In the grief and outrage following this week’s murder of 19 children and 2 teachers in Texas, and as discussions swirl about America’s gun culture, much of the focus is on the AR-15 rifle used in the assault.
A Washington Post story notes that just days before the carnage, gunmaker — Daniel Defense posted a tweet showing a young boy with the rifle. It said: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
That’s a reference to a Biblical proverb, the Post says.
After the shooting, Daniel Defense hid its tweets from public view.
The Georgia-based company had planned to exhibit at this weekend’s National Rifle Association convention in Houston. “GIVEAWAYS, DEMOS, CELEBRITY APPEARANCES & MORE,” they promised.
Those plans were canceled. Daniel Defense pulled out “due to the horrifying tragedy in Uvalde, Texas where one of our products was criminally used,” said vice president of marketing Steve Reed.
“We believe this week is not the appropriate time to be promoting our products in Texas at the NRA meeting.”
Reed is a graduate of Princeton University, with an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
Steve Reed
He’s also a 1980 graduate of Staples High School, where he captained the football, basketball and baseball teams. He attended Hillspoint Elementary and Long Lots Junior High Schools too.
His LinkedIn profile notes: “Marketing leader with proven record of driving profitable brand growth and transforming teams for success. … Adept at translating customer insights into new growth opportunities. Demonstrated ability to develop and communicate data-driven strategies & tactics that resolve complex business challenges and meet financial forecasts.”
Immediately after the massacre, Reed said, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and community devastated by this evil act. We will cooperate with all federal, state and local law enforcement authorities in their investigations. We will keep the families of the victims and the entire Uvalde community in our thoughts and our prayers.”
He did not reply immediately to an “06880” request for further comments.
Would Mr. Defense have advocated “training up” the children who were murdered?
And could Mr. Reed do more than just “cooperate with authorities”?
Who is taking responsibility for the repeated violence? The world is watching our lack of action.
The Texas motto “ Don’t mess with Texas” should be changed to “Texas is a mess.”
“After the shooting, Daniel Defense hid its tweets from public view.”
In other words, he is a coward, unwilling to stand by his actions and accept the consequences. What purpose could “training up a child” possibly have, other than what we have been experiencing so horribly? There is no great ominous threat to the “American way of life,” to “decency and morality”–encouraging the youngest children to be violent with guns has no possible positive outcome.
But if someone is going to advocate for it, they have to be willing to stand by it. Deep, deep shame on Daniel!
Make that “shame on Steve Reed.” I realize now I overlapped with him at Staples, graduating in 1978.
“I’m all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let’s start with typewriters” – Frank Lloyd Wright
Not sure what your position is, but I know of no historic record of massive numbers of people slaughtered by typewriters, or word processors, or any other device of language composition ever invented. You saying Gutenberg is responsible for the repeated horrible school shootings?
OK now I have read further down the page and see you are a MAGAt (Trump is “coming back” btw). So are you really OK with massive shootings in schools every week for the sake of preserving “freedom”? Why do nations with as much or more freedom than we have manage to avoid such horrific consequences? How do you end up with such a warped demented perspective?
“How do you end up with such a warped demented perspective?” Did you ever take the time to read the Bill of Rights? From your argument, we should ban alcohol, an estimated 95,000 people (approximately 68,000 men and 27,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes annually making alcohol the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
But I shouldn’t be too tough. I know you Americans never had to fight and experience life under an authoritarian governments. I dropped out of Fordham to fight for Rhodesia. I was a sergeant in the Rhodesian Security Forces during the late 70s fighting Communist guerrillas in the African bush. Finding families massacred by Communist rebels with no way to defend themselves and you call me demented.
I’ve stayed out of this so far, but I have to respond, Peter. The Bill of Rights was written at a time when human beings owned other human beings. The all-white-male authors would not know what to make of a locomotive or washing machine. The world has changed since 1789.
That is a straw man arguments that has no basis or relevance today. By your argument, lets restrict the freedom of speech because words hurt people’s feelings. Lets ban the press because someone did not like what someone said, or religion because certain practices are cruel and offend others. Arguments like “you can’t yell fire in a crowded theatre” make you sound weak and ineffective. You were a coach at Staples not a lawyer. Do better.
Actually, Peter, you can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theater if it will cause panic. Well, you can, but you could get arrested for things like disturbing the peace or malicious mischief.
I’m not sure what the relationship is between progress made since 1790, and freedom of speech, but I do have this question (seriously): Are you a lawyer? If so, what kind?
You can, but I advise against it. Those types of arguments hold no merit regarding constitutional law. Also Dan, I’m a Criminal Defense lawyer in Alabama.
But they do hold merit in Constitutional law; they have held merit in Constitutional law. The argument derived from Constitutional law,
As a lawyer, I’d think you would know that “shouting fire in a crowded theater” is a paraphrasing of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes opinion in the Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States in 1919, which held that the defendant’s speech in opposition to the draft during World War I was not protected free speech under the First Amendment. (The case was later partially overturned by Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969, which limited the scope of banned speech to that which would be directed to and likely to incite “imminent lawless action” or “public danger” such as panics and riots.)
