Don’t scapegoat the NRA

Seventeen innocent high school students were murdered in Florida. Their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were summarily terminated. These constitutional liberties, along with their lives were murderously eradicated, through no fault of their own. Government protections, of any type, were not afforded to these defenseless children.

Those wounded in this attack were forced to deal with a level of fear and trauma that a school child should never have to endure.

Wounded in combat at age 19, I cradled and comforted gunshot victims before they died. Equating these clearly separate and distinctively different experiences is not my objective. Exposure to teenage murder and killing remains profoundly troubling. The tortuous agony endured by the families of those massacred students is a hellish nightmare that's beyond my ability to comprehend.

The purported murderer of these students was no stranger to law-enforcement. Expelled from high school because of his threatening behavior, there were 39 occasions when police were called to the alleged killer's residence, because of his threatening and dangerous conduct. His combative actions and statements were clearly identified via his stated desire to engage in some type of school shooting.

Responsible citizens contacted the FBI seeking their assistance with the identified threat, 30 days prior to the commission of this slaughter. FBI Director Wray admitted the bureau ignored these warnings and didn't follow protocol.

Just in, Broward Sheriff's Office was unaware that said school's video was on a 20 minute delay. A deputy from the same department resigned, after refusing to engage the shooter.

Name calling, casting politically charged insults and promoting censorship against anothers beliefs, is an evil unto itself. Drowning out competing thoughts and ideas, unable to embrace the wealth of wisdom and solutions available concerning this tragedy, has become an acceptable means of media and political discourse.

The National Rifle Association of America has been providing solutions to gun violence since its inception, approximately 148 years ago. During my tenure as a teacher, because of the NRA's Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program, I was able to bring a modicum of peace, safety and well-being into the lives of at-risk children.

Rank destractions and contempt of the NRA, which has actually implemented effective school and gun safety programs, is a dangerous distraction that will expose children and citizens to further danger.

This story was originally published February 28, 2018 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Don’t scapegoat the NRA."