I'm torn about the Newtown crime scene pictures and the controversy over

[flamin lib]

whether to release them to the public.

My wife regularly finds me dissolved in tears after watching/reading/hearing the Newtown parents struggle to find meaning in their loss.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" is the question she asks.

Because I need to maintain the outrage. I NEED to stay angry, to stay motivated and write my crazy ass right wing legislators reminding them that I'm mad as hell and won't go away. This ain't over.

If those pictures were made public, the images of what a gun designed solely for offensive use against a military target does to children, would it make other people as angry as I am? Would it rob the NRA and gun lobby of their talking points or would it feed into the "exploiting a tragedy" meme? What of the families reliving the worst day of their lives?

I just don't know . . .

[cali]

1. I do. Unless you have the OK of the parents and family of a child, no way should it be

made public.

Seriously, is your "need" to stay outraged, even in close proximity to the potential trauma of a sibling who comes across one of those photos?

[Ohio Joe]

2. The famlies don't want it... I'm good with that - nt

[lunatica]

3. There is no need to see photos in order to maintain outrage

And it's perfectly acceptable to dissolve into tears.

[Blue_Tires]

10. Thankfully, most of the crazy fringe NRA/right wing bloggers got the memo

and quietly turned down the wick on their "Newtown was a Hollywood-engineered hoax so Obama would have his justification and public approval to snatch guns" -theories...

Had those kept momentum (remember they've been pimping some variation of that theory ever since Gabby Giffords), all it would've taken was one pandering, attention-whoring congresscritter to start an "investigation" and make the tragedy a million times worse..

[pacalo]

4. The families of Sandy Hook don't want the pictures released to the public.

From an e-mail I received:

June 5, 2013

Early this morning, as we eagerly waited in the halls of the State Capitol after three exhausting days of meetings with legislators, the Connecticut General Assembly voted to keep private the crime scene information from the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, which so tragically rocked our community and our nation last year. This is a victory for our families, for families across our state affected by violent tragedy and for you.

We were motivated by our personal pain and our desire to protect the memory of our loved ones, knowing that the only people wanting to reveal this awful crime scene information were seeking political advantage or to “prove” the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax. We studied up on the law and other precedents. Then we went from office to office, meeting with our lawmakers and sharing our story. No good purpose could be served by making those horrific photos and the 911 audio accessible.

What should have taken hours to resolve, took days. In those moments we felt discouraged, frustrated, or simply exhausted, we took encouragement from people across America signing our petition on Change.org. We believe that it made a real difference in Hartford when the legislature finally voted late last night.

We want to thank all those who signed and shared our petition. Your support and engagement helped to inspire us, replenish our flagging energy and build momentum for our cause. We are deeply grateful and hope that we can work together to prevent tragedies like the one that rocked our town from ever occurring again.

Thank you,

Families of Sandy Hook Elementary

[WestStar]

5. Gen. Eisenhower famously dragged the local civilians into and had the press document

the atrocities of the German death camps so that the world would never forget.

To this day nobody denies the HOLOCAUST and Germany remains a shadow of it's former self. The outrage is palpable still.

Unless that's not true.

[HappyMe]

6. The families of the victims DO NOT want

those pictures out there.

What they want trumps everything else.

[Orrex]

11. ^^That.

[lapislzi]

7. I understand how you feel.

And I don't disagree. But I don't think the Newtown parents are there yet. They may never be, except for Noah's mom--and that wasn't public. It was private and for the governor only. And it worked. It was a very brave and heartwrenching thing to expose her tiny son's shattered body to a stranger.

Be assured, as I am, that the parents and Sandy Hook Promise are very motivated to keep going. I know this because one is sitting ten feet away from me as I type this. We were just discussing the meeting he will have tomorrow with Speaker Boehner and Rep. Cantor (I don't think he's going to give Cantor a wedgie as I advised). Topic for discussion? "What's it going to take, Mr. Speaker?" My friend was a man to speak truth to power before the tragedy. Imagine what he's like now.

Be strong. Keep writing the letters. Keep shaming the legislators.

The grasping meat grinder that is the media does NOT need the images--at least not now. But the legislators do.

And do not assume that all solutions will be legislative. It is up to us, the good people of earth, to lead by example every day, and to change hearts and minds one at a time.

No one said this would be easy.

Peace to you.

[Gin]

8. Bush wouldn't let the caskets be photographed coming home...he knew the impact of the image

Its only been 6 months.....once they realize nothing is going to change.....some strong, brave family will show the reality of these guns.....right now.....its too hurtful.

[Wait Wut]

9. Use your imagination.

Look at the pictures of those children smiling.

Now, imagine they aren't there anymore. No more smiles. No hugs. No laughter or dogs chasing balls.

Gone.

That's enough to feed my heartbreak. I don't feel outrage. Heartbreak is enough to keep me motivated.