The Supreme Court has ruled on numerous similar cases, allowing limitations on certain categories of speech, restricting First Amendment rights — not only in cases such as “yelling fire in a crowded theater,” but also in speech related to obscenity; fraud; child pornography; speech integral to illegal conduct; speech that incites imminent lawless action; speech that violates intellectual property law; true threats; and commercial speech such as advertising, defamation and so on.
In other words: There have and always will be restrictions to Constitutional rights, and such restrictions change with time to evolve and adapt to modern times and changing attitudes.
There have and always will be restrictions on Second Amendment rights. Even our “founding fathers” who crafted and approved of the amendment often fervently disagreed on it. Constitutional scholars, politicians, and others have had many rationale, reasonable, heated debates over it ever since. I would have to meet stringent requirements to own an M60 machine gun. I am not allowed to have an M203 grenade launcher, an M1 Abrams tank, a LAAW (Light Anti Tank Assault Weapon), Stinger anti-aircraft missile or a nuclear warhead. Those all seem like reasonable restrictions to me. We all draw the line somewhere.
Where does the NRA and its supporters draw the line? And why is it they think that wherever they chose to draw the line is what the rest of our nation should except — and that any restrictions that cross their line is unconstitutional?
Peter, what firm are you with? I just googled “Peter Pfeiffer Alabama criminal defense attorney,” and nothing came up. Please let me know what firm you’re with (via private email, if you’d like). Also, how does a “Criminal Defense lawyer in Alabama” read “06880”?
Right on, Dan! Thank you.
Not only that, there have and always will be restrictions on all the amendments within the Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment. Even our “founding fathers” who crafted and approved of the amendment often fervently disagreed on it. Constitutional scholars, politicians, and others have had many rationale, reasonable, heated debates over it ever since.
Our founders were smart enough to establish a Constitution that could adapt with changing times, and they set up a process in which we the people could collectively change things through a democratic, legislative process. To further adapt and refine our 2nd Amendment is no more a violation of Constitutional rights than freeing slaves and allowing women to vote.
As Thomas Jefferson himself put it: “I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”
I’ve got a hunch our founders would be appalled at how the gun lobby has hijacked our system and purchased our Congress — through lies, half-truths, misconceptions and intimidation — under the pretense of “Constitutional rights.” It’s not about “Constitutional rights” for them — it’s about power, greed and profit.
This discussion is about preventing daily mass murder shootings, not addressing all forms of “preventable” deaths. You see Pete, homicidal, suicidal psychopaths almost always select assault weapons for their work. I’ve yet to hear of a mass murder done with 30 pack of bud light, but nice try at changing the subject.
By the way, my town is comprised of about 1400 registered republicans, 1500 Dems and 5100 unaffiliated. Not sure why you deliberately made a false statement.
Make that 1700 dems.
So are knives, cars, and trucks. There’s been hundreds of mass stabbings, hammer attacks, and cleaver attacks in China since 2010. Many dead and guns are banned there. In Europe, terrorists use vehicles to ram crowds of people in places like London, Nice, and Berlin. Want to ban cars and trucks now? According to your argument.
So is alcohol. Aside from the obvious drunk driving and addiction related crimes, what % of people who commit crime do you think drunk? Ask a cop how many domestic violence situations involve alcohol.
Get fucked bud.
No doubt about it: Knives, cars, trucks, alcohol, cigarettes, rocks and all manner of things can be dangerous. (That’s why there’s restrictions on things like alcohol, cigarettes and driving cars (age restrictions, testing and licensing requirements, traffic laws, inspections, etc.) But those are different topics. The topic here, right now, is guns.
You seem to be using a version of the tiresome “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” argument so commonly espoused by the NRA. “You can kill people with knives, rocks and baseball bats!”
True. But it’s a hell of a lot easier to kill a lot of people quickly with the right choice of weapons. Nobody can kill 22 kids in less than five minutes with, say, a knife, rock or baseball bat. It’s a lot easier to kill a lot of people quickly when you have a weapon specifically designed and made to efficiently kill lots of people in a short amount of time. That is why, while serving in a Marine Corps Force Recon unit, I was issued M16-A2 rifles, HK 9mm submachine guns, M60 machine guns, M203 grenade launchers and other potent, deadly weapons — not just knives or baseball bats.
David, I don’t doubt your experience. I was part of the Selous Scouts unit during the Rhodesian Bush War in the mid-late 70s, I know the experience, with the FAL, M16, and M240. Saved me and a lot of my comrades from tough situations. But my point is that there’s no limit for a crazy deranged individual who wants to do harm, we should look to America’s failing health crisis instead of targeting law-abiding gun owners like myself. Anyways I rest my case, I’m on vacation and going back to fishing.
