Gun control

Many of my friends are very excited about next week.

These are not the football fans awaiting the opening of the World Cup in South Africa. They are not also the basketball fans eager to see the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers. They are not also the students, who are set to return to school.

My friends are the gun enthusiasts, whose love for the sport of shooting had to be curtailed due to the gun ban that was imposed in relation to the elections.

Their guns have been silent for a long time and I am sure, that just like me, these folks are also regularly doing dry firing so as not to miss handling a gun so much.

On June 12, there is a seminar that will be conducted in relation to the now very popular International Defense Pistol Association (IDPA) competition.

This will be held at the NS range in Mandaue City. Most of the people in the sport, who I have asked around, seemed very eager to go.

I believe that the best way to control guns is to require gun owners to take part in competitions since this way they will become more conscious about the safe handling of the weapon.

Taking part in competitions would also mean that you become proficient in handling your gun and would not be overeager to pull it out at any instance.

There is a lot of discipline that goes into the sport of shooting and this discipline will not only be manifested inside the range, but anywhere when a shooter handles guns.

The move for a total gun ban is something that will only put the peace loving citizens in a position where they can easily become victims of the criminals, who don’t have any regard for the law.

Banning guns will benefit the criminals, so let us not give them that advantage.

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There are still slots remaining for those who want to take part in the 3rd Amo Cup at the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club tomorrow.

I saw the pairings last Thursday and the slots starting a little past 7 a.m. until half past 8 were still open.

The tournament is in honor of Albino D. Gothong’s 70th birth anniversary.

Aside from the tournament, there will also be the launching of the Albino D. Gothong Scholarship Program. For this program, the Alpa Foundation will sponsor 10 deserving students taking up either engineering, accounting or IT courses to full college scholarships including monthly stipends.

I had the opportunity to know Amo through our golf tournament committees and he always had a soft spot in his heart for the needy.

I remember before when he would call me and ask that I send a collector from our office to pick up his donation for somebody who is seeking assistance from The Freeman Foundation.

Then he’d remind me to just put it as coming from an anonymous donor.

Many others have their own personal stories to tell about Amo’s generosity and the best way to show gratitude to the man is to also be kind to others when you have a chance to help.

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings to Smart Communications’ Atty. Jane Paredes, Raycia Patuasi-Eullaran, and Dr. Roselyn Cabahug-Yu, who are all turning a year older today.

Advance greetings go to my classmates Jemar Aseron (June 6), Randy Ballesteros (June 6) and Michelle So (June 7). The same goes to Peter Raymund Yap and Niño Padilla, who are celebrating tomorrow.

More power to all of you!