The Florida shooting just got personal for us, too

[DFW]

Two an a half years ago, we were at the wedding of the daughter of a good friend of ours. She is from New England, but went to live with her husband in southern Florida. She tutors high school students. She was sequestered in a lockdown in the beginning, but later met the frantic parents of one of the students. They searched and searched, and finally got the news that their daughter was only identifiable by her clothes. Assault rifles can do that to a human head with a few well-placed rounds.

Our friends' daughter and her husband want to start a family. They are now seriously asking themselves if they are in the right place at the right time to do that. After last year's shooting at the FLL airport and now this, I'd be lying if I tell them they have nothing to fear.

They have everything to fear. In Florida, United States of America. Now, they have seen it up close in all its bloody glory.

Republicans and their NRA financiers should pray over that and concentrate a few thoughts on that for a while. But they won't.

The words of Aaron Sorkin's Will McAvoy ring in my ears: "America is not the greatest country in the world any more."

[MANative]

1. ...

The heartbreak is never-ending.

[MissB]

2. I have only tears.

[DFW]

3. Both of my daughters are friends of our friends' daughter

They both came to, and spoke at her wedding.

One of our daughters is now pregnant with our first grandchild. This child will be born and brought up here in Europe. I know our young friends in Florida are keenly aware of this, even though they have no connections or language skills that could facilitate a move to another country. Still, it must be hard for them to contemplate staying where they are after all this.

[world wide wally]

4. And even this won't mean more than campaign money to NRA Republicans

[renate]

5. that's horrifying... I can't begin to imagine those parents' pain

There just aren't words for how awful it is that their daughter is dead and how tragic it is that they will have to live until the day of their own deaths with the knowledge of how she died.

[DFW]

6. I know. I thought of our own two daughters, who attended high school in the USA for a while

The younger one attended a boarding school in Hawaii, so she was probably not in any danger, but the elder one attended a public high school in Dallas, and she said there were a few pretty weird kids in her class. With Texas's attitude toward firearms (although this was nearly 20 years ago), I'd think twice about sending a child of mine there now.

[DFW]

7. Here is a piece on the girl's mother. She lets Trump have it, on camera

Her daughter's name was Alyssa. She was 14.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/02/watch-mother-slain-florida-student-screams-trump-live-camera-cnns-brooke-baldwin-falls-apart/

[RandomAccess]

9. WOW. Really, really powerful.

I'm really sorry for all the pain on the part of your family and the Florida families.

[mcar]

10. I saw her on CNN

The heartbreak is so raw and powerful. I am so sorry for her loss and for all those beautiful lives cut short.

[Corgigal]

8. I'm so sorry.

I've been telling my daughter and her husband, who also live in Florida and want to start a family. Get out of that state. Maybe the west coast, I don't know.

I just don't want a grandchild there. We had 2 kids in Florida, moved out by the time was oldest was 4. It hasn't gotten any better. I know it's hard to move, find a new job but I always think what I believe the New York A.G. said, it's going to matter what state you live in.