I agree we need to deal with mental health issues. But as a law-abiding gun owner I sure don’t mind further restrictions that would make it less easy for, say, a teenager with metal health issues (who can’t even legally purchase alcohol, cigarettes or porn) to purchase a deadly weapon designed and made to kill a lot of people quickly and efficiently, then use it to slaughter children. I also don’t mind taking tests and getting a driver’s license; getting my car licensed, registered and inspected, and following traffic laws. I don’t selfishly and narcissistically see such requirements and restrictions as “targeting” me — I see them as ways to collectively help keep the society we are all part of more safe and sane.
Another immature, personal attack. Guess you’re out of ammo, I mean, coherent thoughts.
Pile on you WESTPORT Virtue Signalers ‼️
Have you no shame⁉️
Children blown into unrecognizable bits but what’s got your panties in a twist? Westport virtue signaling. Have YOU no shame?
Get your facts straight you hyperbole moron😂then comment 😂😂
Sure Tom. Let us all know what “facts” I got wrong. Were children shot into smithereens? Was that wrong Tom? But I know you’re busy with alternative facts and name calling. So sophisticated.
Tom, you’re embarrassing yourself again. School children killed, and *this* is what you care about? I’ll take “virtue signaling” over your “loathsome sack of shit” signaling any day.
Chris Gremlin, you sound like a socially inept retard getting your feelings hurt with a comment on the internet. Find something better to do.
Talk about socially inept. Everyone but you stopped using that r word a long, long time ago. Guess you got nothing coherent to actually say about the subject except to attack another reader. Any firearms in your house?
Are you going to cancel me now? Oh no he said the r word. Did your parents change the subject when their friends ask about you?
Hey Trumpers. Peter just sent you a signal. Oooh, cancel culture. But a daily slaughter with weapons even the cops are afford of? You got nothing to say.
Cops are afraid of.
I got nothing to say? Go away you child. Your past arguments have been nothing but baseless, factless hysteria, get out of the bubble.
Here’s a question for Peter and Tom: who won the 2020 presidential election? Was it Biden or Trump? I’ll bet neither of you will directly answer the question.
And Peter, just for the record, you have yet to string together a coherent comment about the topic of this article. And Tom, I’m still waiting for you to tell me what facts I got wrong. Now back to your name calling.
Let me ask you a question Russell, why are you still here? From your records you are a registered Democrat, not surprising coming from Medfield. How does it feel to “win”? Are things better now under Biden than Trump?
Biden won, but we know what happened. We don’t forget, we’re coming back.
Peter‼️ you nailed the Grimm fairy👍🏼🇺🇸
Yeah, Peter, you really “nailed” that Grimm fellow when you called him a nasty name. And Tom, that is really clever the way you noticed that Chris’s last name could be combined with “fairy”.
Tom, not only did I used to like you, I used to respect you. Never have I shown worse judgment of character.
I don’t know who this Peter guy is, but he sure knows right-wing buzzwords.
Chris 😂You don’t like my virtue signaling comment not ‼️even directed at you and you admit that prior like & respect disappear and you admit to having bad judgment. Will you please reread what you wrote and please explain why you can’t handle dissenting opinions from your own even from past friends & associates.
Is it Bad Biden Brain syndrome. Or are you an UVSD ultra virtue signaling dude that freaks because it hits you to your core ⁉️
Notice who was snarky who was rude who flew off who started ranting and who went after others like a twitterette.
Chris my virtue signaling comments were an attempt to tell everyone to BACK OFF YOUR CLASSMATE and act like you wish to be treated. You missed the message in you anger. That’s too bad Chris.
The classmate looks like someone who needs to be called out for the way he’s promoting his business. Are you going to defend Max Bernegger, too?
It isn’t about dissenting opinion – it is about a someone who wants to talk about “virtue signaling” (a dumb conservative trope, if there ever was one) when there was a horrifying tragedy that happened this week.
I get that you are a Trumper who loves fetuses and believes election conspiracy theories. But show a little shame and maybe sit and contemplate the tragedy instead of making fatuous comments.
“Looks like someone who needs to be called out…”⁉️‼️⁉️
I rest my case Chris🙏Seek help 🇺🇸
You’ve made no case. You have nothing coherent to say about the topic of the article. What you do have is a self issued license to attack people and call them nasty names. You accused me of needing to get my facts straight but failed to back up your claim. But, you really have mastered the in and outs of the comment box. I mean, the way you put an exclamation mark right next to a question mark, wow, you really made your point there. And the colored text. Wow. Again, really slamming home your “case”.
Who is the current president Tom?
Russell, you do realize that Tom and I, a thousands others in forum are laughing about you?
Yes Chris, I supported Trump because of his competence which was first priority in my six years of military service…Airborne Ranger Jumpmaster Pathfinder Expert and Combat Infantryman Amy Commendation Medal Bronze Star Medal. By any standard his accomplishments are outstanding.
