I'm the guy who writes about pop culture. It's been my MO for over a decade. I'll write about Chewbacca one day, and interview a band the next. That's me. I'm not feeling it today though. I was planning to recap the Golden Globes telecast that aired last night. But, why bother? It's everywhere. Stories on the Globes are flooding the Internet today and I doubt you need another blogger praising Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Truth be told - they were awesome, but I'm not doing it today.
It's a month today since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, and it's all I'm thinking about. Maybe it's because it's I'm still a relatively new parent, or - you know - because it was and is so terribly, terrible horrible. So I'm not going to Globe it today, I'm going to focus on a local group who, like all of us, have had enough with senseless gun violence. We know the story about Dec. 14. My journalism professors would tell me to rehash it here as background, but I won't. it's been embedded in our minds: 20 children. Six adults. We're reminded by this heinous incident with follow-up stories, reports of possible copy cats thwarted, or other gun violence that has occurred throughout the United States. I just read yesterday someone was shot in a theater during a screening of Les Miserables. LES MISERABLES? Really? Thanks. Next time I see a Pixar flick, remind me to request all patrons get a TSA pat-down.
Anyway, within 48 hours of the Newtown massacre, a group of moms from nearby Connecticut towns came together and formed what is now known as The E.N.O.U.G.H Campaign. E.N.O.U.G.H. stands for Empowering Non-Violent Opposition to Unnecessary Guns in Homes by the way...
Like other groups that have no doubt grown out of the tragedy - they deserve their place in print somewhere and hopefully are getting it - the concerned parents banded to advocate for stricter gun legislation. They're lobbying for stricter gun-control laws, gun-violence education and community awareness. Their hope is another mass shooting like this won't happen again if they drive their point over and over again. The group will film a PSA in Manhattan tomorrow, and on Valentine's Day (to display how their hearts are broken), they'll "March for Change in Hartford, CT, which is less than 50 miles away from Newtown.
"The March for Change will send a strong message to our lawmakers that American families and concerned citizens everywhere have had enough of the gun violence in our communities. I urge people to join us and share our concerns together. Use the 'Power of Five': bring yourself and four friends. We can't let another massacre happen again. We need to make a change, and the time is now," Shira Goodman, The ENOUGH Campaign, Executive Team Volunteer said.
Adding to that, its Executive Director Erin Combs said, "We cannot sit idly by and watch children in Anytown, U.S.A. be killed by gun violence. This is not a political issue. It's not a Democrat, Republican, or Second Amendment issue. This is an American issue."
The group have already been featured on The Today Show and CNN. The more coverage they get, the more their message gets across. That's why this pop blogger took a break from it all today.