I'll never understand why so many people think teddy bears are appropriate to memorialize dead children. I think donations should go to expenses of all those families of dead and wounded, with some saved for therapeutic uses later.
14
Gun control. Gun control. Gun control. Is that not what American needs? Instead we have politicians who are supported and controlled by the NRA and a president who celebrates this same terrorist group in the Oval Office. Our government is a disgrace.
17
NO AMOUNT OF MONEY Can ever replace the loss of anyone touched by the unspeakable tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. All the money does, no matter how well-intended, is to inflame the sense of excruciating pain and insufferable loss. To my mind, there are two actions that could bring some small sense of fairness. For example, as with children whose organs are used to help others live healthy lives, the parents of the children lost, at times are given the thanks of those families whose children have received the donate organs. Some form relationships. If the memories of the children and staff are honored by providing scholarships and/or financial aid to other children, such a network of caring and support could be an outcome. Preventing future attacks could provide a sense of fairness, as the murderer was severely mentally ill. He used a gun from his mother's collection that was hung on the walls of her home, to kill her, then to shoot his way into the school and engage in his unspeakable carnage. The shooting occurred after 9:30 am, at which time the doors to the school were locked. So he had to shoot his way into the building. Currently, in NY State, the NRA is under investigation for illegal, unethical expenditures of monies donated. Having strict gun safety laws and bringing the NRA to justice are other steps that can bring some sense of fairness. The families and friends of those who perished, can gain some sense of fairness, as they rebuild their lives.
21
The United Way has something of a checkered history, so I would not donate to that organization under any circumstances.
I support the idea of a dedicated fund for the specific cause.
That's why I donated directly to the fund set up by Broward after the tragedy at Margory Stoneman Douglas High School.
We need to end this ongoing tragedy in the USA. The weapons used in mass shootings were designed for use by the military. No civilian needs such a weapon. The gun manufacturers were permitted to create a market when they realized they could make a fortune by selling them to civilians.
For those who argue against this based on the Second Amendment, they need to explain why their neighbor should not be allowed to have a grenade launcher in their backyard.
9
These events are mass MURDERS. A "killing" can be accidental or, if in self-defense, totally lawful. Use of "killing" suggests the victims - whose wholly innocent lives were taken with malice aforethough - somehow were a threat. There's no evidence for that!!
Consider the following question. "Why are courthouses, filled with adults, guarded while schools, filled with children, are not guarded?"
The government has no duty to protect. The U.S. Supreme Court so decided in 1855. In the modern words of a U.S. Appeals Court decision: "But there is no constitutional right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen. It is monstrous if the state fails to protect its residents against such predators but it does not violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment or, we suppose, any other provision of the Constitution.”(Bowers v. Devito, 686 F.2d 616, 618 (7th Cir. 1982)).
This is “good law”, i.e., this decision has not been over-turned. If we have no right to protection from the government, it follows that we are responsible for our own protection.
Even if there were no Second Amendment that enshrines an individual civil right to be armed, in the U.S. there are some 402,000,000 firearms (excluding military items; U.S. Dept. of Justice data). Things so abundant and concealable can't be controlled. "Gun control" is mathematical idiocy.
Rather than focus on "gun control", we need to focus on guarding those most vulnerable.
1
Communities and families torn apart while our Congress refuses to act decisively. The loss of lives is unforgivable and so is the refusal of our government to act. It breaks my heart. This sort of tragedy is not repairable with money.
3
Perhaps if there is another mass shooting (and I sincerely hope there isn't), people making donations could consider giving half to victims and/or survivors, and half to organizations that campaign for banning assault weapons and other WMD in the hands of non-military citizens.
3
trump and White House spokesperson Sanders both supported the lie that Sandy Hook was a hoax. Subsequent similar acts referring to Charlottesville and other tragedies demonstrate the evil of this man.
7
This sad situation reminds me very much of the issues that can arise with an inheritance. Different family members are affected differently, some were more involved and closer to the deceased than others, and some are more in need than others. So what is fair? Equal payments to each person regardless of wealth or need? Distribution based upon current financial situation? Whatever you do there will be people who feel the choice is unfair.
1
This wasn't the first time United Way exploited tragedy.
Never give to United Way, which has a long history of corruption and self-serving.
4
I am really appalled by the number of people posting who think they know what these families need, and specifically, it surely couldn't be money. How many readers posting saying these families don't need money have ever been through a public tragedy like this, the violent death of a young child or any of the adults to murderous, senseless gun violence? How many people in the "these families don't need money" camp are aware of how these families have been repeatedly hounded, in person, through the mail, via email, etc, by conspiracy theorists that their children and loved ones didn't die at Sandy Hook, that there were child actors pretending to die? What do you think the emotional, physical, and psychological impact is of being hounded, screamed at, receiving death threats from conspiracy theorists who say your child or loved one didn't die? What do you think the legal costs are for these families to fight the ongoing lies and conspiracy therorists like Alex Jones and his megamouth, InfoWars? No one posting has the moral authority or high ground to decide what kind / how much financial compensation all of these families need and deserve. Please try to have some compassion. Unless you've lived through everything they've lived through, you should refrain from making negative assessments of whether or not they need financial compensation.
12
I think parents object to their child's death being used as an excuse to raise money. They are being exploited, like the thousands of lawyers that flooded the town afterward offering to represent the aggrieved family in a lawsuit. Or the gun control advocates that want to use them as poster children for their agenda.
2
As a donor, I would not give to a fund designating money solely to victim's "families", rather than to all those affected.
2
I find it hard to fathom the thinking of someone who would send a teddy bear to the site of a mass murder. I have to think they believe it would acccomplish something but what, exactly, other than to soothe their own anxiety? If you want to honor the memory of these children, wouldn’t it be better to work to ensure that another child, another family, never goes through this? Yet the episodes continue.
6
The question is often asked "What could families possibly get out of faking such an event?" Well...
7
Put money into the mix, whatever it be, and one sees the true nature of who we are!
2
“'The American people have an incredible charitable impulse,” said Kenneth Feinberg'"
Unfortunately our charitable impulses only start AFTER a tragedy occurs. Enacting national laws for gun safety would prevent many of these tragedies that we donate after the fact.
11
This is a very complex issue because the entire town is a victim of this massacre. Children and teachers shot dead are gut wrenching victims for whom we all cried. So are the surviving children, teachers and staff members of the school, as well as their families. Every single person in Newtown was a victim, and this article points to the struggle folks had in defining the degree to which survivors were victimized. There can be no simple formulae for that cruel question.
5
The known universe works on one simple concept... balance. Once that balance is thrown out, unpredictable things tend to happen. Some of those things are bad. Left to its own devices, nature will stay in balance. We see every day what happens when the balance has shifted. Leaving aside the potentially misleading tactics of the United Way, they at least tried to do something. It is fair that the monies collected after such a tragedy be distributed in a balanced manner, taking into account everyone affected in the most equitable fashion possible. on the same token, it is equally fair to apply the same balance to common sense gun laws, to help ensure such tragedies stop repeating. There is undoubtedly a fair and equitable balance to be had, once each side stops insisting how right they are.
1
But all the money in the world can’t stop guns in the wrong hands.......
3
There are two kinds of people in this world:
1) Those who will do anything for money
and
2) Those who will do anything for money
The "division" that has yet to be addressed is the unconscionable support of the NRA by theTrump/gOP/lobbyist while our school children continue to be slaughtered.
Expecting parents and families to be unencumbered by their unimaginable grief and additionally expecting their lives to be on public display is more than anyone should be asked to bear.
6
All the money in the world will not keep guns out of the wrong hands....
2
@MIMA that is not what is being said. Guns are too accessible n the USA
2
what do the parents of these children need the money for? Have we become so morally corrupt as a society that we monetize the death of children? Greed has no bounds.
3
When I was widowed and wondering how I would take care of my daughter and survive, the reason I thought about money was for our very survival. Money won't bring a dead loved one back, but it will pay for needed mental health care for PTSD treatment for family members, which can go on for years, can help pay for relocation when staying in the community of loss is unbearable, etc. And money can provide families a vehicle to set up scholarships for others in the name of their lost loved one. Money does indeed have a place and can ameliorate some of the suffering that often never ends.
16
@Stephanie
But from a money perspective, the loss of a breadwinner is not the same as the loss of a child. Of course there are always the expenses of burial. If a hospital is involved in any way there will be medical bills of some sort. The ambulance company will send a bill. People always find a way to make money.
So the only "cost" you can imagine from the death of a child violently murdered is the cost of a funeral? You can't imagine the cost of years of mental health care and treatment for most, if not all, remaining family members for PTSD treatment? You can't imagine wanting to use money to set up foundations to provide mental health care and support for victims of mental illness, young adults like Adam Lanza? You can't imagine needing access to money to hire lawyers to sue and shut down completely insane conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones / InfoWars who continue to forward the lie that the children and adults at Sandy Hook weren't murdered, but it was all a government conspiracy to "take away every ones guns" using child actors? I suggest you learn more about what these families have lived through and continue to live with since the violent murders of their children and loved ones before you assume the only "cost" of their deaths has been their funerals.
6
it may sound callous, but as with the families on 9/11, giving money to them is not the answer. it does nothing to help them grieve properly and just muddies the waters as to what is needed... the money is often spent unwisely and many feelings of resentment remain... the 9/11 families were given millions (each, around 4.5 if I recall) and many stories I read were about how that money vanished rather rapidly on tv's, vacations, etc. now, do what you want with the money, but the point was they were still miserable.about their loss as well as how they felt they weren't being properly supported... of that is the outcome, why give them the money in the first place?
2
Please back up your statement with actual documented sources about money going to 9/11 victims families being squandered away on "TV's, vacations, etc.". When I was widowed and wondering how I would take care of my daughter and survive, the reason I thought about money was for our very survival. TVs, vacations, i.e. things, were the last thing on my mind. Money won't bring a dead loved one back, but it will pay for needed mental health care for PTSD treatment for family members, which can go on for years, can help pay for relocation when staying in the community of loss is unbearable, etc. And money can provide families a vehicle to set up scholarships for others in the name of their lost loved one. Money does indeed have a place and can ameliorate some of the suffering that often never ends.
