I just read about the following story in the paper this morning. This 3rd grader shot and killed his father and the father's friend in their home. It's not in this article but the Honolulu Advertiser reports the grandmother saying the rifle belonged to the boy.
In the end, it doesn't just rile me that the loaded gun belonged to the elementary school child but that there was a gun in the house at all.
Why? Why do we need guns? Why do we need guns that are even more powerful than what the police use? I've been hearing how people have been snapping up high powered, automatic guns from the gun stores because Obama will be in office and he is advocating better gun laws. Gun advocates will tell you that knives kill people, too so why not ban them? For one thing, you can't shoot a bunch of knives from a far distance now can you? For 10 SIMPLE reasons to ban guns go to this site. http://www.escape-co.com/ban_guns.htm
Everytime there is a school shooting or someone is accidentally or not accidentally killed we get a tiny bit of uproar about needing better gun laws. Then people forget or some lobby squelches it. It's so infuriating! You get so mad you want to shoot off a gun.
See what I mean?
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(AP) Police in this small eastern Arizona community are looking into the possibility that an 8-year-old boy who is charged with killing his father and another man with a rifle had been abused, the police chief said Saturday.
The boy, who faces two counts of premeditated murder, did not act on the spur of the moment, Police Chief Roy Melnick said.
"I'm not accusing anybody of anything at this point," he said Saturday. "But we're certainly going to look at the abuse part of this. He's 8 years old. He just doesn't decide one day that he's going to shoot his father and shoot his father's friend for no reason. Something led up to this."
A judge determined Friday that there was probable cause to show the boy fatally shot his father, Vincent Romero, 29, and Timothy Romans, 39, of San Carlos, with a .22-caliber rifle.
Under Arizona law, charges can be filed against anyone 8 or older. The judge ordered a psychological evaluation.
The boy had no record of complaints with Arizona Child Protective Services, said Apache County Attorney Brad Carlyon.
I get angry just like you! When are we going to stop acting as though this is still the wild west and to be a man you have to have a gun? I hate hunting, because it is not to provide food for a family, it's for the joy of killing something. We need much tougher gun laws in this country, but whether we'll ever get them with the mind set of the NRA and their lobbyists I don't know. In the meantime more people will die.
ReplyDeleteYesterday there was a shooting at our local shopping mall. A 16 year old kid died and a 15 year old will probably survive. The shooter, probably another kid, escaped before the mall was locked down. There was a fight, the shooter pulled out a gun, and death was the result.
ReplyDeleteI hate guns too.
Hi Kay! You know how I feel about this. I did a post about this a couple weeks ago. I got all positives responds but one. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, BUT. When will people wake and be as angry as we are about guns? How many more Columbine's, college shootings and mall shootings before people wake up. They probably won't until, god forbid, it happens to them. You spoke about the police being outgunned. Well how about the bank robbery in California. What was it two gunman and a whole police force. The police were out-gunned. There is something wrong with this. I could go on, but I'll stop now. Lisa
ReplyDeleteWell said! A few weeks ago an 8 year old boy was killed using an Uzi at a gun show. He was "trying it out". This is so tragic. Where will it stop??
ReplyDeleteit's so sad and on the news everyday. scary world we live in.
ReplyDeleteI'm dead set against all hand guns... certainly against assault rifles. They should be banned and serious penalties attached to anyone who either buys, or sells them.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine a gun saving me from an intruder. I wouldn't be able to use it to harm someone anyway.
I also don't like hunting. But, I have a son who's a hunter. He eats everything he hunts. He makes Pheasant pot pies, grouse lasagna, venison stew and jerky. He uses the skins, and on occasion has used the bones. He has no trophy heads in his home. It's not just a sport to him. He and his son have survived a couple of VERY tough, tough years because of the meat he was able to put in his freezer, and the garden he tended so carefully in his yard. Not all hunters are kill crazy... Because of this, I have some turmoil about rifles. Having a gun in the house is always a horrible idea when children are also in the home... having an unlocked gun is completely irresponsible and utterly stupid...having a loaded gun is inexcusable and ought to be a felony offense.
It is just so terrible.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be an awful lot of tragedies involving guns and other weapons with children. I wish all the violence in the world would stop. Last night I watched "24" and was reminded about the Children Soldiers in Africa. This is a horrible thing that is happening but not just in Africa, the US has alot of problems with guns and weapons involving children! Stop the insanity!!!
ReplyDeleteCool !
ReplyDeleteNot angry...
Yes, this is so tragic. I have to say though, I have mixed feelings about gun ownership. There are pros and cons to it, as with most things.
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