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Kate Jones

Partner, Institute for the Advancement of Service

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The time is NOW for people to stand up and say 'No More Assault Weapons" and not wait for the government to legislate the change.

Change starts when people change, not when governments legislate change. Think back to the days when driving drunk was socially acceptable, no matter who died in the process. Then Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) formed. The rest is history.

The time is 'now o'clock'. We will change our resopnse to violence and stop purchasing violence video games as gifts for our children, and stop patronizing films that promote violence, mayhem and murder. Glorifying the horrific has become the norm.

What happened in Newtown, CT should never happen again.

Remember Mahatma Ghandi's words: "Be the change you want to see in the world". The time is now o'clock!

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    edward long 100+

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    Dec 18 2012: Your campaign might be more far-reaching than the weapon types and entertainment you blame. If you want to prevent another unspeakable slaughter direct your energy toward identifying and isolating the homocidal maniacs who are currently roaming free. Then, with that done, we can set about determining how they became so sick, and what can be done about it. Thank you, and may God help those who have suffered the worst kind of loss.
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      Kate Jones

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      Dec 20 2012: I totally agree with you, Edward. Weapon types and entertainment were the first things that came to my mind when I decided to start this converstion. The media hype around the tragedy, where they continuously mention 'assault weapons', and the like, gave me the nudge I needed to put something down on paper.

      I am not advocating re-enactment of temperance, as one commenter put it, or banning all guns, as several others have mentioned, or even banning violent video games. Just the other day, I heard a report on CNN or possibly PBS that there is now evidence that shows kids who play violent video games are less likely to be violent themselves. The reason being is that the players are able to release their anger, etc., virtually, and do not need to express their feelings in real life.

      What I am asking for is that we start paying attention to what's happening all around us. One of us may be able to stop someone from crossing the line of no return and prevent another tragedy from happening. When one suffers, we all suffer.
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        edward long 100+

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        Dec 20 2012: I see. Your headline will probably get more responses dealing specifically with banning guns and video games since that is what it says. You can edit the post as your thoughts evolve in response to the dialog. Be well!

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