet to tackle.
Flags around Connecticut will be flying at half mass today in remembrance of those who had their lives taken from them on that wretched day. The superintendent of Fairfield County Schools (Sandy Hook’s school district), Joseph Erardi Jr., has announced that middle and high school administrators will take time out today to speak to their students about what happened that day and will address any grievances students may have before participating in a county wide moment of silence. Elementary school students will also participate in the moment of silence. This is the first time that this anniversary has fallen on a school day and Superintendent Erardi has stated that it will be treated as any other school day as far a procedures are concerned.
Over this past weekend, marches and rallies were held nationwide to show support for those who are dealing with the events of this day more intimately than others. Many see this anniversary as a chance to once again speak out against the lack of gun control in the United States of America that leads to these time of mass-homicides. One of the groups in protest is Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America who were founded in direct response to the Sandy Hook tragedy. Newtown itself has decided to keep this anniversary low-key with its only official event being an annual interfaith community service being held this evening.
Since that horrible day in Connecticut, there have been 1,052 mass shooting incidents in the United States alone according to ShootingTracker.com. An estimated 90,000 Americans have lost their lives to gun violence and 210,000 have been injured since Sandy Hook. There have been 554 deaths of children under the age of 12 alone in the past three years resulting from either intentional or accidental gunfire. It seems that since Sandy Hook, this country has slipped further and further into dissolution and chaos at the hand of gun violence. Whether or not the lack of regulation and ease to purchase a high caliber firearm are the direct cause of this senseless violence in the United States has been up for debate for what seems like eternity. What is for certain, however, is that there needs to be a stop to this madness before more lives are taken from innocent citizens.
