On Pink Balloons and Guns

Pink Balloons. Loved ones of Stephanie Nicole Ella, the 7-year old victim of stray bullet shooting on New Year's Eve have flown pink balloons as she was laid to her eternal rest. Pink does not only commemorate the young girl's favourite colour but is also a symbolic cry for justice. Her classmates, as innocent and carefree, now join this crusade— even at very early age. Sadly, they will now and forever remember the day they lost a playmate.

Gun Ban. Senator Ping Lacson is sponsoring a bill that will completely ban private individuals from owning firearms. This is as public awareness heats up following the death of Stephanie, among others, due to indiscriminate and undisciplined gun use.

But the President, who is a gun enthusiast himself, has pre-emptively disapproved of the proposition, saying that while the intent is good; the means is not a proportionate measure. Groups of registered gun owners keep the same sentiment, so do a growing number of lawamkers.

HALF WAY. There are always two sides to every issue and in this case, halfway is a safe zone. Gun use, per se, is not a crime- provided you have them registered and do not use them in such a way that it will harm people. That Simple. The point? Use and misuse are two different things. To illustrate, when you use a plastic bag, you are not necessarily killing nature. It is when you throw them anywhere that they will soon cause floods, that you become an abuser.

Hence, possession of firearms may not be the root of the problem at all. Perhaps, it is the fact that many people have access to guns, and that our authorities have very loose and loophole-filled regulations that give gun-abusers the leeway to possess and use guns whichever way they want.

The key is regulation. Besides, looking back into history, civilians have been permitted to own firearms because of major security issues. And clearly, in this society where violence is a habit, guns as a means of protection is deemed a necessity to some, admit it or not.

Nevertheless, the opposing sides must meet each other half way, as it is ideal, not to make a compromise for their own interests but to put, over and above all else, the good of the common people. After all, this is where an innocent Stephanie belongs until a reckless shot from a shadow took her life that easy.