A Safe Place with Luis Aponte Luis Aponte

Happy Valentines Day. This is episode 13 and today is a special day. It’s more than just a day in which we run out at the last minute to buy flowers, a card, and a gourmet box of chocolates for that special person in our lives. It is also a day of reflection. 

Today, for many people in South Florida, Valentine’s Day 2024 is the 6th anniversary of the Parkland mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. On this day, 6 years ago, while teenagers were exchanging Valentine’s Day cards and giving flowers to their loved ones, a 19-year old former student arrived at the school in an Uber around 2:19 PM, armed with a legally-purchased AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. According to reports, the attack lasted less than four minutes, leaving 17 dead and 17 injured.

One incredible person and non-profit organization that is making a great difference to help prevent adverse outcomes like suicide and violence in schools is Mr. Scott LoMurray. He is the CEO of Sources of Strength – an organization that provides evidence-based training for youth and adults to promote mental health and prevent adverse outcomes like suicide, violence, bullying, and substance misuse.

This is podcast #12 and I am thrilled to welcome back School Emergency Management Expert, Trauma Informed Practices Consultant, former Reserve Law Enforcement Officer, and children's book author, Claire Marie!

In today's episode, Claire educates us how bringing community partners together has been critical to keeping kids and parents trauma-informed, prepared, and calm during emergencies and other unexpected events.

I hope you enjoy this episode and find it helpful. Share it with anyone you know who has children in school and make sure to check out Claire Marie's books, Sammy the Sasquatch: Welcome to Crittertopia (In English & Spanish!) and Sammy the Sasquatch: Adventures in Safety.

I was privileged to interview Mr. Will Griffin, Director of Communications at DoDEA. He graciously accepted my invitation to answer a few questions related why school shootings never happen on military bases.  
I hope you find this helpful and inspiring.

On July 1st, 2023, Florida House Bill (HB) 543 went into effect. This is a law signed by Florida governor and U.S. presidential candidate, Ron Desantis which allows Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a government-issued permit. In other words, you no longer have to prove competency that you know how to use a firearm safely.

The real questions are these: 
1. Does this law make the public safer, or does it place innocent lives in more danger?

2. Now that anyone can carry a concealed weapon with no required training in Florida and 25 other states, does that support law enforcement to protect the public, or does it make their job that much more difficult?

3. Finally, does Ron Desantis’ House Bill (HB) 543 really strengthen 2nd Amendment rights, or is it potentially giving responsible gun owners a bad name?

You decide. Please sign and share my petition on Change.org/OneCentTax. This is a petition to support funding for a comprehensive, independent, and nonpartisan scholarly study on school gun violence with a $.01 excise tax on every bullet sold to civilians for only one year.

#ASafePlaceBook #SchoolShootings #GunViolence #Florida #GunLaws #PermitlessCarry #RonDesantis #ResponsibleGunOwnership #CurrentEvents

In today's episode, I share with you some free gun locks I was able to get from my local public library . Gun locks are an easy way in which we can all help save lives by keeping them out of the hands of minors and anyone contemplating suicide. This free program was made possible through the city of Alexandria, Virginia's gun lock program and other suicide prevention efforts.

Public libraries give out free COVID tests, masks, Band-Aids, voting registrations, and tax forms. Why not gun locks too, right? Especially when it is in the interest of enhancing public safety.

I hope you find this video helpful. Please share this with anyone you think may benefit from it. Here are the related links I promised you:

Sources:
Ethan's Law: www.songstrong.org/ethans-law/

Lock & Talk statewide suicide prevention initiative: www.lockandtalk.org/

Suicide Prevention Alliance of Northern (SPAN) Virginia: www.suicidepreventionnva.org/

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988lifeline.org/

Today's episode focuses on the recent Covenant School mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee and the misinformation campaign focusing on the shooter's transgender identity, instead of focusing on how he legally came into possession of the real causes of the shooting and how he obtained an AR-15 military-style rifle, a 9 mm Kel-Tec SUB2000 pistol caliber carbine, and a 9 mm Smith and Wesson M&P Shield EZ 2.0 handgun .

Always demand proof and consider the source whenever the Wizards of Oz make outlandish claims that are not verified. If you need help, ask your local public librarian for credible sources.  Make sure to sign and share my petition to petition on www.Change.org/OneCentTax to create a comprehensive, independent, and non-partisan scholarly study to prevent future acts of gun violence in schools. 
 
Your support is always greatly appreciated. Together, we can transform schools into a safe place for children and educators without politics. This is about Americans coming together to save lives. We are one nation!