Sandy Hook survivor Mary Ann Jacobs was working in the school library in 2012. On Wednesday, she stood on the steps of the State Capitol and asked, "How can we still be having the same conversations about access to guns after ten years?"
This hour, we hear directly from three Connecticut teachers about how they are responding to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Dr. David Bosso, a social studies teacher in Berlin and 2012 Teacher of the Year, says "it's like we're living in a nightmare reinforced or compounded by the fact that we know things can be done, and they're not."
Bosso began teaching in 1998, the fall before the shooting at Columbine High School, and says that tragic event caused him to reflect on his career. Since then, he stresses that "there have been hundreds of shootings that have taken place [in] institutions of education... and of course, that doesn't count grocery stores and places of worship. So the fact that we have really yet to move the needle on this and the fact that this conversation happens again and again, is a stain on our society and we have to do something about it, because otherwise what are we doing?"
We also hear from kindergarten teacher Lisa Cordova, and recently-retired, award-winning performing arts and music teacher Sheena Graham. On the topic of gun control, Graham says, "I'm so proud of Connecticut for putting in place the legislation it has." She notes, "It's never any one person's issue, or any one state's issue, or one city or town. This belongs to all of us."
Plus, Ryan Busse wrote Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America, describing his decision to leave his post as a firearms manufacturing executive in 2020, and the politics that drove him out. He answers your questions about the influence of political lobbies like the NRA.
GUESTS:
- Lisa Cordova: Kindergarten Teacher, Glastonbury-East Hartford Elementary Magnet School; President, CREC Education Association
- Dr. David Bosso: Social Studies Teacher, Berlin Public Schools; 2012 Teacher of the Year
- Sheena Graham: Retired Performing Arts Teacher, Bridgeport Public Schools; 2019 Teacher of the Year
- Ryan Busse: Former Firearms Executive; Author, Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America; Senior Policy Advisor, Giffords
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