Martin Richards died at the age of 8. His little sister, who loved to dance, has lost a leg, and may lose the other. His mother has a severe brain injury. All of this the result of one of the homemade bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon--bombs that did little damage to property, but were made to inflict pain and horrible damage to human beings. Made to hurt people.
When will Martin Richards' dream come true? Not today, when it is likely now that the cowards of the U.S. Senate will not even allow votes on gun regulation measures. They're using the Boston tragedy as cover for their cowardice.
Does it matter that one eight year old was killed by a crude bomb, while 20 six year olds were killed by the bullets of a high tech rifle? It does not matter to those children. As a society we do a great deal to protect against such a bomb. But our Congress is about to decide to do nothing to protect children against guns, especially those that are at least as efficient at hurting people as one homemade bomb, though the guns at Sandy Hook were more lethal.
The U.S. at all levels of government spends immense sums in trying to prevent terrorist bombs from exploding. Thousands of people are trained and deployed around the world. Those bombs and components that can be outlawed, are outlawed. People have to make their own bombs. Unfortunately, the ingredients are not uncommon--they mostly all have other legitimate functions. Guns are lethal weapons to begin with.
Nobody gets to openly bring a bomb to a public place, to a political rally. But last week a group of mothers demonstrating in support of gun regulations were surrounded by men with guns. Legally.
All guns and bullets are dangerous to begin with. They go off by accident or by stupidity or innocence. They are lethal weapons that are too easy to use in anger, or to intimidate. It used to be common sense to regulate how they are used and where they can be carried.
Some guns and bullets have only one function: to kill as many people in as short a time as possible, which they did at Sandy Hook when they killed 20 six year olds and several adults in five minutes of nearly continuous firing, by a coward who brought unthinkable firepower provided legally by his mother to face defenseless children at an elementary school.
No more hurting people. Too much to ask, Martin. Our leaders can't even agree on doing something just so that fewer people will be hurt and maimed and killed. Anywhere, anytime. Tens of thousands of people, many hundreds of children killed and maimed by guns, every year.
We don't need terrorists. We've got the GOPer Congress.
Rest in Peace, Martin. Those of us still alive have to keep working towards your dream. In our own lives, and as citizens.
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