In the US, there is currently an outrage over the shooting deaths of 26 people, all from one school in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty of those victims were six and seven year old students from the school. The incident has once again resurrected the age old debate about American’s right to bear arms and the interpretation of the second amendment of their Constitution. An end of which is nowhere in sight, and only fuels the need by many for more guns in their possession.
Back home, there is currently an outrage, of sorts, over the deaths of two children, ages 4 and seven, both hit by stray bullets from celebratory, or should I say stupid, idiotic gunfire to usher in the New Year. There lies the difference. While one was a deliberate act, another is just plain stupidity. The second victim hit by a stray bullet last New Year’s Eve, as she was watching the night sky for the usual fireworks. She fought it out but succumbed to the gunshot. The hunt is now on for her killer, which may be a daunting task at best, especially if the firearm used isn’t even registered. And we’re not even talking about the homemade guns out of pipes and rubber bands!
So now, there is talk about stricter gun laws, especially pertaining to celebratory gunfire, or unlawful discharges of a weapon. But then again I ask, why only now? Is it because this time, children have been killed? Children have also been killed before, where was the outrage then? Where were the “stricter laws” punishing trigger-happy idiots who cannot seem to refrain from firing their guns without just cause? We’ve always said that they should just point their guns to their heads!
If only we had the technology that the hit series “CSI” has, where crimes are solved within one team’s shift! Ballistics will play an important role in identifying the firearm that killed seven-year old Stephanie Nicole, as the authorities have recovered the slug from her body. Several people have also turned over other slugs within the vicinity, indicating that multiple shots may have been fired. Typical. Why fire only one when it’s more cool to fire many rounds! Let’s just hope that whatever the firearm is, it is a registered one. That would make the search a lot easier.
We may not have the nut jobs that decide that killing six and seven year olds, not to mention your own mother, would drive home a point. Thank God for that. But we do have the idiots who think that firing a gun into the air would not hurt anyone. Or that firing a gun on New Year’s Eve is cool. These are the idiots that have to be identified, and put in prison. If more laws are needed, then let the lawmakers not wait for another year, and another victim. These laws have to be in place before another year is upon us. For sure, you cannot take away guns from the hands of Filipinos, especially if we have a President who is into the sport himself. But we need to identify the irresponsible, the stupid, the idiots, the killers. Whoever they may be!