An attempt to honor the victims of last week's school shooting in Newtown, CT, has stirred a debate about whether the gunman and his mother should also be remembered.
To honor the memory of the 26 victims who lost their lives in the shootings, Governor Lincoln Chafee yesterday called for a statewide moment of silence at 9:30 am this morning and has asked that buildings, which have the ability, ring bells 26 times during that moment in honor the victims.
The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island recommends churches ring the bells 28 times, which would include a ring each for the shooter, Adam Lanza, and his mother, Nancy.
According to police, Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother in their home before going to Sandy Hook Elementary School and killing 26 people, including 20 children.
[Read the latest coverage of the Newtown school shooting on Newtown CT Patch here.]
"We think praying for all souls best reflects Christ’s message of forgiveness and love for all, and that we should especially pray for those souls who may need our prayers the most," said Ruth Meteer, Communications Director for the Diocese.
| Two Bristol churches are hosting prayer vigils tonight in memory of Newtown, CT. Find more information here. |
Patch reader Lisa De Chambeau said a ring should be included for his mother.
"Absolutely" she was a victim as well, said Chambeau on the Middletown Patch Facebook page. "We need to remember that when it comes to mental illness and sociopathic behaviors, it's not something the parents could have fixed or prevented if only they had been better parents."
Rich McDermott disagreed.
"No, the bells shouldn't ring for the mother," he wrote on Facebook. "It's because of her lack of attention to her son's mental illness, as well as owning these guns, that she's dead."
What do you think? Should bells ring 26, 27 or 28 times?
Local Bargain Jerk
9:13 am on Friday, December 21, 2012
Ring it 26 times and I will stand in profound silence, praying.
Ring it 27 times, in memory of a woman who was an enabler and who put the guns in the hands of the killer, and I'll silently debate whether I should pray or not for her soul. I'll probably end up praying.
Ring it 28 times, in consideration of a 20 year old monster who made a conscious, premeditated, adult decision to murder innocent children and their teachers? No! What's wrong with you?
If you ring it 28 times, Ruth, you might as well ring it 29 in remembrance of all the souls and spirits you'll crush when your tolling hits 28.
Shame on you.
Nancy L. Richard
10:18 am on Friday, December 21, 2012
No way should we be remembering a woman who enabled her deficient son to commit these horrible atrocities. She knowingly collected automatic weaponry in an insane desire for what?........destructive power. She paid the ultimate price, but those children were innocent victims of her obsession and her unwillingness to see the monster she created. How many times must we turn the other cheek?