I was raised a Roman Catholic in Queens went to a Catholic Schools St Joan of Arc Fordham Prep Fordham University then the Harvard Business School post military service. I was taught that life begins at conception. I believe that is an irrefutable fact. Do I mock you or call you a baby killer with blood on your face? No. I afford you the opportunity to believe killing babies is up to you and your souls (LIFE) karma.
I don’t mind you busting my chops in a friendly debate but please try to be polite
You’re still a great guy in my book…really 🙏🇺🇸
Trump was a draft dodger. His father paid off a podiatrist to lie that he had bone spurs. The daughter of the podiatrist confirmed this fact.
Jack you must be a Democrat
Can’t stick to the topic “competence”
Lots of my friends dodged the draft..,who cares
Where did you serve?
Trump falsely claimed for eight years that President Obama wasn’t the legitimate President, falsely claiming he wasn’t a natural born citizen. His first seditious claim.
Then he inspired his cult (of which you seem to proudly be a member) with false election claims in the Big Lie that you have previously parrotted. So you also supported a seditious attempt to overthrow a democratic election.
Any military member who can support a seditionist is betraying his country. Believe me, I’m not busting chops.. I think any military man who can support sedition has betrayed his uniform.
I’m not sure what competence you saw from the guy who denied COVID. The same guy who held up military aid to Ukraine for political gain. But you are pro-Russia and thought COVID was a hoax, too, for all I know.
Don’t worry, I don’t want to share your foxhole. I’d be afraid your hands were shaking post-bender and you’d accidentally shoot me in the head.
This isn’t about different political opinions. This is about values and human decency. You should check out the book “Why People Believe Weird Things” and think about how it applies.
Actually I do have shame. When it is appropriate, I feel it. I don’t feel it at all for standing up to the likes of you. I take pride in that.
If you have a Wall of Shame, this goes right up. How does a VP of Marketing approve this? It’s not promotion – it is perversion and a prediction.
Hearing “thoughts and prayers” out of anyones mouth after a preventable massacre just makes me sick to my stomach.
How do people like Steve Reed sleep at night? People like him, within his industry, do far more than just market and sell weapons specifically designed and made to effectively and efficiently kill a lot of people in a short amount of time. They also lobby, mostly through the NRA, to block research, examination, understanding, critical-thinking, and intelligent debate based on facts and logic.
The NRA has effectively lobbied and persuaded Congress to rescind and block most any and all common-sense restrictions that could curtail gun violence, even restrictions that their own membership supports. They’ve also urged Congress to block the release of federally-funded research on gun violence, and prevent more research from even being considered. And they’ve bullied Congress into blocking every recent nomination (even GOP nominations) for appointments of new directors to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and cut agency funding to effectively reduce the ATF’s ability to enforce current gun restrictions (so they make arguments such as “why make new laws when we don’t even enforce existing laws?”)
And so on.
The NRA has grown into an arrogant, uncompromising political powerhouse that defends the rights of people to own pretty much any sort of weapon they desire — not because of Second Amendment rights, as they deceptively claim, but because they have become an arm of and public relations firm for a huge, powerful, wealthy and influential gun and weapons manufacturing industry. They have purchased our Congress to do its bidding through money, threats and intimidation. It’s about profit, not the Constitution. And so they feed people lies, distortions, and misconceptions to rally flag-waving, so-called “patriots” to protect industry profits under the guise of “Constitutional rights.”
Despite the fact that Presidents as diverse in views and policies as Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton supported stricter background checks to purchase guns and bans on certain types of weapons, the NRA and gun industry now viciously attack any politician who even suggests such legislation and accuses them of being “anti-Americans” trying to “destroy” our Constitution and American way of life.
But there have and always will be restrictions on Second Amendment rights. Even our nation’s founders, who crafted and approved of the amendment, often fervently disagreed on it. Constitutional scholars, politicians, and others have had many rationale, reasonable, heated debates over it ever since. I am not allowed to have an M60 machine gun, an M203 grenade launcher, an M1 Abrams tank, a LAAW (Light Anti Tank Assault Weapon), Stinger anti-aircraft missile or a nuclear warhead. Those all seem like reasonable restrictions to me. We all draw the line somewhere. Where does the NRA and its supporters draw the line? And why is it they think that wherever they chose to draw the line is what the rest of our nation should accept — and that any restrictions that cross their line is unConstitutional?
Our founders were smart enough to establish a Constitution that could adapt with changing times, and they set up a process in which we the people could collectively change things through a democratic, legislative process. To further adapt and refine our 2nd Amendment is not a violation of Constitutional rights.
But the NRA and gun and ammunition industry have hijacked the system and effectively silence debate through money, threats and intimidation. The current NRA leadership even defies the wishes of their own members. A poll of NRA members recently conducted by GOP pollster Frank Luntz showed that NRA members and gun owners overwhelmingly support background checks and other common-sense measures that would help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and keep Americans safe. Yet the NRA – no doubt following orders from the industry – fought viciously against common sense regulations that most Americans support and desire.
