Sadly, this poem became obsolete as soon as I completed it.

 

National Rifle Association

 

1871, The National Rifle Association is founded

Its focus is marksmanship, hunting, and conservation

 

1975, the NRA turns its attention to politics

Its lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action is created

 

June 12, 1976: California State University, Fullerton

37 year old custodian

opens fire in the campus library

7 dead, 2 wounded

 

1976, the NRA creates its Political Action Committee

The Political Victory Fund, to influence our elections

 

Jan 29, 1979: San Diego, Calif, Grover Cleveland Elementary

16 year old woman

opens fire from her home, across the street

2 dead, 9 wounded

 

When asked why she did it, the woman responds, “I don’t like Mondays. This livens up the day”

 

July 28, 1979: “I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats

reaches number 1

on the UK Singles Charts

The song is based on the Grover Cleveland Elementary shooting

 

1980, NRA endorses a presidential candidate for the first time

throwing their money behind Ronald Reagan

 

January 21, 1985: Goddard, Kansas

14 year old boy

opens fire at Goddard Junior High School

1 Dead, 3 Wounded

 

October 18, 1985: Detroit, Michigan, Murray-Wright High School

4 teenagers

open fire during halftime of homecoming football game

6 Wounded

 

December 5, 1986: Lewistown, Montana, Fergus High School

14 year old boy

opens fire on vice-principal and classmates

1 Dead, 3 Wounded

 

Sept 26, 1988: Greenwood, South Carolina, Oakland Elementary

19 year old man

opens fire in school cafeteria

2 Dead, 8 Wounded

 

Massacre (mas’ e ker) n. 1. the indiscriminate, merciless killing of a number of human beings

SYN. SLAUGHTER

 

January 17, 1989: Stockton, California, Cleveland School

24 year old man

opens fire on elementary school playground

6 Dead, 32 Wounded

 

November 1, 1991: Iowa City, Iowa, University of Iowa

28 year old man

opens fire on theoretical space plasma physics research group

6 Dead, 1 Wounded

 

May 1, 1992: Olivehurst, California, LindhurstHigh School

20 year old man

opens fire and holds over 80 students hostage

4 Dead, 10 Wounded

 

1992, following election of Bill Clinton

600,000 new members join the NRA

 

Dec 14, 1992: Great Barrington, Mass., Simon’s Rock College

18 year old man

opens fire, later claiming insanity

2 Dead, 4 Wounded

 

1995, Ted Nugent is elected

to NRA Board of Directors

 

1995, NRA-ILA Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre refers to ATF agents

as jack-booted government thugs. Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush resigns from NRA

 

February 2, 1996: Moses Lake, Wash., Frontier Middle School

14 year old boy

opens fire on his algebra class

3 Dead, 1 Wounded

 

The United States makes up 5% of the world’s population

while owning 50% of the world’s (civilian-owned) guns

 

October 1, 1997: Pearl, Mississippi, Pearl High School

16 year old boy

opens fire on his ex-girlfriend and other students

3 Dead, 7 Wounded

 

December 1, 1997: West Paducah, Kentucky, Heath High School

14 year old boy

opens fire on a prayer circle

3 Dead, 5 Wounded

 

The FBI uses the anagram AS/MCI

when referring to Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Incidents

 

March 24, 1998: Craighead County, Ark., Westside Middle School

13 year old boy and 11 year old boy

open fire after setting off a fire alarm and emptying school

5 Dead, 10 Wounded

 

May 21, 1998: Springfield, Oregon, Thurston High School

15 year old boy

opens fire in school cafeteria

4 Dead, 23 Wounded

 

April 20, 1999: Littleton, Colorado, Columbine High School

18 year old boy and 17 year old boy

open fire on school after spending their morning bowling

15 Dead, 21 Wounded

 

2000, On February 29, the youngest school shooter ever, Dedrick Owens, age 6

shoots and kills a classmate at Buell Elementary school in Flint, Michigan

 

“From my cold, dead hands!”

–Charlton Heston, NRA President (2000)

 

March 5, 2001: Santee, California, SantanaHigh School

15 year old boy

opens fire in a school bathroom

2 Dead, 13 Wounded

 

March 21, 2005: Red Lake, Minn., Red Lake Senior High School

16 year old boy

opens fire on Indian Reservation and then high school

7 Dead 7 Wounded

 

2005, George W. Bush signs the NRA’s Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act bill into law Protects gun manufacturers from being held liable for crimes committed with their weapons

 

April 16, 2007: Blacksburg, Virginia, Virginia Tech

23 year old man

opens fire in two separate attacks on campus

33 Dead, 17 Wounded

 

February 14, 2008: DeKalb, Illinois Northern Illinois University

27 year old man

opens fire on university lecture hall

6 Dead, 21 Wounded

 

2008, NRA spends $40 million on U.S. elections

 

In 2012, 88 percent of Republicans and 11 percent of Democrats in Congress had received an NRA PAC contribution at some point in their career.

 

February 27, 2012: Chardon, Ohio, ChardonHigh School

17 year old man

opens fire in school cafeteria

3 Dead, 3 Wounded

 

April 2, 2012: Oakland, California, OikosUniversity

43 year old man

opens fire on classroom, after ordering kids to line up against wall

7 Dead, 3 Wounded

 

2012, NRA’s Political Victory Fund super PAC spends $11.2 million on 2012 U.S. elections

 

December 14, 2012: Newtown, Conn., Sandy Hook Elementary

20 year old man

opens fire on school, all victims are shot between 3 and 11 times

27 Dead, 2 Wounded

 

2012, NRA claims 100,000 new members

following the Sandy Hook shootings

 

June 7, 2013: Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica College

23 year old man

opens fire on campus library

6 Dead, 4 Wounded

 

October 21, 2013: Sparks, Nevada, Sparks Middle School

12 year old boy

opens fire on school basketball courts

2 Dead, 2 Wounded

 

2014, NRA claims 5 million dues paying members

 

October 24, 2014: Marysville, Wash, Marysville Pilchuck High

15 year old boy

opens fire on school cafeteria

5 Dead, 1 Wounded

 

“Candidates who support gun control do so at their political peril.”

–Chris W. Cox, chairman of the NRA-PVF (November, 2014)

 

“The National Rifle Association would like to congratulate pro-Second Amendment candidates across the country who won significant victories in their respective states and districts. The NRA scored impressive wins in hotly contested races and played a pivotal role in increasing pro-gun majorities in both chambers of Congress.”

–Posted on www.nraila.org, November 5, 2014

 

November 20, 2014: Tallahassee, Florida, Florida State University

31 year old man

opens fire on campus library

1 Dead, 3 Wounded