By Joel A. Harrison, PhD, MPH

January 2, 2013 (San Diego)--Since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut the news and internet has been abuzz with some variant of “Freedom vs Gun Control,” as if no reasonable rational alternative exists beyond this absolute dichotomy. In the mix is always the 2nd Amendment: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The 2nd Amendment has been interpreted both as a right to individual self-defense and, by some, as a check on government, i.e. a right to use force to overthrow a “tyrannical” government.

Education professionals and a Granite Hills shooting survivor offer advice for parents and students

By Miriam Raftery (Photo from Facebook memorial page)

December 14, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – News of today’s shooting at Sandy Hill Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 26 people including 20 children before taking his own life, has triggered strong reactions here in San Diego County, a region that has suffered through numerous school shootings.

“Personally I am very shocked and saddened…I have shed tears,” Fran Zumwalt, a teacher wounded in the 2001 Granite Hills High School shootings, told ECM.  “Words cannot express the sorrow I feel for those who lost loved ones today. No parents should ever lose a child.  I hope all of the citizens of Connecticut can feel the prayers of all of us—for their children, their families and their communities.”