Gun Violence Prevention Letter to CT and US-All/ PLANS for Safety
well,
As the mother of teenager Kaelan Paton who died trying to rescue a friend against great
odds on June 16th, 2009, I ask that all adults, parents, teenagers and children and
community and governmental leaders Voluntarily take strong measures to promote safety
and non-violence at all levels.
The PLANS (People Living and Learning with Agreements and Networking through Schools
and Societal Laws and Practices) we live by and create impact everyone.
Regarding availability of guns, the stricter measures should prevail since many countries do
not allow for private gun ownership, and certainly not the kind of assault rifles which fire
many rounds.
In addition to new laws promoting more comprehensive background checks for mental
health and domestic violence issues that could be linked to inappropriate gun ownership,
there should be a comprehensive website for all citizens in the country to readily access for
understanding human development of young children and ongoing through the decades.
Too often parents and other adults are abusive toward children or others in their care--the
handicapped, elders, and or the infirmed or even other family members--in the name of
discipline or punishments and adhering to strict guidelines of their own making.
All youth should be required to have bi-annual exams for health, safety and living
conditions which could include a check to see that guns are properly stored. I would be
grateful to work with others to promote safety in many 'early intervention' ways to make
certain all youth are properly supervised, similar to what is required by every state when
divorces or custody plans are put in place legally.
All adults and parents need to understand the responsibilities of being a parent for youth
under age 18 and in coordination with schools, sports or camp programs as well as private
individuals caring for their own children or others. We already have the more stringent laws
regarding driving and not serving alcohol to minors.
People need to know they do not have permission to give other people's children( or even
their own if not supervised and approved by local guidelines) to do dangerous activities,
such as the one that claimed our 16-year-old when he was at the Housatonic River near the
raging Falls in Falls Village CT on June 16th, 2009 with a group of high school friends. All
people need to be willing to report dangerous plans or situations to their schools, police, fire
department and certainly other parents without feeling they are overstepping their roles.
Women and children particularly need encouragement to let others know when they are
being bullied, mistreated, isolated socially and physically, threatened with separation from
their children or support people and deprived of autonomy.
Let US-All review http://www.domesticviolenceabuseandchildcustody.com/ for the most
current information of the underground war against protective mothers who often lose
access to their children when disclosing abuse. A thousand mothers are killed each year,
and another 500 women by their so-called 'partners or spouses'. About 200 children are
also killed by men in their mothers life or their own fathers. Almost half of the police calls
are for family-based violence which too often prove fatal for not only the women and
children, and responding officers, but similary to Adam Lanza, result also in the man killing himself as well. The idea that the man has 'ultimate control' over "his" wife, woman,
children, home and assets needs serious review by the media.
The bonus materials on http://www.shouldistayorshouldigo.net/ could help all men, and
yes, woman and parents consider whether they are trying to have power over others versus
power with others. The information on http://www.lundybancroft.com/ should be required
for all school and community leaders as well as read by all parents and adults, as well as
youth to gain life-saving knowledge and insights into breaking cycles of violence and control
dynamics in homes, schools, workplaces and society.
Our heroic son Kaelan Paton had a few moments to try to do all he could after saving two
friends when he was on shore. Then he made a desperate attempt to reach another friend
who could only be saved from someone coming down 80' on a rope from above, which
thankfully occurred by rescuer Skip Kosciusko, resulting in his friend's rescue.
While we debate these difficult issues of safety and gun control, let us each try to live with a
greater appreciation for the values of treating others with kindness, courage and love as
well as making plans for all people to work toward respectful and responsible
communication and accountablitiy for those in our care and in our communities.
-Catherine Palmer Paton, Falls Village CT, thinkingkapp@gmail.com, 860-626-5199
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