EDITORIAL - Get those guns

It is not the continued use of firecrackers, despite government warnings and threats of legislation against their use, that is worrisome in the aftermath of the casualties recorded during the holidays. What is worrisome, indeed alarming, is the continued firing of guns in lieu of firecrackers.

While authorities say the number of victims from the firing of guns has declined slightly, it is not really the numbers that matter but the continuation of the practice. The fact that two policemen are under investigation on suspicion of having fired their guns despite a well-publicized police ban proves the point.

If policemen themselves can dare to violate a prohibition imposed by their own organization, complete with the taping of the muzzles of their guns, the message being sent by these violators, who are supposed to be law enforcers and implementors, is indeed very chilling.

If the two policemen are found guilty, they should be slapped the highest punishment applicable to set the example. Otherwise, if they get only a little more than a slap on the wrist, this problem can only get bigger with each passing year.

The indiscriminate firing of guns during the holidays is a symptom of a rapidly decaying society wherein too many guns are in the hands of the wrong people — people who cannot go beyond the childish pleasure of playing with guns and therefore do not see any need to be responsible for their actions.

Too many innocent lives have been lost to this practice, yet every year, the best that the authorities seem able to do is make a public spectacle of taping gun muzzles and launch into song-and-dance rituals to discourage irresponsible forms of merriment. If, despite the taping of gun muzzles some policemen still have the devilish impulse to fire these weapons, what can anyone really do about those countless others who fall under no restrictions and feel no obligation to do their bit to keep society safe from their own irresponsible actions.

Many of those who fire their guns do so because they think they can get away with it. It is the relative anonymity of their actions that emboldens these crazies. So, instead of useless charades, what the government should do is embark on honest-to-goodness measures to crack down on firearms once and for all.