The NRA and gun and ammunition industry have controlled our Congress for too long. It’s time for all Americans to speak out. We need to demand that our elected officials listen to we the people. We need to show the NRA and gun and ammunition industry that they don’t run this nation – we do!
Steve Reed: Do you have any sense of honor, decency and integrity? How about using your talent and skills to do some good in the world instead of marketing and selling weapons used to slaughter school children and others? Your “thoughts and prayers” are meaningless; do some serious self-examination, take some responsibility and try to do something honorable and useful.
I am greatly appreciative of this coming from a Stalling. Westporters know that family is one steeped in strength and virility, at least that was my experience growing up there with them. Not to presume, but I would expect they have likely owned and used guns. This sound and articulate statement is particularly effective coming from such a source.
Thank you David, I hope to see Bob at the class of ’78 “half-reunion” next year.
Thanks, David.
Yes, I own and use guns. I hunt deer and elk near my home in Montana, and I served in a Marine Corps Force Recon unit where I attained the rank of sergeant. My brothers Bob and Tim also served in the Marine Corps.
Hope you are well.
Thanks David Schaffer. I’m the only non-Marine brother but I carried a .375 mag everyday in my job in the Alaska wilds for bear protection, and put meat on the table for my family with my guns. I taught gun safety for the USFS in Alaska. Yes we grew up with guns and hunted all around Westport growing up. Oh and we have about ten ancestors that fought in the American Revolution in state militias, I can’t imagine any of them would agree that the second amendment intended for citizens to so easily purchase weapons designed to kill many people quickly. I agree with everything my brother said. We regulate cars, we should regulate weapons.
Your presumption in true in another way: A Stalling served on a SWOT team after the Marines. Always said they were increasingly outgunned by the bad guys who all had efficient killing machines made for war. It’s pure insanity.
What Ed wrote! Also, our father was a WWII Marine, who fought on Okinawa, Tinian, Saipan and Iwo Jima. He was the Grand Marshall of the Westport Memorial Day parade one year, and gave a very powerful and emotional speech about the atrocities of war. He was a good, smart, honorable man with integrity. I am quite certain he would not like the idea that a teenager (who can’t even legally purchase alcohol, cigarettes or pornography) could go to a gun store and so easily and legally purchase weapons designed and made to quickly and efficiently kill a lot of people so he could go to a school and slaughter children. And I’m sure he wouldn’t have liked immoral, unethical advertising that glorifies war and violence and insinuates that kids should be indoctrinated into this nation’s twisted and out-of-control gun culture.
To indoctrinate a small child (photo with gun) is shameful and sick. We must create a safe world for our children and change the federal laws to reflect what 90% of us want: abolish automatic weapons, waiting periods, background checks, require safe storage. This has to STOP!
Thurston High School.
Columbine High School.
Heritage High School.
Deming Middle School.
Fort Gibson Middle School.
Buell Elementary School.
Lake Worth Middle School.
University of Arkansas.
Junipero Serra High School.
Santana High School.
Bishop Neumann High School.
Pacific Lutheran University.
Granite Hills High School.
Lew Wallace High School.
Martin Luther King, Jr. High School.
Appalachian School of Law.
Washington High School.
Conception Abbey.
Benjamin Tasker Middle School.
University of Arizona.
Lincoln High School.
John McDonogh High School.
Red Lion Area Junior High School.
Case Western Reserve University.
Rocori High School.
Ballou High School.
Randallstown High School.
Bowen High School.
Red Lake Senior High School.
Harlan Community Academy High School.
Campbell County High School.
Milwee Middle School.
Roseburg High School.
Pine Middle School.
Essex Elementary School.
Duquesne University.
Platte Canyon High School.
Weston High School.
West Nickel Mines School.
Joplin Memorial Middle School.
Henry Foss High School.
Compton Centennial High School.
Virginia Tech.
Success Tech Academy.
Miami Carol City Senior High School.
Hamilton High School.
Louisiana Technical College.
Mitchell High School.
E.O. Green Junior High School.
Northern Illinois University.
Lakota Middle School.
Knoxville Central High School.
Willoughby South High School.
Henry Ford High School.
University of Central Arkansas.
Dillard High School.
Dunbar High School.
Hampton University.
Harvard College.
Larose-Cut Off Middle School.
International Studies Academy.
Skyline College.
Discovery Middle School.
University of Alabama.
DeKalb School.
Deer Creek Middle School.
Ohio State University.
Mumford High School.
University of Texas.
Kelly Elementary School.
Marinette High School.
Aurora Central High School.
Millard South High School.
Martinsville West Middle School.
Worthing High School.
Millard South High School.
Highlands Intermediate School.
Cape Fear High School.
Chardon High School.
