March Against Gun Violence

They sat in the dark
that afternoon
as the chaos unfolded;
The killing spree.

Gun laws need to change.

"No more silence,
end gun violence."

"No more hate;
we just want to graduate."

It's the voice of a new generation.

We need action.
We need change.

This generation will be the change.

© Catherine Giordano, 2017

The March for Our Lives brought a million people to Washington DC and hundreds of thousands showed up to marches all over the country and the world. In Orlando, as many as 10,000 people marched at Lake Eola. 

It's been a while since a did a News Print Poem, but the eloquence and courage of these young people amaze me, and I just had to write a tribute to them.  

Sikh Killings

This picture is from http://revelandriot.com

Another senseless shooting.
Another tragic loss of life.
Another violent hate-filled attack
in America.

An attack on the very essence,

the very definition,
of the United States
of America.

Sikhs, work for the well-being

of our nation,
Sikhs, part of the mosaic
of America.

An attack on a Sikh temple,

it is part of the trend
of violence and extremism
in America.

Too many guns,

Too many out-of-control people
We must have gun control
in America.

How many more will die in America for the sake of the profits of the gun industry?

 © 2012 Catherine Giordano

Please share by tweeting, "liking" on facebook, and "+1 ing" on google circles.

Please ""follow" so you don't miss any of my reviews.

Terror Unfolds in Colorado

All hell breaks loose

at a midnight screening

of the latest Batman movie.

“The Dark Knight Rises.”

 

A young man slips into a packed theater,

dressed in dark head-to-toe body armor,

helmet, gas mask, vest, and throat guard,

armed with a combat arsenal.

He sprays the theater with gunfire,

calmly shooting people,

seemingly at random,

men, women, and children.

The movie continues to run,

the gunman in front of the screen.

A smoky, surrealistic scene.

Seventy people shot.

The largest mass shooting,

the largest number of people hit by gunfire

in American criminal history,

victims bloodied, victims killed.

An unbearably savage event.

 

The Columbine killings in a high school, the Virginia Tech killings in a college, the Gabriel Giffords killings in a supermarket parking lot, and now these killings in a movie theater.   How many more killing sprees before we institute more restrictive gun control laws?

© 2012 Catherine Giordano 



This picture came from  http://images5.fanpop.com

Gaps and Guns

Florida purges voters from the voter rolls;
Florida tries to ensure prayer in public school;
Florida drug-tests welfare recipients;
Florida doesn’t screen applicants for gun-carry permits.

Florida wants to be gun-owner friendly,

but he gaps in the system must be fixed,

for the integrity of the system,
for the safety of the residents.

This is not a gun-control issue.

It’s a common sense issue.
It’s a public safety issue.
It’s a bureaucratic mess.

Streamline the system!
The gaps and loopholes
are simply too dangerous,
too dangerous to ignore.

As I’ve said before, there is always time and money for grandstanding, but never enough time or money to address serious issues, such as the state granting gun-carry permits to criminals and the mentally ill because they don’t do a complete background check .

 

© 2012 Catherine Giordano

This picture is from http://gunholsters.com