5
I suspect $100 million exceeds the amount that the NRA gives to politicians to keep guns in society. I have always lamented that there is no such thing as an industry that is deep pocketed and has the goal of removing guns from society. Here was the chance to make political donations to offset and counterbalance and probably even drown out the NRA influence. That’s where I would have proposed spending the money. I doubt the parents would have opposed it.
7
This why we don’t build memorials to hurricanes in the south. Nobody wants to be reminded of it. Just recovering is reminder enough.
Who knew that there is money to made from mass murder. Ain’t that something.
2
This is all very sad, and yet, I can't help thinking, why do we live in a society that feels it is the right of a civilian to own (multiple!) war-grade rifles. I don't get it, but I'm a foreigner so that could be why.
10
No amount of money can ever relieve the pain of losing a beloved child to such a senseless act of violence.
4
I first learned of the Sandy Hook massacre while listening to the news on the radio during my commute home from work. I nearly had to pull over to the side of the road because I thought I was going to be sick. Every time I read about this horror, I still feel queasy. Words fail.
4
Maybe Msgr. Robert Weiss is a kind clergy but even the Catholic Church is complicate in the rise of right wing politics in America allowing NRA unchecked. No, there may not be direct culpability but its role in the right wing scourge is inescapable. This may be tangental to this column but if people so focused in the aftermath, especially in petty disputes, how are they going to prevent the real problem from repeating itself throughout the country?
10
@BosIf you want to prevent gun violence join the NRA. They don't create mass murderers, they prevent gun deaths.
2
In the UK, there was the horrific school shooting in Dunblane in 1996 in which 16 five year olds and their teacher were murdered. The ownership of weapons is already much more restrictive than in the USA, but the UK government reacted by banning the ownership of handguns. Surely the best memorial to children killed in school shootings would be gun control.
I was horrified when my cousin, who lives in Texas, told me that her son has lockdown drills at school, and then totally bewildered when Trump proposed that teachers should be armed.
30
@Suzanne Wilson
yes, that's the gun politics in USA. nothing makes sense.
5
There were people in Newtown who built their businesses up on the back of this tragedy. One group, which teaches EFT, solicited monetary donations to go towards training people in the community to help with the emotional healing that was so desperately needed. They invited people to learn this technique so they could "help" in the community, then charged them for the privilege of taking the training. Once the training was completed there was no direct path to putting it to use in the community. You were on your own.
The technique is, by the way, very effective, but it's important to note that the gentleman who originally developed it intended it to be taught free of charge.
The EFT business, based in Newtown, has done very well.
4
Getting to the polls no matter what and voting for public servants who vow to end rampant gun violence by enacting gun control laws is the only worthy memorial contribution that comes to my mind in the face of such tragedy.
15
If I could choose how American Tragedies were to be remembered I would plead for simplicity of symbol and commitment to social change.
Whether the felling of the World Trade Center buildings and the deaths of more than 3000 or the irreplacable loss of 26 lives in Sandy Hook, here is what I would prefer, knowing full well that with one dramatic exception that comes to mind, symbolic simplicity is perhaps impossible where progress is measured in dollars.
Memorial simplicity: I would choose to memorialize in the powerful way that Maya Lin found to recognize those who lost their lives in Vietnam. Nothing more. Expenditures limited to the design, creation, and maintenance of each such memorial. Nothing more.
Commitment to social change: Sandy Hook and all that have followed and all that are to come would, in the best of all possible worlds, have led to social changes that I need not name, you can easily present one or more, none of them yet made.
That social change may be brought about in part, but only in part, by private involvement, but the necessary decades long or longer social change can only be brought about by seeing the need as a need for better public health programs in America.
Who will make this possible? I have no answer.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
1
The saddest thing about this article is that it presents a lesson to communities for what to do the next time something like this happens. And we know there will be many ‘next times’. Dead children are now just another thing to create a plan for, like we do for hurricanes and fires. The unthinkable is now thinkable. What kind of society have we become?
18
What's wrong with splitting the money equally between the families and the community?
5
"Splitting the money equally" between the families and the community would be unconscionable. Yes, the community was impacted. But it's the families who lost their children and loved ones and will suffer for years, no, a lifetime from the violent killing of their loved ones. The families need and deserve the lion's share of the donations... and deserve all the donation money earmarked "for families."
1
@Stephanie We don't monetize grief, so except for funeral expenses, nothing for the families. Their suffering was incalculable, so let's not put a price tag on it.
@Stephanie What you fail to understand is that while families lost their children (probably one of the worst emotional traumas one can suffer) there are people in Sandy Hook that suffered an even greater emotional trauma,that of having to investigate this senseless act,to be in the rooms with the unholy carnage,to see the images that you,I and especially the parents have been spared from seeing.We will never know just how horrific the scene was,but there are quite a few in Sandy Hook that do know and their struggles should not be minimized.You are so easily dismissive of the various levels of shock and psychological trauma that will inevitably occur in a community after such an act that your comments are at best,not fully informed.
1
United Way and the Red Cross, they always want unrestricted donations and their primary purpose is to pay big salaries to the people who run them.
8
I don’t get it.
People lose family members every day due to illness, accidents and, sometimes, acts of violence. Not sure how losing a child to a crazed gunman is any more painful than losing a child to a wasting disease- except that one got a lot more press. Nor do I see why the families of one set of victims ‘deserve’ financial compensation.
I felt the same way about the money that outed in after 9/11.
9
Holy smokes! You can't imagine how the violent death of your 6 year old who was shot in the head multiple times could be anymore painful than losing someone to illness? You've clearly never suffered an unexpected, violent traumatic loss of a loved one, which I have. And I can't begin to imagine how traumatic losing a child or family member this way would be. No, it wouldn't be like other ways people die. Not even a little bit.
4
@Stephanie I would have to say that you are the one that " can't imagine ".You appear to have a movie version of the damage high-powered,high kinetic energy projectiles would produce at close range.The fact that you are unable to have a true sense of what the actual scene would have been like and that you dismiss the pain of those losing their children in other ways only reinforces my belief that you are not the best authority in the hierarchy of grief.
You know what the problem is here? There's not enough money.
There isn't enough money to compensate all victims of gun violence and address the needs of the affected communities. There just isn't.
A $5 bullet cause $5 million damage. There isn't enough money in the world to compensate for the damage that all the bullets in the world might cause.
6
After the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, those students went to the Tallahassee state capital and got the state legislature to defy the NRA and pass the first gun reform bill in 22 years.
A person now has to be old enough to buy a beer before they can buy an AR-15.
At the same time, the bill gives government funding to arm teachers, which is to say taxpayer money to go to gun manufacturers.
8
From having been a reporter in Edmond Oklahoma at the original Post Office shooting and one of the first-ever workplace mass murders, I know that these events have a half life (Do you remember “going postal” as a metaphor for rage?) No matter how horrific they are, a generation will be born that has no recollection of the pain. Permanent memorials are all we have left when memories fade and any community that invests in one, like our neighbors did in Oklahoma City, will never regret that decision.
5
United Way ... they spread donations all over the place, when donors don't intend it and would want their donations more closely targeted, if only they knew it were happening -- and how to send their money more directly to where they'd want it to be. (And if you want your dough to go toward gun control, then donate to gun control orgs.)
But UW sponges up a lot of money in these mass casualty/natural disaster situations and then sends it where they wish. This article did no service by glossing over the conflicts UW's huge, even overbearing, influence can have, and how it plays out on the ground (with nothing but a "no comment" from its administrator).
Target your money, donors -- and think twice about giving to these "big umbrella" organizations, with their many layers of administration and their distinct notions of what's "best" for "the community," and who the community actually is.
4
I'm of two minds about the American impulse to send money to a tragedy such as this. On the one hand, certainly some victims will need funds for immediate expenses be they funerals, medical/mental health care, to cover lost wages, or even money to cover a bit of time away to heal the mind and spirit. Some financial donations are certainly good.
On the other hand, is it just too easy for the rest of us to just send some money, write a check, and feel good that we have helped? Especially with gun violence (as opposed to natural disasters), just feeling bad, offering "thoughts and prayers," and sending a check is woefully inadequate. It is much easier than working for gun control and/or improvements in our mental health care system. I am a gun control supporter, but for those who are not or who claim as the NRA likes to that the issue is mental health, where is your action and advocacy in that area?
We have this fight over and over and over and over and over. Yet shooting after shooting after shooting - thoughts & prayers, send a check (or a teddy bear), take a side in the debate ("It's about guns" or "It's about mental health") - then zip, zilch nada. That is very, very superficial caring, folks.
17
Yeah, very tough question: who gets all those piles of money, Some big $15 million tax write off of a “community center”?
10
Helping the victims' families in Newtown and all those that have tragically and shamefully followed is what government is about. That these massacres can happen is a failure of the structure of society--a society structured by government--a government so dysfunctional that it continues to argue over gun control and mental health. The millions upon millions of dollars donated demonstrate starkly that We The People want our money to help these people. Our federal government needs a reboot--another truth that Americans know; why else put an utterly incompetent, self-serving, corrupt reality show star in the White House?
America needs leadership not motivated by greed or partisanship or glory, but guaranteeing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for ALL its people.
33
sorry, you are essentially saying that the government was responsible for this tragedy (or any shooting)... doesn't work that way.
first off it was a deranged lunatic that did this (who happened to kill his own mother first, lest we forget that She too paid the ultimate price)
secondly, it is impossible for the government to keep everyone safe all the time no matter what _ and I would not like to live in a society where they even try (one should think very carefully about that) _ best one can hope for is government holding those who do ill accountable...
that said, this tragedy is certainly a symptom of other things wrong in our society where government can/should help.
2
@Murica Actually, NO.
Government does not exist to demonstrate compassion at large, public, and tragic events. What about all those single tragedies we all experience? Government needs to keep the gears going, not this.
