it was a Friday morning exactly six months ago today when Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. — a searing moment in the history of this country when it comes to gun violence.
Since that time, another 5,000 people in America have died from gun shootings, but legislation to combat the use of guns has been minimal, with some states (Colorado, Maryland) tightening access to guns, and others (Arkansas and Mississippi) easing restrictions.
Everyone knows that gun control has gone nowhere in Washington D.C., where a Senate vote in April to expand background checks got a majority of votes, but not the 60 required (on virtually every vote now) to pass legislation on Capitol Hill.
Two weeks ago, the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America held a news conference in Tampa. Many if not most of the members of that group have never been involved in political advocacy, and they insist they're not going to back down. Can they make a difference where others have not?
The group Mayors Against Illegal Guns will begin a 25-mile bus tour starting today to keep the focus on gun regulations
Some say that Rick Kriseman's campaign for mayor in St.Petersburg has been a bit too sleepy. So yesterday he stepped up and held a news conference at City Hall, where he gave his prescriptions on what should happen if the Lens design goes down to defeat at the end of this summer (and he's elected mayor).
Marco Rubio predicted yesterday that President Obama himself will cancel his signature domestic achievement, the Affordable Care Act. That ain't happening, but there does appear to be a method behind the GOP's madness to continue calling for 'ObamaCare' to disappear.
And in our special Food Issue, please read my story on the discrepancies with the Farm Bill and how a major food bank in Tampa services those dealing with food insecurity.