December 19, 2007

Maybe it would save one child.

There are some that think the right to bear arms is a natural right. I am not sure how one gets to that assessment, since man has had guns less than on percent of his existence. For others it is a sacrosanct amendment to the U.S. Constitution; one may repeal the 14th amendment but not the 2nd. There are quite a few of us who may not object to the right for someone to own a gun, but do not want them sold as casually as a pack of cigarettes. I think now there may be more restrictions on buying a pack of cigarettes. I think that at a bare minimum, that you should at least be able to prove you know the rules of safety and at least be able hit a target. I understand that you cannot ensure a person will be safe, use common sense, or have any accuracy, but it might get some to think that they bear responsibility when they purchase a gun.

Last year in my city, 22 children were killed and not all the teen agers were in "the life." There are some that would want you to believe that they all are, when they are justifying the 2nd Amendment; a very poor argument I would think. What stands out in this article is that one of the victims is 3 years old and shot himself.

Ty-Ty [Tylib Bailey-Hankerson] died looking down a gun barrel. He was laid to rest holding a lollipop. Police said that on Oct. 15, about 1 p.m., the child found a registered .45-caliber pistol and shot himself in the face. The gun and the Raymond Street rowhouse where it happened belonged to Dave Walter, boyfriend of Ty-Ty's mother, Lawanda Bailey, who lives across the street. Both adults and Ty's brother Dejour, 9, were in the house.
It happen again yesterday, a four year old killed himself with his father's gun. He had very easy access and again a parent was in the house. I read about this at the field negro this morning.
... Sadly, Mr. Boyd chose to play cards with his friends, while his four year old son, Dyshon, was left unattended. Mr. Boyd had a loaded 9 mm Glock in his coat pocket and casually hung it in an upstairs bedroom. Left unattended, little Dyshon found the gun, and, well, you can imagine what happened next. The poor kid shot himself in the throat and later died at Children's Hospital.

To add insult to injury, or I should say death. Mr. Boyd chose to throw the gun out the window and hide the magazine. (it's still missing) Fortunately the authorities found the gun and charged Mr. Boyd with involuntary manslaughter and some lessor charges.
read the entire post
In their grief, most in his family is saying what a good father Dyshon had. Since his father had been shot himself, I ask why would he had not known that a gun could cause great harm and be responsible enough to not want it around his child? Sometimes in life you only get one chance. The field negro sees this as the responsibility of the parents.
This is the kind of environment we are creating for our children. This is the world we are giving them to live in. I have said this before, but it's worth repeating: If people are going to be just sperm donors and not real parents, what's the point in having children in the first place?

I see it also as the responsibility of society. In last years shooting, the gun has been purchased properly and registered and this year's, the gun was probably purchased illegally; the outcome the same. With many taking sides with the 2nd Amendment issue, no one thinks it might help if gun safety ads were run in the media. The NRA talks about what it does, but that is only for its membership. When Charlton Heston made adds for the NRA, it was only to position the viewpoint on owning a gun. The other side is so anti-gun that they probably don't think of running safety ads, to push safety would be to say guns are OK. Meanwhile we have mega messages about smoking, lead paint and marijuana, in which the chances of any of them killing you at first encounter, is close to nil. The idea would be to peak the awareness. Some years back they ran TV ads before New Years, to remind people that it was not only illegal to fire guns in the air, but that the bullets had to come down. Previously some people had been inured by those New Years' stray bullets.

I think the fight over the 2nd Amendment will go on indefinitely. I find it interesting how some people just know how the Constitution, if written now, would word the 2nd Amendment. When the constitution was written, one had to load a gun, one bullet at a time. I don't think a 3 year old had the capability to load one. We can not wait for the fight to be over, but I think we can try some other approaches. I would hope that safety ads could save one child.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

In the UK of course it is very hard to own a gun. One of our neighbours does have guns, and he has to have some special alarm system, and a reinforced door to his house. It does mean accidents with guns are rare, though we do have gunmen running riot, shooting random people.

It still freaks me out to see a gun on a policeman, as you do in France and elsewhere in Europe. Just a different culture.

I imagine it would be very hard to change, but it can be done, if you think about how attitudes to smoking have changed.

Anonymous said...

I feel you completely on this.

Yet, there are some (seemingly) sane individuals in our society who distrust this government so much that they fear a removal of all guns from society.

They believe that it would be a precursor to a totalitarian regime.

They see guns as their last, best defense against such a government.

Hence, any attempt to regulate when, where, and how they're purchased would probably be met with stiff resistance.

For my part, I don't own one. I was trained in the military on the proper way to use them, and have been certified on the shooting range.

I've always felt safer without one. Now, that's a paradox I hope I can live with.

Hathor said...

A.
I don't think attitudes will change that quickly as it did for smoking for the reasons before the mayflower explained. I think I am trying to find some middle ground on something that might be done, now. I ran my idea by someone I know that thinks it is their right to own a gun, but hadn't got a response. Wanted to see if they could agree with my modest proposal.

before the mayflower,
I sort of feel as you do. I do not fear guns in the way gun people think I should feel if I think there should be more controls. I am aware that there are times when carrying would not be of any help. One of this years casualties (382 so far in Philly) was a prison guard who was carrying; got shot and killed, because he was lost and ask for directions. The perpetrators probably thought he had them under surveillance. Carrying a gun does not necessarily protect you or make you safe. I try just to be aware of my surroundings. I don't feel unsafe without a gun, even in neighborhoods where most wouldn't be caught dead in.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe the authors of the Constitution foresaw what lay ahead of them when they included the " right to bear arms "in the Bill of Rights. Today,too many Americans own guns, and this helps fuel the crime and violence that are prevalent in this nation.

Saludos.

Hathor said...

Ana,
Before today, what prompted laws to prevent everyone from carrying? Sometime in the nineteenth century, wearing a gun became less commonplace. I think it was because the citizenry thought it promoted a more peaceful and civilized society.