Episcopal School of Jacksonville.
Oikos University.
Hamilton High School.
Perry Hall School.
Normal Community High School.
University of South Alabama.
Banner Academy South.
University of Southern California.
Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Apostolic Revival Center Christian School.
Taft Union High School.
Osborn High School.
Stevens Institute of Business and Arts.
Hazard Community and Technical College.
Chicago State University.
Lone Star College-North.
Cesar Chavez High School.
Price Middle School.
University of Central Florida.
New River Community College.
Grambling State University.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School.
Ronald E. McNair Discovery Academy.
North Panola High School.
Carver High School.
Agape Christian Academy.
Sparks Middle School.
North Carolina A&T State University.
Stephenson High School.
Brashear High School.
West Orange High School.
Arapahoe High School.
Edison High School.
Liberty Technology Magnet High School.
Hillhouse High School.
Berrendo Middle School.
Purdue University.
South Carolina State University.
Los Angeles Valley College.
Charles F. Brush High School.
University of Southern California.
Georgia Regents University.
Academy of Knowledge Preschool.
Benjamin Banneker High School.
D. H. Conley High School.
East English Village Preparatory Academy.
Paine College.
Georgia Gwinnett College.
John F. Kennedy High School.
Seattle Pacific University.
Reynolds High School.
Indiana State University.
Albemarle High School.
Fern Creek Traditional High School.
Langston Hughes High School.
Marysville Pilchuck High School.
Florida State University.
Miami Carol City High School.
Rogers State University.
Rosemary Anderson High School.
Wisconsin Lutheran High School.
Frederick High School.
Tenaya Middle School.
Bethune-Cookman University.
Pershing Elementary School.
Wayne Community College.
J.B. Martin Middle School.
Southwestern Classical Academy.
Savannah State University.
Harrisburg High School.
Umpqua Community College.
Northern Arizona University.
Texas Southern University.
Tennessee State University.
Winston-Salem State University.
Mojave High School.
Lawrence Central High School.
Franklin High School.
Muskegon Heights High School.
Independence High School.
Madison High School.
Antigo High School.
University of California-Los Angeles.
Jeremiah Burke High School.
Alpine High School.
Townville Elementary School.
Vigor High School.
Linden McKinley STEM Academy.
June Jordan High School for Equity.
Union Middle School.
Mueller Park Junior High School.
West Liberty-Salem High School.
University of Washington.
King City High School.
North Park Elementary School.
North Lake College.
Freeman High School.
Mattoon High School.
Rancho Tehama Elementary School.
Aztec High School.
Wake Forest University.
Italy High School.
NET Charter High School.
Marshall County High School.
Sal Castro Middle School.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Great Mills High School.
Central Michigan University.
Huffman High School.
Frederick Douglass High School.
Forest High School.
Highland High School.
Dixon High School.
Santa Fe High School.
Noblesville West Middle School.
University of North Carolina Charlotte.
STEM School Highlands Ranch.
Edgewood High School.
Palm Beach Central High School.
Providence Career & Technical Academy.
Fairley High School (school bus).
Canyon Springs High School.
Dennis Intermediate School.
Florida International University.
Central Elementary School.
Cascade Middle School.
Davidson High School.
Prairie View A & M University.
Altascocita High School.
Central Academy of Excellence.
Cleveland High School.
Robert E. Lee High School.
Cheyenne South High School.
Grambling State University.
Blountsville Elementary School.
Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus).
Prescott High School.
College of the Mainland.
Wynbrooke Elementary School.
UNC Charlotte.
Riverview Florida (school bus).
Second Chance High School.
Carman-Ainsworth High School.
Williwaw Elementary School.
Monroe Clark Middle School.
Central Catholic High School.
Jeanette High School.
Eastern Hills High School.
DeAnza High School.
Ridgway High School.
Reginald F. Lewis High School.
Saugus High School.
Pleasantville High School.
Waukesha South High School.
Oshkosh High School.
Catholic Academy of New Haven.
Bellaire High School.
North Crowley High School.
McAuliffe Elementary School.
South Oak Cliff High School.
Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Sonora High School.
Western Illinois University.
Oxford High School.
Robb Elementary School.
Steve Reed, kiss my ass. You hid your tweets? What a chicken shit. You did that because you knew they were hideously wrong. And thoughts and prayers? That’s the best you can do? They’re b.s., always have been, always will be. Action is what’s called for here. How about a little of that on your part in between being on your knees showboating and sending fruitless thoughts and prayers. How about advocating for your cherished product to NOT be so easily put into the hands of common people. The ONLY two reasons that gun exists is to fool a man into thinking his peepee is bigger than it is, and to murder shit tons of folks in the shortest time period possible…um, like in a war. How about you send your little darlings to Ukraine where they can do some good.
Frannie Southworth’s list say’s it all. And fuck you Steve Reed and all of the commentors making this about “woke”. It’s about who didn’t awaken on Wednesday.