I am not sure I understand how money is really going to help any of these families - beyond a reasonable amount to bury their child and pay for lost time at work and perhaps therapy. I have no idea how I would feel if my child were shot in a school shooting, but I can imagine feeling sickened if I ended up a millionaire because of it.
41
At least you would probably rid yourself of the cash in ways you knew would help, probably keeping enough so you could do something positive.
Maybe working for a saner society.
A nation where there weren’t more guns than citizens - especially the kinds designed to hunt humans, not dinner. (They’re dangerous too . You can kill with a sword or a hammer - but one’s more useful building things up, not cutting us down).
You would likely keep cash to live on while building a stronger community.
But those who think they can make their guilt - for choosing careers that let them live well while doing nothing to help others, even during their time off - are sad excuses for humanity.
2
I would be sickened period. At least I would have the money. I think it is wrong to use the obvious fact that money cannot replace a love one in order to justify not sacrificing a little bit in order to help them a lot.
3
Another question - the shooter’s mother was the first one killed. Was her family paid anything?
18
@Hk, as she paid for the guns and refused to commit to proper mental care for her son, it’s highly doubtful. And not exactly deserved.
Sometimes, one reaps what one sows.
2
You are right. However,you seemed to have neglected to mention the fact that the mother bought the killer his weapons. Somehow,I don’t think “ lack of resources” explains why anyone thought it was a good idea to give the killer an assault rifle.
2
I find articles such as these quite disturbing. When a loved one dies, it is not to be translated to a financial windfall. A six year old was not contributing financially and the only expense is that of funeral cost. It shocks me that some of the parents are fighting for money instead of understanding that the entire community is affected by such mass shootings and need counselling as well...that is the difference between a kid dying in a road accident versus a mass shooting. You don't see money pouring in when a six year old dies in a road accident for a reason.
This post is not intended to disrespect anyone's feelings but please don't start equating that one's level of grief should translate to the same level of wealth.
46
People who want to give money should identify exactly where they want it to go. Truth be told however, once the check is sent, for many people, the donation has served its purpose no matter who ends up with the money. They feel terrible and hopeless and the only thing they can do that even comes close to being useful is give money. They are not likely to admit it, but I’m sure many of the contributions were made primarily to lessen the pain of the contributor, not to help the victims of the shooting.
15
Can victims of gun violence sue the federal government for not enacting more restrictive gun laws?
22
I see only two entities that need to pay up: the State of Connecticut for failing to protect children in public schools, and the Lanza estate for aiding and abetting this horrific crime.
I recall the Beltway Sniper in DC around 2002. No special nonprofits for victims, though we paid our taxes to have him swiftly executed. He terrorized the whole region, and I was greatly relieved the night Virginia gave him the needle. I gave up the “seamless garment” fixation of modern Catholicism. Still fighting to keep his wingman on LWOP: soft-on-crime Kennedy Supreme Court wanted to give him parole hearings.
In the West, money is used as a surrogate to express how much we as a society cares about an issue. Hence, the near constant attachment of a dollar value with every major announcement.
In China and several other Asian nations, the person they assign to an issue is often the marker of how much they care about an issue... high grade officials / the best person they can offer are assigned to important issues, etc. If you want to know what they value, simply look to see who they have placed in charge of each particular project.
In indigenous societies, it is often time that is the most indicative of how much the society cares about an issue. Hence the need to spend often hours or days or weeks with the tribal leaders until it becomes time to hone in on the topic of interest, and then spend a requisite amount of time on that.
In some ways, it would be nice if the West could learn from other cultures which often have a more humane approach to the world and to each other.
10
And yet, kids in Flint, MI and other poor areas STILL don't have access to clean drinking water. But, Newton needed a $15M community center that most of the primary victims didn't support or want.
My whole heart goes out to the Sandy Hook Community, then and now. But, how about a little more attention to the living children in this country?
50
I’m not sure why it has to be an either/or proposition. No one community’s tragedy can be compared with, and weighed against, another’s. They all deserve our compassion (and our donations).
4
Sadly, good intentions often don’t. But it’s the thought that counts. We need an economy built on those rather than crass cash.
3
Sandy Hook mass murders of innocent children was one of the saddest moments and mass migration of innocent children and women leaving their bombed out homes in the middle east during Obama years. It is always troubling when donations for a particular purpose is diverted for another or totally unaccounted for. Charity should always find a way to those to whom it was intended and all those in the way to that path should be punished if not more and more people will be hesitant to give. Every charitable organization should be transparent and should provide a verifiable account of every penny spent. A moment to hold every charitable , non governmental organization should be held accountable.
4
“Race For Chase”is a wonderful summer.
I can remember the day this tragedy happened and speaking to a person that I knew to be from Connecticut.I informed him of the situation and the town where it occurred and was stunned to find out he was a long-time resident of that community aside from his Florida Snowbird status.I still find it incomprehensible that a loss of this magnitude did not generate laws that meant the nation was serious about protecting our most valuable assets. I have to take issue with the assumption that all of the money donated was intended for the sole use of only the families of the murder victims.What may be overlooked in most of these mass shootings is that there are first responders and other survivors that had to witness a scene that would be worse than anyone's most horrible nightmare.Apart from the few victims that were taken to the hospital,the majority of the children and adults remained in the school for more than 24 hours,until the "forensics unit" had processed the crime scene.One can only imagine what damage the high kinetic force projectiles did to these unsuspecting angels.I thank those whose task it was to spare the parents of having to see their children after the mayhem.Maybe their grief is only partially contained?I sometimes wonder if the actual damage of these mass shootings was shown to the public,could that be a catalyst for common sense gun regulation?We as a nation should be willing to do more to protect the innocent.
22
There has indeed been many kinds of damage done to the first responders, the families all over the school district, and families that are still dealing with the aftermath of this horror. I know young people whose personalities have demonstrably changed since this incident. Happy, outgoing, stable young people who now are pessimistic, negative in their outlook on the future, and in general gloomy about life. That our nation is full of people who would rather embrace their guns than the humans who live among them is incomprehensible and deeply disturbing.
35
Yes, and haven't you ever thought that simply leaving those bodies overnight was a trifle - odd?
3
@Concerned Citizen And what?Twenty-five years ago things were handled differently,you could've added to your initial example almost every other of violence towards anyone and your thesis is still valid.My only point is that the suffering doesn't end with the parents.
1
As the gun deaths increase year after year we see the donations decrease because people have become desensitized to the deaths. They are too common and too frequent and folks spend less and less time grieving the tragedy- they simply move on
Shame on all of us for allowing this to continue
24
Possibly the curriculum in American schools should be updated: George III is no longer on the British throne.
7
You didn’t see New Zealand burning 60,000 teddy bears. They enacted tougher gun legislation. Mazel tov to a country who has their priorities correct!
131
@Gazbo Fernandez
As far as I know, the majority of donated items (teddy bears, toys, etc) were not incinerated. They were warehoused (in donated space) and eventually disbursed (by volunteers) to childrens hospitals and other organizations around the country.
The items that needed to be incinerated were items left outside in the snow and rain in the many makeshift memorials that sprang up around town.
4
They didn't burn 60,000 teddy bears. They burned the overabundance of flowers that were sent.
2
The best thing that could have come out of the murders in Newtown would have been a bill passing both houses of Congress making it much harder for anyone to get their hands on firearms that are semi-automatic and can cut down people faster than they can run for cover. That hasn't happened and we've had more of these murders since.
50
None of us can fully know how we would respond to donations unless it is our child who was killed. I do know, that long before Sandy Hook there was another horrific school shooting in Winnetka, Illinois at what would be my daughter’s elementary school, Hubbard Woods. Nick Corwin died that day and his parents chose to build a beautiful playground in his favorite park dedicated in his memory. For years my children, who never knew Nick, would say his name as they ran out the door to play in his park. A wonderful testament to his family that his name will always be associated with a happy place, not just a tragedy.
185
@Stefanie, a much better tribute to Nick would have been to enact strict gun legislation, so that a Newtown would not have occurred. And to donate funds to a new organization to support those politicians who support this kind of legislation and to donate lots of money to campaigns against those who refuse to act. If the NRA can buy off their share of Congresspeople and Senators, perhaps GE should have donated that $15 million towards lobbying for the “anti-NRA”.
It won’t bring the children of Newtown back, but it might prevent another slaughter of schoolchildren elsewhere.
11
@Stefanie
Yes, a living memory, such as your community's playground, should be the model for the use of ($$$) donations. In the moment of shock and anger at the U.S. system that refuses to enact national laws to halt these atrocities, the general public near and far express their condolences by donating, often hard earned dollars, unaware of the probability of furthering the heartbreaking pain of losing a child.
4
@Joyce
We did that. Winnetka residents promoted gun control legislation which got a handgun ban passed. But a man in Wilmette killed a home invader with an illegal handgun and the NRA helped him win his case in the Supreme Court, overturning the ban. Yes it’s discouraging, but the fight continues.
10
If sensible gun control legislation had been enacted - the kind that the NRA supported for over 30 years* -- that would be a fitting tribute to those little children gunned down....and all the others who have died or been maimed since Newtown. Roughly 2,000 additional deaths and almost a mass shooting a day since that horrific day in 2012.
*NRA's history: The NRA assisted Roosevelt in drafting the 1934 National Firearms Act and the 1938 Gun Control Act, the first federal gun control laws. These laws placed heavy taxes and regulation requirements on firearms that were associated with crime, such as machine guns, sawed-off shotguns and silencers. Gun sellers and owners were required to register with the federal government and felons were banned from owning weapons. Not only was the legislation unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court in 1939, but Karl T. Frederick, the president of the NRA, testified before Congress stating, “I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses.”
Then an abrupt change in the '60's - the NRA did a '180'.....why? Most probably the Black Panthers and their iconic march @ CA's statehouse. The NRA supported California’s Mulford Act of 1967, which banned carrying loaded weapons in public.
Please, let's let these children, all children, all adults lives and injuries not be in vain.
