The Valentine’s Day (and Ash Wednesday) massacre in a Parkland, Florida, high school was one of 18 shootings at American schools this year, and one of eight in which the shooter injured or killed other people. And it’s only February.

The Gun Violence Archive reports 30 nationwide mass shooting incidents – where four or more people have been shot. And it’s only February

Most voters want tougher gun control laws; the powerful National Rifle Association does not. The House of Representatives passed a bill loosening gun regulations and allowing concealed-weapons-permit holders to legally travel to other states, a top priority of the NRA.

Donald Trump told a cheering crowd at last year’s annual NRA convention: “You came through for me, and I am going to come through for you.”

In Maine? Gov. LePage in 2016 “opposed background checks because the NRA told him to,” while in 2017, he supported them “because the Trump administration told him to,” Lance Dutson, a Maine Republican consultant, wrote in the Bangor Daily News in December.

We have become inured to day after day of gun violence. What will it take – if anything – to stop the bloodbath?

Connie Sage Conner

Harpswell