May 24 was my daughter’s 51st birthday. I appreciate all of the joy she has brought me over the years, including the gift of a beautiful granddaughter.
I usually celebrate her birthday with much joy. However, that joy is dulled with the news of that terrible school shooting in Texas.
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I spent most of the night clinging to the latest news, and for a while, I could not understand why it was taking so long to notify the parents of the fate of their children. When it became clear that the “weapon of choice for mass murder” was used in this shooting, I understood the delay.
The AR-15 assault-style weapon can fit a 30-round magazine and fire bullets as fast as the trigger can be squeezed. Those bullets can travel at high velocity and effectively up to 600 yards. Therefore, in a small classroom, those bullets would have had such a catastrophic impact on those little human bodies that, in some cases, identification can only be made by using DNA.
It breaks my heart to think that some mom or dad was asked to provide their DNA to verify that it is their child who is lying beside the other 18 of his/her classmates.
I am indeed grateful for our Canadian gun laws, and I think that some of our Southern neighbours wish they could have some similar restrictions.
Mike Thomas
Sooke
editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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