...aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting. Zachary R. Leisure Sac State University Introduction School shootings are an aspect of society in America that is almost seen as commonplace at this point. These are horrific events that take place due to a multitude of factors. Something that is seen as commonplace in a more modern society is not something that was typical of the early 2010s. One event in history changed this: the Sandy Hook shooting. The Sandy Hook shooting was an event that took place in Connecticut in 2012. In terms of modern-day tragedies, it ranks as one of the most horrific when people analyze them. Where does this leave society today? In society, there are always two different arguments for one topic. One of the main...
Words: 1528 - Pages: 7
...Introduction Section On December 14th 2012, a fatal shooting occurred, the lives of twenty children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school were taken within minutes. Though he does not deserve any attention, the man that took these innocent lives was named Adam Lanza and he was just twenty years old at the time of the shooting. The children of Sandy Hook Elementary school were only in the first grade, and their lives came to a tragic end. I chose to talk about this event because I think that it is important to remember these victims, who were not old enough to have any chance to defend themselves or hardly begin their lives. As well as the fact that in 2012 I was in high school, and had cousins in Elementary school, it was so frightening...
Words: 1549 - Pages: 7
...On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed twenty children and six adults in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Before driving to the school, Lanza shot and killed his mother Nancy at their house. On November 30, 2012, 456 kids were enrolled in Sandy Hook Elementary School. The school's security had recently been upgraded. Doors to the school were locked at 9:30 am each day. Newtown is located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, about 60 miles outside New York City. Violent crime had been rare in the town of 28,000 residents; there was only one homicide in the town in the ten years prior to the school shooting. Some time before 9:30 a.m. on Friday, December 14, 2012, He shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, aged 52, at their house. Investigators later found her body, in her bed with four gunshot wounds to her head. He then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School. At about 9:35 am, using his mother's rifle, he shot his way through a locked door at the front of the school. He was wearing black clothing, earplugs and a utility vest, carrying magazines for the rifle. Principal Dawn Hochsprung and school psychologist Mary Sherlach were meeting with other faculty members when they heard gunshots. Hochsprung, Sherlach and lead teacher Natalie Hammon left the room, rushed...
Words: 1757 - Pages: 8
...William Tubao Kaplan May 7, 2014 The issue of school shootings is important to students and should be to the general public. A school shooting involves an educational institution and a firearm being discharged at its facility. It may also refer to shootings near or on a school bus or near a school when it is in session. School shootings could occur anywhere in the world where firearms are available for access. These types of shootings in particular have generated a political dispute on stricter gun control. There are well known shootings in the United States, Europe, Canada, and other countries. The United States has the highest number of school related shootings. This paper will examine a few of those incidents and compare how the media and academic articles portray them. Overall, media articles show that coverage of school shooting events such as the ones that occurred at Virginia Tech University and Sandy Hook Elementary School tend to primarily focus on the number of victims, reactions of family, the misfortune of the event, as well as the mental state and background of the shootings. For an example, in the Los Angeles Times article “Gunman kills 20 kids, 6 adults at Connecticut elementary school”, they focus on the number of dead, imagery, and the emotion after the shooting such as parent’s reactions and children’s reactions. In the article they seem to dramatize the whole situation by saying things like “Evil visited this community today”. Although it is a tragic...
Words: 1571 - Pages: 7
...Research Proposal, Draft 1 It’s the morning of December 15, 2012, a day after the Sandy Hook Elementary Shootings involving twenty-year old Adam Lanza. After having to support by brother through the intense fear of being looked at differently for his disability following the shooting, I found the topic of the media scapegoating Asperger Syndrome as a main factor in school violence relevant to our class. As school violence has grown in the past twenty-five years, the media has similarly sensationalized the many killers, often times looking to diagnose them with some sort of mental illness instead of digging deeper into the environment of the individuals who commit these acts of violence. In particular, I am interested in examining the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, as well as the UC-Santa Barbara shooting. What I am particularly interested in learning more about is the media’s reaction to these two shootings in conjunction, as one was done at an elementary school with children ages 5-11, whereas the other was done on a college campus. This interests me because Asperger Syndrome is a social disorder, and the social scene of an elementary school is quite different from the social scene of a university. By providing statistical data, victim and killer testimonials, and historical data, I will make the main claim that the media has sensationalized school shootings and too often jumped to the conclusion that Asperger Syndrome is to blame, instead of investigating...