What a great conversation! Inspirational!!
I am never sure in a debate if someone is calling someone else a moron or a more on! Here it was clear what everyone who is awake and/or woke thinks of everyone else!
So I have to decide if I am rushing out to buy any weaponry that is legal in CT. One for each of my kids and their spouses. One for each of my grand kids. We could be packing at Compo and the Levitt- and I don’t mean just sandwiches. I can see me getting better tables at all my favorite restaurants and great seats at the playhouse without the usual whining and pleading.
Staples could be a lot safer if all the 18 year olds put a little equalizer in their backpacks along with their sandwiches for those unfair moments.
And I can’t wait for someone to give me the finger because I’m driving too slow in the slow lane on the Merritt. Surprise!!
Before you know it we’ll be having quick draw contests and sharpshooter exhibitions to attend. That could be a big draw for Westport!
I have many more thoughts to share but I am going online looking for discount coupons for my AK 21- before they are sold and /or get into the wrong hands!!
My comments would be funny- except for Frankie Southworth’s list and the images I have in my head of the gunshot patients I’ve seen in every hospital I have ever worked in for over half a century. Ask any doctor – I am sure they remember every single gunshot patient they saw.
I can’t imagine seeing the carnage in Robb Elementary School and anyone not wanting to do something about it. Background checks! Waiting periods! Required training courses. Limited magazines! No military style weaponry. And how about requiring a doctor’s note to certify the sanity of the purchaser!
I accepted all forms of insurance including Medicare and Medicaid .
Steve Reed is one of the most honest and caring people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.. this was the illegal act of a deranged individual …
You mean, this was an illegal act of a deranged individual who was enabled by Gregg Abbott, the Texas legislature, local law enforcement and US Congress who refused to renew the assault weapons bans in 2004 and took the cash instead.
Commendations to you Russell on this thread, you have spoken up against the EVILDOERS quite effectively. I’d like to look Tom and Peter squarely in the eye and see if they really can defend their positions after all the slaughter of innocents.
And let’s not forget no fewer than 7 children died in U.S. concentration camps under Trump. Yeah, they WERE concentration camps. Look up the definition. Soldiers also died in the field because of his betrayal of Kurds to his puppet master Putin, yet some defend him and these polices as if they have any positive outcome. I say it again: Deep, deep shame on all of them!
Hi Dave-
I don’t know Steve Ross- so I have no comment on the kind of person he is.
But- I think I can say everyone agrees with you totally that this killing rampage was the act of a deranged individual- who else could do such a horrible thing to so many second, third and fourth grade innocents!!
So let’s focus on that deranged individual for a moment.
If you believe it isn’t the guns that kill but the deranged individual, shouldn’t we at the least license all the people who want to have guns- the same way we license people who want to drive cars (cars are registered and people are licensed). After all we don’t want any blind, incompetent or individuals with medically disqualifying conditions driving cars and creating accidents. I would think we don’t want any deranged individuals getting their hands on guns, shooting guns and creating unimaginable tragedies that seem to happen in our schools with incredible regularity.
There are countries (with as many guns per capita as ours that have less than 10% of the shootings as ours). They simply require a doctor’s note as part of the process to get a gun- (in addition to background checks and waiting periods).
In my opinion people who have guns and then threaten or stalk other people (wives, family members or movie stars) should have their right to carry guns revoked.They are deranged! What do you think?
Somehow when it comes to owning guns we have a political third rail about rights to ownership. And now the current Supreme Court may even over rule the state mandates on gun ownership, gun carry laws and gun licensure regulations that will affect CT, NY, NJ, MA, RI, ME, VT, CA, OR, WA, VA!
So, may I ask what would you propose to do about keeping deranged people from getting guns and going into our schools?
Please think about just two tragedies and forty kids- Sandy Hook and Robb Elementary- could a waiting period, a background check or something as simple as a doctor’s note as part of the process of getting a gun prevented these lost souls.
What do you think? Where do we begin to stop the carnage?
A deranged individual who had easy access to weapons specifically designed and made to kill a lot of people quickly and efficiently, because “honest and caring” people like Steve Reed, and the company he helps run, aggressively glorify violence and war in their marketing to consumers.
Steve Reed obviously has no sense of honor, decency and integrity. If he did, he would use his apparent talent and skills to do something other than marketing and selling weapons used to slaughter school children and others. But I’m sure he makes lots of money.
I served in a Marine Corps Force Recon unit, where I attained the rank of sergeant, and am very familiar with what the weapons Steve Reed markets are capable of, what they are designed and made to do. Yet he markets them to kids, like they’re toys, suggesting we need to “train up” our children in the ways of killing, violence and war. And through his company and the NRA he and others pressure our elected officials to block and rescind any and all common-sense laws and restrictions that might make our country a bit safer and more sane. They have purchased our Congress to do its bidding through money, threats and intimidation. It’s about profit, not the Constitution. And so they feed people lies, distortions, misconceptions and bullshit to rally flag-waving, so-called “patriots” to protect industry profits under the guise of “Constitutional rights.”
