So my 3rd-grade son asked me if there are any crazy people with guns near us.
His school has not mentioned Newtown. The shootings happened right after his elementary school closed for a 3-week Christmas break. When school resumed, the teachers did not talk about it with the kids. However, the kids know about it and have questions. Like my son, who wants to know if it can happen at his school. He knows that some "crazy man" shot a bunch of kids and teachers to death. What he doesn't know is if can happen at his school.
My son was watching President Obama on TV tonight talking about banning assault weapons and he was shocked that they were even legal. "Are there any crazy people with those guns near us?" he asked me. I said, "we live in very safe area. This happened clear on the other side of the country. Nothing bad has ever happened at your school. No one here would do such a thing. And the man who killed those kids is dead. He can't hurt anyone anymore." That seemed to satisfy him, as he said, "good" and went to bed. I know it was not the best answer, but I wanted to say something reassuring so he would not have nightmares.
It is outrageous that our kids should be worrying about someone blowing them away. It is unbearable that their fears are well-founded.
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You did the right thing. 
told him about living in a "very safe area" is likely exactly what those parents in CT thought about where they lived.
So long as assault weapons are legal, no area is safe, because crazies can be found anywhere and it's only "obvious" after such a horrible and tragic event occurs. But this is not, of course, what any parent ever wants to have to tell a child. Ever.
And yes, it is outrageous and unbearable.
Responsible gun owners should be as outraged at the NRA's stance as anyone who is not a gun owner. I am not - and never will be - but those I know who are, many of them from my own extended family in MT, are as outraged as I.
Frankly, I see no need for any gun whatsoever in urban areas except for law enforcement purposes. They should be in the hands of police and security personnel only.
Hunters certainly do not need assault weapons - unless, of course, they want their prey to have even less of a sporting chance than it already has. Such courage it must take to face a deer with an assault weapon! 
Wherever those hunters live, their guns should be securely locked up and locked up unloaded.
that many Nazis today are still vegetarians! 
that is almost anywhere. 
and for explaining your view further.
My point was that--it is difficult to "return to normal" on this issue. Once a child experiences the fear--the certain knowledge that evil killers can and do shoot up schools, there may be no return to (what should be) normal. Because normal has been redefined. A place where the child once felt safe has been invaded. Adults may think that all you need is psychotherapy to get over it (ie. to forget about it and "move on"
when what children really need is to see adults trying to find solutions, and even to be a part of that effort. They need to feel the parent's concern, whatever shape that takes. Young children are very concrete thinkers--it can be hard to reason them out of a fear. They will still retain it in their psyche. But if they are taught to talk about it and work at actual efforts to fix the problem--it is a better way to go than just trying to quell their fears and expecting things to be business as usual in a few days. If you do this, they will still sense the parent's instinctive fear later--whenever something else happens after this--either on a national or local level. Children can't evaluate the risks--they read the parent's fear level and they learn early how to detect denial in the parent. I would expect a lot of kids to be concerned about an incident like this for quite some time. Simply returning to what we parents wish was "normal" may not be possible, once shell-shocked by such violence. Active attention to the issue and developing coping mechanisms that don't involve denial is better. Edit to add--it is best if this is as community-oriented as possible, rather than individual psychotherapy. I advocate that EVERY parent of a child affected by this: SHOW the child the footage of the President and VP's
clear and direct speeches yesterday, calling for action.
No matter how good a parent is, you cannot always protect your child, and in fact, it causes parents great stress when they feel a child is at risk of gun violence at school. (I am worried about the effects on parents also, in this gun culture). It is particularly wrong to believe, and tell the child, that "this doesn't happen here" when we know that it could. That is Denial, capital D. Also, teaching kids they are special in that they are protected while others are not implies that we should have no concern for people elsewhere in the country, or the world.
I intended no insult to you personally. I meant my comment to be taken in the context of the whole discussion. So THANK YOU for NOT accusing me of being a bully and having bad intentions--as the poster before you --post #23--did. I think that poster's over-reaction was nasty and abusive. Particularly the term "bullying."
to you
But it's been happening for millennium. Children had to worry about invaders killing their entire villages, dying early of disease ("Ring Around the Rosy" was a very grim song for a reason), or going hungry.
When I was in elementary school, we were terrified by the Cuban missile crisis - I was in fifth grade, my little sister was in first. The "duck & cover" and evacuation drills scared us and made us realize we could die at any moment. That was a fear that stayed with me for a very long time.
I am not trying to make light of your son's concerns or of the school shooting situations. My comments are a reality check. Life was never as safe as "Leave It to Beaver" - life was always dangerous for children and adults.
I think you did good with your son. You reassured him and did not increase his worries. 
to your son.
first place is so very sad!
I am sorry for that SunSeeker!