Words: 742 - Pages: 3
...Montero, Celina Lopez-Ponce, Pre-IB Inquiry Skills, Period 1 Research Paper Final Draft 17 March 2015 School Violence in Southern Florida Gun violence has led to more shootings in schools in Southern Florida and in order to help diminish the numbers in casualties more of the gun laws should be reinforced and strengthened. School reputations are being affected tremendously. Students that experience extremely traumatizing events, specifically a school shooting, will be driven toward lower academic levels and will have their behavior altered as well; such events have brought families closer together for the wrong reasons. Violence in schools is not dealt with appropriately, thus why it has reached a point where it endangers students of all ages. Parents, teachers and the school staff should try to do everything in their power to prevent school violence, this can ruin the children’s future. A school’s reputation is very important, especially to the incoming students and their parents. A parent is more likely to not send their child to a school with a record, especially when it has to do with violence. Violent students have the possibility to influence and harm the lives of others. Violent students most likely do not do their work and or participate, the more students with low academic levels, the worse it is for the school, resulting in the schools grade going from a higher grade level for example an A school to a C school. Students will never be able to...
Words: 961 - Pages: 4
...Kylie Murphy C.C.C. Annotated Bibliography “Five myths about gun control” By Robert J. Spitzer, December 21, 2012 1. I like this article because it states specific facts about gun control and not just opinions. It talks about all the myths about gun control, one myth is that gun control is a losing battle for Democrats. But, that is false because many democrats have voiced their opinion on the topic. Another myth is that guns are deadliest as murder weapons which has been also proven false because statistics show that gun suicide is more common than gun homocide. Another myth is that American schools have become shooting galleries. Horrible incidents like Sandy Hook and Columbine have happened but schools are still a safe place. Schools are starting to take a lot of precautions like lock down drills, metal detectors, and the presense of a resource officer. “…the odds of a child dying from a violent attack at school are about one in a million.”which may be very comforting to you but unfortunetely not to the families in connecticut and elsewhere. Another myth Robert talks about in this article is that gun regulations are incompatible with America’s gun heritage, but today four states have completely elimintated permits for handgun ownership and carrying. The last myth that Robert talks about is that the Second Amendment was intended to protect the right of Americans to raise up against a tyrannical government. If that was true it would defeat the whole purpose of the Bill...
Words: 1769 - Pages: 8
...February 10, 2013 Abstract In this paper, I will explore the controversial question of whether teachers should be allowed or required to carry weapons on school campuses. The question of whether the topic should be entertained has come up time and again after tragedies occur, the timeline of which will be summarized herein. The recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that devastated the nation on December 14, 2012, has wrenched this debate crudely back into the spotlight. I will investigate different types of protective instruments that could possibly be used, as well as what types are used in schools that have such regulations. I will delve into the reasoning behind states that have implemented laws that allow teachers to carry guns in school and/or at school events. Included within are excerpts from this writer’s first-person interview conducted with Maria Otero-Ball, a kindergarten teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a teacher of children the same age as those involved in the Newtown tragedy, Mrs. Otero-Ball offers a first-hand view on the changes that she and the school have made following the tragedy, as well as her views on the practicality of weapons in the school. My goals in preparing this paper are to expand my thoughts on the subject, peruse the thoughts of others, and explore the statistics to provide a better overall understanding of the subject matter to myself and to my readers. During the research process, I found that a compromise...
Words: 3993 - Pages: 16
...Gun Control Debate Paper Today in the United States gun control is a topic of immense debate, because of the shooting that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary located in Newtown, Connecticut. This most recent tragic event ended the lives of 20 students and six adults. Similar events have occurred across the United States at a movie theater in Colorado, on college campuses in Texas and Virginia, or at the grocery store in Arizona each destroying families in many communities. The questions deserving consideration is have the American people had enough lives destroyed by these horrible events and are Americans ready for the federal government to impose stricter gun control laws. Learning Team C is for stricter gun control laws and will outline their thoughts in this debate paper. Current Gun Laws For numerous Americans, bearing arms is one of the important inalienable rights that each individual possess. This association originated during the period of American frontier history, where guns were vital in the expansion of the society moving westward. These settlers relied on guns to guard themselves from others that would cause them harm, vicious animal attacks as well as hunting for food. In rural states, developing shooting and survival skills is a ‘rite of passage’ before entering manhood. Currently, in metropolitan cities young men still use firearms as a means to gain acceptance, respect, and to prove their manhood. During the past few decades several gun control...
Words: 2121 - Pages: 9
...abiding citizens to get firearms because criminals that want to obtain firearms will start to find illegal ways to obtain them. There are many questions that can be brought up about gun control and whether or not it is infringing on our American Bill of Rights. It seems to be a huge topic of discussion and in modern America leads to a lot of debate. Some questions that we face on gun-control are as follows. If the government put in place stricter gun-control laws does it infringe on people’s rights to own guns? The current laws that are in place are they truly enforceable? Should the governments’ stricter gun laws prohibit gun sales at gun shows without background checks? Would more guns, not less, prevent shooting massacres or gun crimes like the Sandy Hook Shooting? Also, will banning assault rifles and high capacity magazines lessen gun-violence like so many would like to believe here in the United States of America? Should gun-control even be a debate; should one individuals fear infringe upon the rights of another that were ratified December 15, 1791? There seems to never be an ending to this debate and just as one question gets answered another seems to pop up in its place. The unfortunate events that are referred to when pushing for gun control laws are in all honesty...
