Like most Americans, we’re still reeling from this week’s horrific massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.
So, here are some notable things we saw . . .
1. In a poll conducted yesterday, 25% of Americans said they believe it’s “very likely” that a school shooting could happen in their community. Another 33% said it was “somewhat likely.” 28% said it was “very” or “somewhat unlikely.” (A week ago, I bet a lot of people in Uvalde would’ve said it was “unlikely” too.)
2. In another poll yesterday, 12% of Americans said “there is NO WAY to stop school shootings in the U.S.” Another 21% said they could be stopped by “enforcing the current laws” . . . and 55% said they could be stopped, but it would require a “drastic change in laws.”
3. Every time there’s a mass shooting, the parody newspaper “The Onion“ publishes the same story, with the headline: “‘No Way to Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.” And yesterday, they filled their homepage with it for every headline.
4. Texas politician Beto O’Rourke interrupted Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s news conference yesterday, to criticize his response to the massacre. He said, quote, “You’re doing nothing. You’re offering us nothing. You said this was not predictable . . . this is totally predictable when you choose to do nothing.”
(You can find the UNCENSORED videos, here. O’Rourke is arguing that someone needs to stand up for the children and innocent victims of gun violence. Detractors say he’s “sick” for politicizing it.)
5. For what it’s worth, Texas gets an “F” rating for its efforts to curb gun violence, according to Giffords.org. (You can find your state’s rating, here.)
6. A former FBI agent named Maureen O’Connell went on the news and suggested that instead of toys and games, parents should be investing in “ballistic blankets” for their kids’ schools.
She said, “They have blankets you can put up on the wall that are colorful and beautiful, but they are ballistic blankets. There are ways to obscure the classroom windows so that the shooter can’t have target acquisition.” (Here’s video.)
7. NBCNews.com has profiles on the victims of the massacre.
8. For more than 60 years, the leading cause of death for American kids ages 1 to 19 was car crashes. But since 2020, it’s been . . . guns. Vehicle crashes are #2.