Domestic Terrorism Hits Connecticut Elementary School

We offer this white space surrounded by black border as a symbol of death that visited 20 innocent school children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, USA, on December 14, 2012

Graphics (Toronto: Dec. 14, 2012) © Jerome D'Costa

After shooting his mother dead at home, 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, reports the Associated Press. He entered two classrooms in the school and shot them dead. More than 600 children, ranging from kindergarten to Grade 4, attend this school, which is located in one of the wealthiest counties in the USA.

President Barack Obama expressed his grave sadness and called for action against such inhuman actions. 

The USA is notorious for easy availability of all kinds of guns in the name of freedom and individual rights. As a result, besides legitimate owners, many criminals, mentally-imbalanced persons and domestic terrorists can acquire arms under the existing liberal gun laws. 

The US politicians of different parties need to rise up and break the shackle of numbness and take a bold action against easy availability of arms in the country. When one or more persons kill others, it is domestic terrorism bringing in a lot of bleeding of hearts. It must be tackled head on. This violent culture must be stopped for the greater good of the Americans. There was a time in the long past when Americans needed to bear arms for expanding their frontier. Those days are over. In the new situation now, if the politicians still fail to rein in the gun culture, shame on them. They will be failing badly in their responsibility of saving American lives in face of domestic terrorism. We do hope that the American public also will demand of their politicians to make their country safe from senseless gun violence.

We offer our sincere anguish and condolence to families of the victims -- both school children and adults. May their souls rest in peace.