39
I don’t see how the Mulford ban, which you state banned carrying loaded weapons in public, was a change in the NRA’s previous stance on guns.
Money isn't going to bring back the child to life, thoughts and prayers obviously aren't working because every day in America, over 300 people will die from guns, a large number of them suicides and with the largest killer, handguns, which is never mentioned in gun reform at all (only assault rifles get that kind of attention).
If the US isn't willing to fix the problem (which it obviously won't even if there were a hundred killed in a maternity ward), maybe it should figure out how to pass on the costs of gun violence back to the gun owners and gun makers. Let them shoulder the cost of the tragedies, the we would see some common sense gun safety measures quickly be enacted, until then as we have seen; thoughts, prayers, and money will be applied where it isn't needed but rather the obvious solution is unpalatable by the gun rights advocates.
34
What's missing thus far from the response to the families of the victims of Sandy Hook is a visit from President and Mrs. Trump similar to the one in which they expressed their best wishes to hurricane victims in Puerto Rico by throwing paper towels at them.
But an election is coming soon, so I wouldn't put it past them.
11
I only had to read four comments until I found one blaming this on Trump, even though it took place four years before he took office.
11
@Richard. You are absolutely correct that this took place before Trump took offejce. What you neglect to mention is that Trump went on Alex Jones' show after Jones caused the problem and fawned all over him, talking about his "great reputation."
4
I only had to read one reply until I found one absolving Trump of any responsibility for reducing the horrific spread of gun murders in this country.
3
why don't they set up scholarships and more resources for schools instead?
11
I can’t imagine anything more emotional and having a child murders, but I would think it would also bring out compassion and sensitivity to others I am surprised people thought the money should only go to the families of the children that pass
I can see that it would have an impact on the whole community and that things should be contributed to the community
it seems like the money we shared equitably
8
too much money coming in too fast. not time enough to reflect on what was needed. and that old human conflict of "well, why don't I get somethig too?"
13
Newtown is a nice town. My sister raised her family there. My best friend did, too, and still lives there. I've been a visitor to Newtown since the 1970s.
I'm not the right person to speak to this, but you can't imagine what these killings and the subsequent unrelenting media attention did to Newtown. Which they would do to any town.
This article quantifies some of that pain from the prism of money, but really... everyone should sit back and think about what if it was your town. The comments here are generally positive, but this is no place for judgmentalism.
My friend, when traveling, has stopped answering when asked, "Where are you from?"
103
You're absolutely right. The unbridled presence of the press was an abomination at a time of shock, grief and spiritual anguish. You simply cannot imagine what it's like to be in a traumatized town when it's overrun by media people.
6
As someone who has been through a mass shooting in my community and at the head of a large non-profit, I can tell you that there is no way to make everyone happy in this situation. Families that lose their loved one often want everything to be directed to them, not as much for the money, but so their loss is honored as worse than any other. But there are many other victims, such as children, parents and community members who will need mental health counseling for months or years. Sadly, those never get the help they need while the families are given money that can never buy what they really want.
175
@CG I agree with you. The entire community, no doubt, went into shock. Providing counseling to any and ALL was necessary, even if, at the time, they didn't realize it. The local UW organization did what they believed was best under such painful circumstances. You're also right on the fact that what the parents really wanted could not be bought with any amount of money.
4
Yes, witness Columbine and Marjory Stoneman Douglas students who survived.
3
@CG As a Columbine survivor, this is what I thought of the whole time I read this. We just lost another one of our "kids" from that time to an addiction he developed during treatment of his gunshot wounds 20 years ago. There are ripples that last for decades and that require mental health treatment, but the money is long gone.
9
I have often thought of those parents and have wondered how they get up in the morning having lost their reasons for living. My daughter was diagnosed with leukemia in 1992 and endured 25 months of chemo therapy. It left our family in tatters. I couldn’t remain in Connecticut with the constant reminders of loss. I plan to leave Colorado for the same reasons. My daughter doesn’t speak although I was the 100% mother. She has never given me an explanation for her silence but I understand that her behavior isn’t uncommon. The loss of a child is the most devastating loss that a mother can experience and I am hopeful that a change of location will help me survive my loss as well.
9
After 9/11 the Red Cross was criticized because they did not respect the wishes of the people who donated.
Each community knows there members, big corporations don’t know what your community needs and in a time of grief most people have an aversion to outsiders telling them how to feel and what to do with donated money.
Make this horrific experience easy. Meet as a group, get a lawyer, bank set up a board and always remember the goal is to remain a community despite what has transpired we are all humans but emotionally fragile for the rest of our lives.
If the community works together we can gain emotional strength to all move forward.
There are no easy financial/emotional solutions but we can be kind to each other , and hold on to the great memories of our loved ones
5
@Tony
Totally. I was repulsed that a week after my friend died on 9-11 the Red Cross had shiny new BMW X Series SUVs parked on Canal street. They were emblazoned with the red cross logo (Donated by BMW of Manhattan). I immediately thought that each of those vehicles could have been auctioned to pay for a real utility vehicle or a few vans, but the high paid execs. at the Red Cross wouldn't be seen in Ford. I won't donate to any charity using $70K luxury cars for their execs, as they clearly have plenty more to give than I do.
40
Who should pay, each and every time this happens ??? The NRA, and all its members. After all, they are the self appointed Guardians of the unholy Second Amendment. Some nice round numbers. Say, Ten Million directly to the Family of each person Killed with a Gun. And One Million directly to the Victim, for each person wounded by Gunfire.
Just how long could they stay " in business ", if forced to pay these Fines ??? Not very long.
256
The second amendment exists due to King George's tyranny and attempted gun grab, to ensure that never happens again.
A better remedy would be to elevate the rights of the general populace ove those of the mentally ill and go back to removing the mentally ill and dangerous from society to prevent mass shootings, as they're invariably perpetrated by the mentally ill.
It would also be helpful to restrict the types of psych drugs available to teenagers as some cause depression and violent behavior, such ad mass shootings.
13
@Nan This is what happens when an untruth is repeated over and over and people begin to believe it.
The 2nd amendment is not and never was a right intended to stop tyranny.
It is a right-wing fantasy that the Framers wanted to encourage popular uprisings. A giant misconceived lie perpetuated by those who read the Constitution selectively.
The Constitution was written to create a peaceful means for the United States to implement policies favored by the people but within a structure of checks and balances to prevent radical changes deemed too disruptive to the established society.
In the preamble of The Constitution are the words "insure domestic Tranquility."
Article I Section 8 says To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections.
Article III, Section 3 defines Treason against the United States, as levying War against them.
Article IV, Section 4 committed the federal government to protect each state from not only invasion but domestic Violence too.
Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution states, "The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, UNLESS WHEN IN CASES OF REBELLION OR INVASION THE PUBLIC SAFETY MAY REQUIRE IT."
Meaning, the government can CONSTITUTIONALLY quell an armed uprising of the citizens. And can do so by arrest without charge and one can be held without trial.
30
Dead Children have not, and will not, stop the carnage in this Country. What will ? The usual answer: Money. License, and INSURANCE for each and every GUN. Major Fines and Prison for offenders. Make it too expensive to be careless with Guns, for everyone.
15
To @Mary Nagle
I've seen this first-hand also.
Agree that money cannot replace a person.
It's absurd to connect the two however. I don't think most donating expect it to fill that void; they give out of compassion to help other ways.
The money can help those family members utterly stopped and crippled by shock and grief. Work suffers, businesses may be lost, lives crumble in a thousand different ways and it can take time to rebuild. Donations may help a sibling, derailed in early college life, pick up the pieces and start again when they are stronger. Just one example.
Money may assist in ways that may be more straightforward and understandable, and also in ways that may make no sense to someone outside of the specific incident.
In case of 9/11, families were held hostage (and within only two weeks of the attack) by the Congress and the airline industry ... told to accept payment 'cause you'll never get the kind of satisfaction you seek in court, in the form of discovery and evidence and transcripts of who knew what when.
It was insult to a searing injury amid the still-smoking wreckage, and an agonizing time and choice for so, so many.
I guess I am saying ... each circumstance is different. Each individual affected and each impact is different.
Unless and until -- and God forbid it should ever be -- you walk a minute (never mind a mile) in any of these devastated peoples' shoes ... maybe judgment is best reserved, or kept private?
~ 9/11 family member (extended)
18
@jazz one : you seem to have missed the gist of my comments. I mentioned that many young widows needed the monies donated as their spouse didn’t have life insurance, and I knew first hand about the problems many had in the weeks and indeed months that followed. I knew people who were lost that day, my husband watched from his office across the River as the planes pierced the buildings, knowing his twin brother was in tower one. His brother survived. I know widows who were greatly helped by generous donations, and I know survivors who let the money go to their heads. The amounts given out to “quiet “ some survivors were obscene in some instances. I know full well the about the industries affected and their true reasons behind their actions.No one mentions it because it would be a stain on the majority of survivors. But every one of those people I know who received compensation , for the loss of life, for the airlines egregious lack of security, to the ignorance of Condolezza Rice and the intel not listened to, they all would give the money back in a second to have their loved ones .And in Sandy Hook, donations can indeed be fine, but with balance and discretion for those whose hearts were broken that day.
The United Way very like the Red Cross both exploit human tragedy to amass fortunes and disburse according to highly unknown, secretive internal processes.
I went to Guantanamo Bay Cuban during the migrant crisis underway when Cubans fleeing the island were intercepted at sea and returned to the Naval Base at Guantanamo. Another less than humane chapter in the base’s history
I was working through the CRS (Community Relations Service) of the Dept of State and was assigned to unaccompanied minors camps as we tried to reunite family members separated through the processing system.
The Red Cross received a huge windfall from well-Miami’s well-heeled Cuban community and airplane hangars became full of donations: clothes, meds, toys and school supplies. When I asked for some of them to disburse in my camps, the Red Cross representative said that just because it was donated by Cubans for their fellow blood relatives it didn’t mean they would benefit from all of it. A huge amount of donated clothing, food (they ate military MRI meals I wouldn’t feed my dog) and supplies were waiting to be flown OUT of Gitmo to wherever the Red Cross deemed they would be put to best use.