Yes, mass shooters are deranged. But people like Steve Reed help give them easy access to the deadly weapons they need to carry out their atrocities. It’s indefensible and disgusting. “Caring” people don’t do shit like that.
You want to stop the carnage? Really?
The cause is clear: when we actually had an assault weapons ban the crime rates with guns were much lower. It spiked back up after it was allowed to expire. Start there, reinstate that law. Give hell to any public official who won’t prioritize fast-tracking that legislation.
Going further. . . did you know in the UK and Australia, Fox News has been banned? They are not oppressive dictatorships. We can do what they have done without violating 1A; screaming fire in a crowded building when there isn’t one isn’t protected, nor is slander. Right now Fox News, NewsMax, et. al., are guilty of doing those things in ways that are outright destroying our nation.
First and foremost we must oppose the forces trying to deny us basic freedom and democracy. They are behind this “guns for everyone everywhere all the time, bigger and bigger all the time” as part of a long term strategy to say, “the government is ineffective, we must control into the hands of the greediest exploiters.” They actually want the chaos and disorder created by the proliferation of military grade weapons.
In other words, for the foreseeable future at least, vote democrat in every election at every level, at least until there is a new, viable right-of-center party that presents an alternative. The repubs are a lost cause now, unredeemable, unsavable.
I realize now Steve’s comment was meant for Dave Ross, but it’s OK, glad I posted it!
Glad you posted as well!!
Everyone has to stay involved and get this carnage to stop! It isn’t that complicated when you realize it is all about selling more guns and more expensive guns versus killing our kids in school, our parents in stores and worshippers in their houses of worship!
This is spot on. What they used to call the Republican Party will not relinquish power and control in any state where have control of the legislature and governorship. Any Democratic Party wins in those states will be declared fraud/stolen/fake/cheat and will be challenged in court or more likely, just over turned. Their new playbook is heads we win, tails we win. It’s going to happen. Watch Pennsylvania. Mastriano has already pledged, upfront, to appoint a secretary of state who will appoint the state electors he selects, not those that would been chosen based on how the voting actually went. As far as they’re concerned, voting is for losers. It’s the counting that counts.
I am so f**king tired of hearing about good guys with guns. A dozen of those “good guys” were too afraid to enter the G/D school to save those BABIES. I’m exasperated by the thoughts and prayer B/S that guys like him espouse…. NO citizen needs a G/D assault weapon, FULL STOP! At the very least we need background checks, and sensible laws regulating the age you are allowed to purchase a gun.Dear God, what is wrong with this country???????
Headline on the nytimes. Evil kills not guns. So why arm evil?
If there is a more cynical business than Daniel Defense and a more cynical head of PR than Steve Reed I’d be surprised. Pushing guns to children… oh my god, what next?
I’d gladly defend a young person’s right to make a mistake and learn from it, but this is a guy who achieved leadership roles at Staples, went on to a top private university and is now pandering to the worst of the worst.
Astonished and appalled.
I had the distinct pleasure of growing up with Steve Reed and can testify that he is one of the highest character people I know. He works for a company that makes a product many of you wish was illegal or more highly regulated. He has a job to do and that’s to protect the company and the brand. If he worked for an airplane manufacturer and there was a crash, he would do his job and manage communication in a manner that best protects the brand. I respect the right of everyone here to be unhappy about what he did, but I ask you try and separate the man from his job. Also, ask yourself, if he worked for you, would you want him to act in your best interest? I also have to say, this feels a little like doxing and I hope we can all rise above that type behavior.
Judas, Putin and Hitler were all doing their job and protecting their brand. Reed’s job includes promoting the manufacturing and distribution of weapons of mass destruction to everyday citizens. It’s a long fall from the pedestal to the floor.
Sorry, Chris. No one is forcing him to market an assault weapon to people, and to do so in a way that targets impressionable young people.
High character is saying, “I am sorry. I can no longer do this job.”
And comparing multiple massacres with a weapon designed to kill with an airplane crash is fatuous. You know better than that.
Doug, we can agree to disagree. I just find it sad that in the wake of this tragedy, you have chosen to dox an incredibly talented and principled person from Westport (who had nothing to do with the event) rather than focusing on the actual event and the victims involved. I get that you’re a journalist and you have a job to do, and you know I have tremendous respect for you, but this time, I think you stooped a bit too low. Just my opinion
Understood, Chris (if this is aimed at me — I’m Dan). I know Steve has many friends and admirers. He’s obviously a very talented and well respected professional.
I feel that I AM focusing on the event and the victims. Perhaps this might not have happened had Daniel Defense not marketed its assault weapons the way it has. So yes, we will agree to disagree on this important aspect of American society.
A baby holding an assault riffle is the lowest of low marketing.