Words: 1810 - Pages: 8
...The gun control debate is one of the hottest topics of current media - and it will be discussed further in this paper. This research paper will be oriented against gun control, therefore being for gun ownership. Many aspects of gun control will be discussed, and the argument of this this research paper will be for gun rights and ownership. A lesser-known but important topic in the larger scale gun control debate is handicapped individuals owning a firearm and permit for self defense. Handicapped citizens are more opposed to gun control laws than most, due to the fact that some grips and stocks that are illegal are more necessary (Ennis, 2013). Assault-style weapons, such as AR-15’s, are very customizable, and such customizations could compensate for an individual’s disabilities. Banning that genre of firearms would remove the broad personalization options, and therefore making it more difficult for handicapped shooters to modify a gun to their needs. Also, some disabled shooters may have certain conditions that prevent them from assuming a normal shooting stance. If accommodations can made for the shooter to use their gun effectively, such as a lighter weight gun or laser...
Words: 1403 - Pages: 6
...Guns in Schools With the number of mass school shootings and incidents of violence in schools that have been reported since April 20, 1999; the public is crying out for stricter laws to help protect our children. In direct response to the Columbine High School shooting, schools across the country adopted a variety of “safety” measures that included mandatory uniforms to prevent the wearing of gang colors and allowing faculty to more readily identify intruders, installation of metal detectors and security cameras, ID badges to be worn at all times, and the increased presence of armed guards on campuses. While these measures are all intended to protect our children the fact that we are still experiencing violence in our schools say that these measures are not enough. While metal detectors and armed guards in our schools are a step in the right direction, not all school districts can afford to employ them. Palmer ISD, in Palmer, Texas, with its school population of 1,100 students is approaching this dilemma by allowing a select few teachers and staff to be trained and cleared to carry concealed weapons. Only Kevin Noack, school superintendent, and the local Police Department will know who is carrying. (pp3) This policy will go into effect as early as this coming school year. With children being our greatest hope for the future, I support training and arming our teachers to protect this precious resource. Schools are generally viewed by terrorists...
Words: 2018 - Pages: 9
...Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the behavior of individuals and their mental processes (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2010). When you take psychology in college, it is to teach you how to understand how people are different and allow you to be non-judgmental. Being in the Navy, I feel that I developed the ability to be open-minded very early on in my career. This is because the military recruits people from all over the country, from the ghetto to the country club. I deal with all walks of life (race, religion, gender) on a daily basis. What I do not get to see in the Navy is people with mental disabilities and disorders. This course has taught me that approximately half of the populations of the United States have experienced or are experiencing some type of psychiatric disorder (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2010). The average person looks down on someone with any type of disability. They usually label them as deviant when their disorder allows them to commit a crime. What people don’t understand is that some of these people cannot control what they are doing. The only way for them to satisfy an urge is to do what they are thinking about. An example of this would be a serial killer. Serial killers usually have an internal motive for killing repeatedly, whereas a murderer usually commits one crime for a very specific reason. Serial killers need to satisfy some urge, and they do that through killing. However, not all people that have unquenchable urges resort...
Words: 1651 - Pages: 7
...CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LOS ANGELES | POLICY RESEARCH PAPER | POLS 462 PUBLIC POLICY | | Victor Chang | 3/18/2013 | [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] | It can be easily argued that we are currently living in a culture of violence. As we watch, read or listen to the news; daily incidents of individuals becoming victims of gun violence trumps the headlines. With tragic incidents such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that occurred in December of 2012, as well as the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado in July of 2012 occurring less than six months away from each other, prompted debate on a national level regarding the importance of gun control and mental illness. Other highly publicized mass shootings, such as the one that occurred in Tucson, Arizona in January of 2011, involving former US Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the mass shooting at Virginia Tech, along with the two events mentioned above, “all shared two common characteristics: all four shooters were mentally ill, and all four used guns with large capacity magazines, allowing them to fire multiple rounds of ammunition without reloading (Barry, 2013).” As the Second Amendment guarantees an individual’s right to bear arms, the issue at hand is: how can the government...
Words: 2685 - Pages: 11
...presence of untreated mental illnesses and/or undiagnosed mental disorders allows for the progression of violence in these individuals and could lead to a potential catastrophe. An example of a mental illness causing a catastrophe would be the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Medical experts at Yale University had called for measures to help Adam Lanza, the offender, in the years prior to his attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School but nothing was ever accomplished. “Allowing ailments that are responsive to medication to go untreated and resisting other kinds of emotional support were missed chances for the parents to help their son.” Said by Dr. Julian Ford, an author of the report of the University of Connecticut’s Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice. This incident, in which 20 students and 7 adults were shot...
Words: 1181 - Pages: 5