Luckily, I interceded with Base Command and was able to secure many school supplies and to talk them into opening the base elementary school that had lain empty for years as families had not lived on base for quite some time. At least I was able to wrestle that for its intended audience to relieve their PTSD.
10
Is becoming a multi millionaire after the murder of a child different or better than a community gaining a civic centre? I don’t really understand this article because it feels like just an argument over money. The whole town was affected so it seems reasonable a portion is invested in the town. Every single last penny doesn’t have to go into the bank accounts of the few, who have been well compensated, while tax payers and charities fund the community wide trauma. I dont understand the level of vitriol against a charity that hasn’t really done anything wrong other then spreading some, just some, of the largesse to those also affected once the primary victims have been well compensated.
16
Nobody became a multimillionaire or even a millionaire. Divide 7 million by 26.
It is beyond me why people felt a need to donate $100 million to Newtown. I can see people donating to an organization which is working towards enacting (what I consider to be) sane gun laws or to funding grief counseling for the survivors, but when people lose their young children, they're not looking for a monetary handout or a new bicycle. It's too bad that Newtown did not, collectively, choose to use the donated money for something more relevant than a community center.
Maybe they could have started the NNRA, the Not the National Rifle Association.
14
Mr. Feinberg said Sandy Hook was among the most painful of any mediation he has witnessed. In public meetings he recalled one parent saying that withholding money from the victims’ families was “compounding the death of my child.”
Can please somebody explain this parent's words?
12
If I were a parent of a murdered child at Sandy Hook, and I was moderately secure financially, I would consider it taking blood money to receive a 1/2 million, a million, or 4 million for loosing my child. It would feel like ‘prospering ‘ on my dead child’s body.
Instead I would advocate for giving the majority of that 100 million to serious gun control organizations who lobby Congress re gun control, and out politicians with high NRA scores and big donors to the NRA. That would be the legacy I would want to leave to honor my child and all the other 25 victims of a destructive and totally unnecessary profit before people policy that currently reigns in this weird country when it comes to guns.
26
The parents who receive the money can donate it as they see fit.
@Gwen Vilen at the time, upon learning of all the donations flowing in, I had thought the parents and community would have spent it all on lobbying for gun control. Very surprised it wasn't and wondered if they were warned against it.
1
There must be something sick in our culture that prompts people to send money to strangers for no reason. The Newtown parents didn’t need money. Compasión, perhaps, activism to implement gun control, certainly, but money???
13
Sad they didn’t get comment from the many families who were affected by this tragedy who support the community center.
5
The smart people would take donations and do what Parkland survivors did- invest in new politicians and lobby for strict and swift gun laws like New Zealand did in 3 days.
16
Democrats who are anti gun control activist need to educate themselves about firearms before substantiating any gun control policies. Especially with banning "Assault Rifles", a semi automatic firearm that dispenses multi calibre munitions .The fever of the anti gun movement is orchestrated by emotional zeal vs rare empirical logic.
1
Firearms are never going away in our culture. It is in our American DNA and history. The Democrats wish to eliminate "assault rifles" is just a dream vs. Reality of America.
4
Same story with The Red Cross and 9/11 donations. If I'm not mistaken, it took an act of Congress to shake the money loose from those Red Cross folks. They had all sorts of plans for the money...future disasters, upgrading their telecommunications. Disguesting.
9
Isn’t always money the source of greed and evil?
11
the site I wanted to reference is Charity Navigator.org.
8
$100 million divided by 25 people dead = $4 million per family. Not sure the extent of others injured (physically/mentally) so maybe divide by a few more than 25. In my opinion, that's a TINY amount relative to these families' enormous losses of their loved ones. But, it's a "cushion" nonetheless, to allow for less need to focus on job/career and more time to focus on pain/mental health after such tragic loss. Instead, by my calculations, each family got around $200k... far less. A community center could instead be built with property tax funds from all households in the town. Donations from those whose hearts were broken by the story should have gone directly to those who lost their loved ones in this tragedy.
23
Perhaps I misread the article, but I thought the community center was something GE built with its own funds, not with the donations of others.
18
The people in Newtown pay far more property taxes than many can afford already. Asking them to pay even more just wouldn't fly.
1
I was surprised to not read of victim families putting funds received towards Gun Control Legislation. Read only of funding programs for education/schools - violence prevention, emotional edcuation, and such.
Or did this articles just leave those stories out, so as not to "raise controversy"? That would not surprise me, sadly. Controversial to suggest restricting guns and gun access can reduce death/mayham from them, but it's not controversial to promote how to deal with money after it happens? I do not understand the stranglehold the NRA has on the USA. I only hope the currently unfolding financial crimes they've committed will undo, or at least severely weaken them.
28
If I am a gin manufacturer and I donate money is it given back? The answer is always no. sometimes the people that give the most are the cause of the problem. They want to show, 'hey I donated I'm not the problem." When we tell our politicians that donations (bandaid) do not heal the would wound caused by guns. Than we won't need to have all this support coming in.
7
@Jean
Gin might help ease the pain on a short term basis....
Materialism at its worst!
I always have this one unanswered question?
Why would a vast majority of people need to own guns when a country has law and law enforcement agencies?
15
@VP Because they are afraid of strangers and the NRA/gun manufacturers has played them that the law and law enforcement agencies can't protect them every moment.
7
Umm.. I know it's unfair to compare and God-forbid may it never ever happen here in the USA but look at Venezuela where an oppressed people are trying to overturn a tyrannical government and selfish leader that has starved them - ALL the guns and weaponry are in the hands of the so called “law enforcement” and they have no power to fight for their freedom, so sad. The 2nd Amendment means something like it or not.
5
@VP
There are a lot of terribly important people who are running around this country who are under the constant watch of their very own armed private security detail. Anti gun zealot Michael Bloomberg comes to mind. Most people, myself included, cannot afford that. I can own and train with a good .45 ACP, however. We are unique in that we as a nation have a Bill of Rights (not Bill of Needs), we are citizens and not subjects, and we don't plan to give that up.
5
This has to be one of the saddest articles ever written in the NY Times.
Thankfully, humans are an adaptable species, and the victims of the Pulse Nightclub and Parkland Elementary School, seem to have channeled those donations to the rightful recipients.
10
This article underlines how money is the only thing American society truly values and views as the solution to everything in life, no matter how horrible the event. No number of millions of dollars can compensate for the horrific murder of your 6 year old, yet that was a primary response from government, corporations and society as a whole. That this horrible murder spree attracted $100mm, no matter how well intentioned, was exactly the wrong response. How about real gun control legislation that would help prevent this horror from happening again? Nah, that's hard work. Let's just throw money at it...its the American way.
14
@MJL I agree with you up to a point. Money is legal tender and a stand-in for those intangibles. Judgements to those abused in the #metoo movement or various hierarchy sex scandals have a somewhat similar feel, as what was most precious is lost, and money is a pitiful substitute. But ....the only viable one in most situations. The recipients then make the choices of what to do with it.
1
As a Canadian (whose country is currently discussing federal legislation to ban all handguns and is favoured by 65% of the population) the American fascination with guns and the erroneous connection with some sore of distorted concept of "freedom" is bizarre.
In spite of the beloved 2nd amendment and the Heller SCOTUS decision, a nation that does nothing in the face of Sandy Hook and other mass killings cannot in any degree call itself civilized.
Recall Yeats:
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity
America, ignoring all its other faults, really has to find a way to fix itself.
85
@MacDonald Agree. The United States is well and truly off the rails when it comes to guns.
17
@Andrew
The US is truly off the rails in ways to numerous to list in a concise comment.
9
@NYTX I agree but I was trying to stay on topic. The US is particularly egregious when it comes to guns though.
5
How about creating an agency that effectively monitors people in obviously bad physical and mental condition? Young men who weigh 85 lbs and are making crazy facial expressions, for example.
The Dr. treating the Aurora killer knew he was dangerous but was hamstrung by law and could not confine him. The flaky parents of the Columbine killers needed help.
Didn't we ban assault rifles at one time? No reason for private ownership of those guns.
12
I can remember the day of the shooting. It was like a punch in the gut.
My company tried to donate to the town. We offered one of our products for free, and they initially responded, but never followed through on. But I never held it against them. Figured they were busy.
4
@Michael B.
I worked as one of several hundred volunteers on phone banks, and email servers. Many companies and individuals offered services and products. All offers were entered into a data base. I assume that some offers may have been accepted (for example in the rebuilding of the Sandy Hook School). But the vast outpouring of offers was overwhelming. I thank your company for thinking of us.
I'm willing to bet that the "thoughts and prayers" were for the families and not for the United Way.
6
What happened in Newtown was undeniably terrible. Mass killings like this one get a lot of non-stop media attention so they also get a lot of donations. No amount of money can replace a loved one no matter how old they are. But, money can be counted. How much is enough? People are murdered every hour of every day in this country but most families are left to pay the funeral expenses and to grieve alone. Are those victims lesser victims? What about the trauma survivors face? First responders? Shouldn't they receive help? Whenever I hear it's not about the money, I can't help but think it's usually about the money.
14
@LHP I don't think "how much is enough" is the issue. As I read it, problems occur when the agencies that people contribute to, believing their donations are going to those directly harmed, are instead funding community centers and other charities of their choice. That is inherently dishonest regardless of the amount in the pot. People should know exactly where the money they donate is going to go so they can give via some other means if their funds are not going solely to the intended beneficiaries.
5
Donations should be used to pay families reasonable compensation and the remainder should be used to lobby for sane gun control laws.
22
@MainLaw
Yes, the remainder ought also go to somehow convincing parents of violent sons to put them in a safe facility where they cannot harm others. So many in Newtown and the Lanza family - which was wealthy - knew that guy was a gun nut AND mentally/emotionally disturbed since @ age 10/puberty. He just percolated in violent degeneracy for the next decade and everyone looked the other way.
4
That's not what the donors intended. They intended their money to go to the victims.
@Todd Fox and that's what happened with all donations that were clearly targeted for specific purpose. There is no fault for a charity to decide to send unspecified money toward a general fund to help the community affected by the tragedy.
I would argue that this is a direct repercussion of our government's method of problem solving; just throw more money at the situation. It is one thing to send funds when there is a catstrophic physical loss (i.e hurricanes) to meet material needs. However, to simply offer funds to heal deep emotional wounds shows a lack of understanding. It reflects poorly on the type of culture we have become . . . money does not equal happiness. True peace and comfort and be found only from within and, dare I say, the saving grace of Jesus.
70
What if you are not Christian, or not religious? Mental health counseling and other kinds of emotional support are valuable and important and, unfortunately, not always available without funding.
17
@Jan
"Mental health counseling" is one of the standard excuses for throwing money at these survivors. It certainly doesn't take $25 million.
Newtown was an affluent community. The last thing they needed was money. They can get all the mental health counseling they want.
The students at Stoneman Douglas had a better idea -- first, educate yourself about the effective ways to prevent it from happening again (gun control, stupid), and second, organize politically to get politicians who will implement gun control, and oppose those who don't in the primaries and the general elections. Unfortunately they failed, because the winner of the Florida Governor's race was Ron DeSantis, who received an A from the National Rifle Association.
At least Connecticut's governor Ned Lamont has supported gun control despite significant opposition, and despite Connecticut being the home of gun manufacturers like Colt and Ruger.
Rather than throwing money away, the people who want to help Newtown would be better off doing the hard work of educating themselves about gun control, and then applying that education to efforts where they can do the most good.
6
This is an excellent article, and it raises many troubling, difficult and complex questions. For example, how much money should each victim’s family receive? If one victim survived, but with permanent physically-paralyzing wounds for the rest of their life, should they receive the same amount as a victim who was killed? Perhaps the victims’ families should have a say in the process. Another thorny issue is whether any restrictions should be placed on the money paid to victims’ families. We’d like to assume that anyone in their shoes would handle the money responsibly, however, that’s not always the case. GE tried to do something positive for the community at large. So did the United Way of Western CT. As the article points out, everyone’s intentions were good, and that’s the most important thing in this and any tragedy.
8
If you own a vehicle, you have to register it, you need a permit to operate it and in most places, you have to carry public liability insurance to cover damage caused by an instrument conceived to transport people and things , and designed to do it safely.
Guns on the other hand are conceived to cause damage. I wish someone would explain why their ownership is not subject to the same structure of responsibility. Money flowing to victims is money owed, not cute charity.
71
It seems as Newton has been able to satisfy it's grief with the $100 million, however they have not brought back education. In Boston, they too were able to suffer their losses for less. Go Fund Me may be trying to explain their underlying principles in the lack of support in Florida.
2
We found out about the United Way after the OKC bombing. I would never donate even $2 a week to them.
So much grief after an event like that. Money helps the survivors, but some people do get greedy.
19
I am disappointed that some parents of slain children were angry that some of the donated monies flowed into the general community.
We should not downplay the devastating impact of such a tragedy on an immediate family, but at the same time, we should acknowledge that the wounds and the ripples of paralyzing grief are felt throughout the community. The community needs to heal also. In this regard, perhaps Mr Feinberg should relax his apparent stance that 100% of monies should go to the immediate families.
I am reminded of my career in a newborn intensive care unit. Upon the death of a baby, debriefing sessions were held for the staff, allowing staff to express their emotions and grief in a supportive group. One day, I found one of the housekeepers weeping and grieving the death of a baby. Not once had any housekeeper ever been invited to a debriefing session. I realized right then that we need to acknowledge that the ripples of grief can impact the human spirit in individuals we don't "see".
My heart goes out, not only to the immediate families, but also to the school bus driver, the school gardener, the school janitor and all the other individuals we might not have seen.
462
@Steve I get your point, but I don't think the community's grief can even come close to that of the parents who lost a child in the killings. Sure, the community is impacted but it just doesn't come close to how the parents are feeling, their loss, their grief and suffering. The the community can heal and will but the parents need the care the most.
33
@Steve
They clearly state that they were upset because the United Way used their children's stories to get money. UW profited on the death's of children and community tragedy.
51
I do take your point that those indirectly impacted needed to be involved in grief/critical incident stress debrief efforts. Yet this piece doesn't detail or describe money being used to support the community for such things. I'm also not sure how a 15M community center, the stated yet nebulous purpose of which is "to bring the community together," accomplishes this. Give the donations to the families of victims. Federal aide could go towards supporting a grieving community.
20
Money ruins everything. I like that twenty-six playgrounds were built to memorialize the victims. They symbolize the innocence that was lost that day and are a humble tribute that will last at least a generation.
43
Grief is the emotion we seem least able to respond to in ways that are most meaningful to those who need our help. I appreciate this article and the questions it raises and I appreciate many of the postings I've seen.
I'm troubled that GE, the United Way chapter and other organizations (as well as Kathy in Chapel Hill) react in ways that are about themselves, their opinions, their freedom to make decisions for survivors and families. I wish we could learn kinder, more fruitful ways to express grief and offer comfort.
Most of all, I'm ashamed we haven't faced our responsibility to honor all shooting victims in the one way that matters most: Deal with this as New Zealand did and as countries without gun cultures do. It is our permanent disgrace that those babies--for they still were--and brave adults didn't compel us, or Congress, to sufficient action, that we thus allowed the other killings to occur and somehow are content to let high school and college students manage this problem on their own.
53
in NZ we are also struggling with how to distribute generous donations. This article is very relevant.
6
The city should build a center with tax money, not donations. The 15 million should have been given directly to the victims' families in protected trusts.
6
@PE I disagree. Money won't bring back the kids to their parents. But, if allocated well, it can benefit the community. It can create and fund institutions that make the community richer and better, and wiser, by memorializing the kids and the tragedy.
Actually, the greed that I see on the parents' part -- "Thanks for the money, freely given and to which I wasn't entitled. But I want it ALL for myself, and none for anyone else!" -- disgusts me.
6
United Way apparently used the children's pictures and stories to solicit donations. People gave money thinking it would go to the children's families, but millions of dollars ended up elsewhere. That slipperiness is what bothered the families. Greed was not their problem. It was UA's problem.
8
@Joe
Is that what the families said? Odd. That isn't what I read by a long shot.
2
We were on vacation and leaving Christchurch the morning of their shooting, and watched their leadership and country step up. They are a country that has many, many hunters and yet, in ten days legislation was decreed and passed. Never did the words “thoughts and prayers” show up in the dialogue that followed. Decency reigned over all other.
The day the Senate took up Obama’s post-Sandy gun law, watching those parents standing in the halls of Congress, immune to their own hearts and family and sense of decency I thought was the lowest moment I had ever seen in our democracy. Children, really?
122
@Alfred O’Neill
Are there any other detailed rights in the Bill of Rights we should limit because someone evil abused one of them?
2
@EGD What is it about the words WELL REGULATED from the second amendment that you do not understand?
9
The United Way not only added insult to injury, but grossly solicited funds in the name of this tragedy.
With all the millions of dollars in donations, how much of this went to the UW...
17
My heart felt sympathies go out to the parents of any child lost, let alone one lost in this kind of massacre. I nearly lost one of my sons due to illness, holding is hand at deaths door. People across the country clamor for more gun control without thinking it through. This knee jerk reaction only bring more problems and less REAL solutions. Gun control would not have prevented the Sandy Hook massacre. The problem is all of us, you, me and every one else in this country that are unwilling to spend the time necessary to know our neighbors (really know them, not a waive on the way somewhere). Moreover, how many of us spend time in our community to ensure that our safety needs are met? It has been suggested that someone be armed in the schools to counteract an active shooter. The multitudes have shunned this idea under the guise that our children would be exposed. Really? Do you folks read the papers, watch television or use the Internet to see what is going on in this country and this world. This country was vulnerable on 9/11, but think back to December 7th 1941. We were vulnerable then too and several times thereafter. All of us should be able to look after the safety and wellbeing of our families and our communities. No manner of hand wringing and bemoaning control will alleviate your responsibility in your families safety. What is the response time of your local or state police department in an emergency?
3
No good deed goes unpunished. And I don’t understand why we rush to give very large amounts of money to families of victims of mass shootings, especially when it is a child. Not to be cold, but from an economic standpoint, I somewhat understand the economics of replacing an adults income for his family. Feinberg did this sort of calculation when deciding money for 9/11 victims. But why do we give money to the families of children? Is to alleviate their pain? To allow them to open foundations in honor of the children? Why?
25
@Dpl
You ask why we give money to families of children. It may be, in part, because we believe with the devastating emotional trauma these families will endure, that they simply won’t be able to keep working or maintain steady employment and thus may lose their health care coverage as well.
8
That money should be allocated for a free college education to it's poor students IMHO.
8
"Should donations in the aftermath of tragedy go to the victims’ families or be shared with the entire community?"
There is no easy answer. Certainly victim's families need some money to bury their loved ones and perhaps to sustain them while they take some time off work to get over the tragedy. At the same time, as in Sandy Hook, the razing of the school building and the building of a new school required an influx of money.
That said, it still hurts to see a monument, be it a statue or a building that is there only because one's loved one was murdered.
But whoever said that this horrific tragedy did not bring gun control is wrong. Connecticut didn't wait for federal laws to pass. It passed its own gun control package, including additional mental health laws, in short order.
In fact, one gun manufacturer left Ct as a consequence--and moved to a town within 45 minutes of my SC home, just as Sandy Hook was within 45 minutes of my former CT home.
15
Money - as our current zeitgeist shows us, is far from a panacea to the world’s ills. Rather, usually, the direct cause if all our existential miseries.
The great American and western and well, global delusion and humanity’s worst enemy is to be found in the lust for it and once having it, the soul killing excess opens the floodgates of the worst elements of society’s Pandora’s Box.
If ever a bromide held eternal truth it is this: Less, is more.
2
Despite people’s good intentions, it is horrible all around. I do wish that any teddy bear or toy that was burned was instead shipped to an orphanage or hospital. Plenty of needy children who would enjoy those things.
21
@paul
Most donated items went to a warehouse (donated space) and were inventoried (by volunteers). Families were offered first pick, but the quantity was overwhelming. Eventually these items were disbursed to hospitals etc.
The items that needed to be destroyed were typically the ones that were left in the snow and rain at makeshift memorials around town.
Nobody wanted money, just their kids and safe schools. Too big a price for gun owning America though, $100 million is all they get.
6
Massacres like this are trump’s greatest accomplishment—he robs this country of hope. Why hasn’t he been jailed for this?
4
Fred, trump is responsible for a lot of negative things in our country, but he isn't responsible for Sandy Hook and the community of Newtown. He was only a reality TV star in New York when this happened. The Obama Administration desperately tried to get some gun legislation passed, but the NRA-funded Congress wasn't interested.
17
Confirms my total distaste for how United Way operates. Much like my distaste for how the Republicans in Congress has stopped sensible gun legislation.
18
How is money going to help the families?
1
What did I miss here? The article deals (basically) with a $15 million dollar building and $10 million in United Way money. Where's the other $75 million?
9
@Jack yes I don’t understand. And it seems the bulk of the $10 mill went to victims while the anger is over a smaller portion going to the traumatised community as a whole. That doesn’t sound evil or corrupt on the party of United Way or anyone else. The community centre will survive this and provide use and haven for this community for years to come.
5
Sandy Hook says a lot about modern day America. A country awash with guns that didn’t act even in response to the senseless and preventable slaughter of small children to enact basic gun control. The NRA with far too much influence over cowardly politicians. The evils and ignorance of the GOP. Now greed and the misuse of blood money. The country needs to take a good hard look at itself and what it has become.
20
@Andrew
We have basic gun control.
What we also have is a rancid popular culture and more than a few evil and/or mentally ill individuals who would actually plan and carry out an attack like Sandy Hook.
Ban guns? They’ll use poison or a vehicle. The fix lies elsewhere...
3
@EGD Nonsense. You’re making excuses.
Yes there are plenty of other problems and gun control is not a silver bullet (no pun intended) but it is an essential ingredient.
Look at what happened when serious gun control was implemented in Australia in the ‘90s: not a single mass shooting since.
By no rational measure does America have meaningful gun control.
10
“By March 2013, the United Way had collected more than $10 million and created the Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation’
“After the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. a GoFundMe campaign dedicated solely to victims. The campaign raised nearly $2 million in six days’
I’m sure these numbers aren’t final or totally correct, but...
It appears we are becoming a galvanized nation.
2
United Way failed. Someone saw this as an opportunity to exert their influence and authority. This despicable act needlessly prolonged the suffering of the people who lost loved ones. Those responsible should find new jobs.
5
The problem in Sandy Hook (and elsewhere) is simple and yet horrifying: Americans feel powerless to help the families and victims of mass shootings, and to assuage their guilt end up donating mindbogglingly huge amounts of money and gifts that serve no real purpose. (Note the 60,000 teddy bears and other stuffed animals sent to Newtown that ended up being incinerated.) They're nearly as useless as the inevitable and ubiquitous "thoughts and prayers" sent after each new slaughter.
Want to truly help? Quit sending cash and prayers, and instead quit electing politicians beholden to the NRA who continue to warp the Second Amendment far beyond its intended purpose, and prioritize gun owners' "rights" above innocent lives.
666
Couldn’t agree more.
30
@Bonnie T. Couldn’t agree more.
30
@Bonnie T.
You make a very good point. I've often wondered what people meant when the sent "thoughts and prayers". Clearly a silly and meaningless gesture.
36
This article reminds me of all the money that flowed after 9/11. Some was necessary, as some who died were young and had families that needed the income as their loved ones had no life insurance. Who thinks in their thirties that they need life insurance? But then the money became the main factor in many survivors lives. I saw this first hand. Some widows put money aside for their children’s education, some needed it for day to day expenses. Some, however, bought beach houses, traveled to exotic locals they would never have gone to before, and many saw the money separate them from long time friends and even family. Sadly, money will never bring those we loved back, nor will it erase the horrors of that day. My granddaughter was the same age as many of those children in Sandy Hook and on those planes on 9/11 going to Disney and family vacations. I know how her loss would have affected me. It’s easy to give money, ones conscious is eased, and life can go on for the givers. But money will never ease the loss of loved ones torn from us by the terror of guns and fanatics. If one must give something, give your energy to the removal of guns and the treatment of those who feel the need to use them.
12
Living here in Sandy Hook, I have to say that I think everyone did their best that day, and in the days after 12/14. One thing I remember the week after were all the police cars from all over Connecticut assisting the Newtown Police and the State Police.
We didn’t understand we would get all those donations. Hindsight is certainly 20/20. The families definitely needed to have priority.
I was never comfortable with that GE money, but I understand why we thought the community center was a good idea. I was never a big fan of the United Way having control of all those donations. They were trying to help.
21
The wounded and affected families should be fairly and reasonably compensated, as should the school and funds required for the community's healing. Additional funds should be returned.
3
@Charles W
Exactly who is to decide what is fair and reasonable compensation and what are additional funds that should be returned? The money should be controlled by the families. If the families want to spend some of it on community healing or return some if it, that should be their decision.
16
Its difficult. Everyone was affected. People heal differently. People heal at different speeds.
What was meant for families should go to the families. What was meant to the community should go to the community.
11
And still no real gun control. We are a violent society and accept that as normal.
172
@DSS. Can’t put 8,000,000 + assault weapons back into the bottle. The only real good would be ammunition sales control leaving the guns as nothing more than metal sticks without the thing that makes them lethal.
But we won’t control that either.
Ours is a society hellbent on self-destruction and the absolute ruin of every hope for a nobler end to the bloodbath that defines our history, and is all too often equivocally thought of as its supreme source of power.
What a sad, unstoppable, passionate rush to oblivion we, gentle lovers of life - I brake for bloody frogs on the streets on rainy nights and delicately save terrified spiders caught in the rush of my shower water! - must suffer this daily assault on what to us is sacred, life but to the purveyors of death and mayhem is simply another means to the fetid end of “wealth”. What wealth I ask when there is nothing left of our rising generation but the pronounced certainty that their lives have no value nor meaning.
I work as a substitute teacher Maryland, and can attest that not a single day goes by that I can’t but see the futility born of our gun-crazed culture of death. Drills for shooters, blinds to shut out a prospective attacker’s view into one’s class. The fear that reprimanding a student or imposing discipline could be the inspiration for one’s own death.
Our schools are basically shooting galleries, as are most public spaces. How great is my fortune in having spent my childhood in a land called the 1960’s
15
Sorry, we are NOT a violent society. There are some violent people among us, but in general, we are a gentle society. Guns are NOT the issue. Mental health IS the issue.
6
@Mark B
What is the one common factor in all shootings? The gun perhaps?
12
No money can pay for a life. New Zealand knows what needs to be done, we don’t.
248
New Zealand doesn't have the right to bear arms enshrined in their constitution, which is unfortunate. Gun grabs preceded all of the mass government murders of their own people.
4
@Nan
Really? I must have missed the Australian and British governments mass murder after they regulated assault weapons and handguns.
3
In the last decade, how many other developed nations, had to bury 19 young children, as the result of a school shooting?
115
@Barry of Nambucca. Well in 2011 there were the Norway attacks, referred to in Norway as 22 July (Norwegian: 22. juli)[14] or as 22/7, when two sequential lone wolf domestic terrorist attacks by Anders Behring Breivik against the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) summer camp, left 77 young people and some camp counselors dead.
7
@Rene Pedraza del Prado
The records show the youngest victim of Anders Breivik was a 14 years old, while the Sandy Hook shooting victims, included 20 children aged 6 and 7.
The most up to date gun homicide rate in Norway is 0.10 per 100,000 people, while the US gun homicide rate is 4.46 per 100,000 people, which is a better reflection of the impact of gun homicides in both nations.
12
@Barry of Nambucca This will not really answer your question, because the school shooting I will mention took place just over two decades ago. Roughly the same number of children, ages 5 and 6, were gunned down in their school gymnasium in Scotland. In a file folder somewhere, I still have a newspaper article that displayed their class photo, with an X marking each child that was killed. This does not let America off a hook, however.
2
And this is why I no longer donate to charities. I have read of too many cases where the money doesn’t go where it should, donated materials get thrown away and people who need help can’t get it.
30
@Nancy G.
The trick is to research the charities to which you donate. Make sure your money goes for what you want it to pay for. I just donated a small amount to pay for a square foot of space in a new annex to Wide Angle Media, a youth intervention and training agency in Baltimore where my nephew works. It wasn't much money, but it goes to kids, where my heart is.
2
@Nancy G.
Instead of giving up on charities, I would suggest using Charity Navigator to research which charities have a good record and low administrative costs.
Also, if one is able to do so, cash donations are frequently better than donated materials, which can end up being a disposal burden for the organization rather than a help. Thousands of teddy bears at a disaster site just become more debris for the landfill.
Food shelves can use cash donations, especially to purchase perishable food. They also allow the shelves to augment the random canned donations with needed items at wholesale prices.
6
Only a few paragraphs into this story, I was saddened and stunned to read "In the six and a half years since the deadliest elementary school shooting in American history..." These horrific events now so commonplace that they must be differentiated and categorized by "elementary" vs. "high school" vs. "university." What have we become? How can we recover? I am left with no more than these naive and unanswerable questions.
168
The searing cry for a sea change in how Americans deal with guns that are capable of doing so much damage - such as the massacre that we saw in Sandy Hook - was clearly heard in the days after it happened. We saw it in the face of a President who had the worst day of his presidency when he walked into that place where this monstrosity that made hard men weep tears of pure sorrow happened.
That cry was ignored by a group of legislators who had the power and the mandate to make something happen but bowed down to special interests and put the Love of money ( which is the root of evil) ahead of the lives of precious beautiful children.
The families of the children killed in Sandy Hook and the families of the brave teachers who died trying to save those precious kids ( the heroes that America should never ever forget) led that searing cry for change.
Instead all they got was some dollars and silence and inaction.
I am crying as I write this as I think of that day - and how I cried when I first heard the news.
I can see how the families would be upset and angry at how they have been treated. And I admire once again the amazing generosity that defines Americans - a trait that is pretty unique in its scale.
89
@Matt
While the federal government did little if anything, the CT Legislature passed a comprehensive gun control bill in response to Sandy Hook.
9
I would like to propose in circumstances such as this, one should consider the families, who unfortunately need help in recovering some sense privacy into their grief filled lives, and the community at large, whose suffering takes second place to the families, but may be no less horrific. There are first responders, some volunteer, who arrived to this in its raw form. There are teachers and administrators who, by innocently filling classes for the new year sentenced many to death. Imagine yourself working in the ED of Danbury Hospital that day. The custodian, mopping bloody footsteps. None of these folks had an easy road before them, and it is quite conceivable that they needed (or still need) assistance to right their lives.
I am quite sure that many who donated funds did so to “help those affected” and not act as impromptu life insurance.
Some members of the armed services watch strangers die and then suffer crippling life altering mental disabilities. All too often, they lose the ability to hold a job, or keep a family together. These were neighbors and friends. If money is donated to help those affected, then a task force should be created to discover the needs of the families and address them, and also to seek out to those who are crushed under the twin weights of nightmares and the shame of speaking up while not having suffered the ultimate loss. Who pays for the task force? If our government insists on gun rights, then tax dollars can clean up the mess.
69
The generosity of Americans is beautiful. What a shame it has taken the continued gun massacres of inncent children to get the distribution of these donations correct. It seems that with so many massacres, one day day we will get what to do with money correct. What a terrible shame to have so many opportuinties. The fact is that there is nothing that will ease the immense pain and distress that this gunman brought to this community. I get tears whenever this story returns to the news.
25
It's important to check how much a charity spends on administration, which often takes a big bite out of donations. See the ratings at . United Way is NOT in the top 5.
They list the best charities in many fields. They're independent, and rate different charities with letter grades. I discovered that Goodwill spends a huge amount on administration. But to search for United Way, you have to join Charity Navigator.
I don't understand why people send teddy bears to mark a death. Who are they supposed to comfort? The dead? The families who lost loved ones?
As the article concludes, best thing is to work w/ the community before asking for donations.
32
@Rocky Mtn girl - People send teddy bears to a town where children were murdered because people believe this gift will comfort a child in the midst. The giving of such a gift makes some of us feel less helpless in the face of such a repugnant tragedy. People from all over the world wanted the people of Newtown to have comfort and hugs and sending something material was the best they could do. One of the reasons GE immediately sent a team of administrators to work in Newtown (for free) was to corral the river of incoming gifts and respect the intent of the donors, among other logistics, hence the burning of the excess and creating "sacred soil" as described in the article.
15
ive STOPPED contributing to several of them, exactly by checking Charity Navigator. st. J.u.de included. And wwwounded.
1
@Jenny Personally, I think the burning of the excess teddy bears was stupid. It would’ve been much better if it was then donated to other foster care facilities, children hospitals, day care centers, etc.
The burning of teddy bears cannot make ‘sacred soil’. The sacred soil in Newton lays right under that school where those children’s blood was spilled, nowhere else!
10
Since immigrating over three decades ago, I am asked often enough how and why I choose to live here. As a professor, I am often asked by well meaning students outside of the US, why this country caused all the things they think we caused. Some of it is factual (as in wars we have started), some not so much, and others downright nonsense (not worth repeating).
I have used many explanations; one focuses on evidence of social philanthropy and personal generosity that are uniquely American cultural traditions (among many others including decency and unrelenting pursuit of innovation). I will let intelligent people with a stake in Sandy Hook, and the people directly hurt by the tragedy take care of this overflowing generosity. I am downloading this article to share with people who ask me what is so great about America. This is. It is unmatched by anything in the world. And that makes me proud to be living here.
159
@Kalidan
Funny you should refer to America's exceptionalism. New Zealand right now is struggling with how to allocate the millions of donations that flowed in, after our own appalling shooting, this time of Muslims at prayer. NZ, too, is a great country, but I would never say it is unmatched by anything in the world, just as I, as a US citizen living in NZ, would never say that about the US. We all must figure out how to resolve/minimize the anger, hurt and evil? that moves some people to kill others, with guns, cars, knives, airplanes.... Sigh.
21
@Kalidan writes:" I am downloading this article to share with people who ask me what is so great about America. This is. It is unmatched by anything in the world."
U.S. generosity is not "unmatched by anything in the world." According to the World Giving Index by the Charities Aid Foundation, the U.S. ranks #12 in percentage of people who give money to charities and #10 in the world in terms of the percentage of Americans who help a stranger.
Secondly, your emphasizing this behavior by promoting it as a singular attribute of the U.S. to non-U.S. citizens turns this storyline into a red herring. The crux of a post-Sandy Hook world is the Republican party's successful opposition to public policy changes that would reduce gun violence in the U.S.
31
@Kalidan. Thank you! We are not perfect by any means, but we are unique in the ways you describe.
8
The victims don't want money. They want to live in a safer world, where such events cannot happen anymore.
They wanted laws and behavior to change. All they got instead is money.
They wanted ethics, they got dollars. Great job, America.
507
@Lauwenmark I doubt many people felt that sending money to Newtown absolved them of responsibility for working to create a better society. Our American problem is that not enough people have accepted that responsibility. How any society could witness Newtown and not take far stronger action to prevent such horror tortures me.
36
@Lauwenmark Politically, translating to governance, it's all about the money. Generally, we are a quasi-oligarchy. Thus, when we can't change laws to better protect citizens, such as reforming how we interpret the Second Amendment, if not get rid of it altogether, well, at least we can give victims money. Sometimes.
Time to treat guns, which are designed to kill, at least as rigorously as we treat motor vehicles, which only kill by accident except in rare situations, so:
1. License required to own, only after passing an exam proving a minimum level of competence in use of the weapon. Renewal every four years, subject to denial for legislated causes.
2. Registration for each gun, fee based on type. Strict rules of re-registration when weapons change hands.
3. Gun owner insurance required, for each gun. If you can't obtain insurance because of things like criminal record or mental illness, you can't get a gun.
4. Much more serious punishments for misuse of guns, or using them in the commission of a crime, and steep fines for registration transgressions.
I would also add another as a nod to an originalist view of the Second Amendment:
5. Primary requirement is service of some kind in a well regulated militia, subject to call up in an emergency, with a requirement to maintain your weapon(s) and a basic field pack against the circumstance of prolonged duty in the field.
We're not in the Wild West anymore, or taming vast unexplored wildernesses as the country expands.
46
@Lauwenmark
I am not getting your point. If the "families" of the victims don't want money, then what is the article about that they feel they should receive 100% of the donations and nothing to the community. And the victims, apart from the handful that survived their injury, are DEAD.
10
Charity is great. Meaningful gun control legislation is better.
520
@Hotel Some things that seem painfully obvious to non-Americans, like common sense gun control and not electing Trump, seem not to be so obvious to Americans.
23
Just wonderful - WONDERFUL - to see that the lesson learned here was "how to manage money in the event of a mass shooting."
104
This sadly reflects how our values have shrunk: money & things are now supposed to make everything better. They don’t. Faith, ethics, civil responsibility etc. are what matter.
56
What I take away from this is than an abundance of charity can naturally overwhelm a community already in shock from such a horrific event. Not that anyone was greedy or self-interested. It's wonderful so many people all over the country and the world cared so much so as to shower Sandy Hook with such an intense level of generosity. Better that response than one where no one cares at all.
33
“Keep the money and bring my little boy back”.
The money should be coming from insurance policies that gun owners should have had to purchase.
What if the NRA had offered money?
Not impressed by the majority of our citizens who are ignorant and violent !
181
@Greg Yes! You need insurance to drive a car bc it can cause damage or be damaged. Car insurance has an uninsured driver provision and so should guns. Unlicensed persons can wreak havoc just as properly licensed and insured persons.
10
The money should go directly to the families of the dead. Not elsewhere.
65
@EH I think some money should also be held back for mental health therapy for everyone & anyone affected by this horror.
Some of the money that was STOLEN by these ‘charities’ should have paid for full time therapists at that community center, free for anyone who needs it. The children who survived when their friends didn’t, must need therapy even though thankfully, they didn’t die. The aunts, uncles, cousins of these children were affected. The police, first responders, etc. who witnessed these horrific sites must also be affected to. These people all have been deeply hurt & afflicted too.
7
@EH I see. The families become multimillionaires? That's not what I consider a proper response.
6
What about the hundreds of children in that school that day?
4
Such grief for all those families who lost children and other family members. I, for one, cannot truly imagine it, with 5 children of my own. (I would certainly lay much of the blame on the NRA, but that is a different matter!)
Still, I probably would come down on the side of having the donations going to community-wide sites and institutions, because that direction makes us all, across the USA, able to acknowledge the losses of those Sandy Hook victims and try to share in the rebuilding!
16
@Kathy The NRA didn't shoot anyone. A deranged local kid did. Blame the perpetrator if you want to blame someone.
12
@Kathy Nobody wants to talk about this woman who bought several high powered weapons and ammunition and put this all into the hands of her child ,knowing the full extent of his mental incapacity. What sense or which motive provided this woman with such an initiative,knowing fully well of what the consequences would resolve to. We can only speculate but truthfully must consider the guns did not walk by themselves or fire themselves without intention,how easy it is to blame.
17
Blame disingenuous & duplicitous commentary such as this for making the modern NRA possible.
Supporting a self-enriching sham organization over community at large is simply un-American; no matter how many flags waved to obscure this fact.