Far be it from me to make light of a serious situation, but I think it bears saying that Arizona-ans (whatever a resident of Arizona is called) are thinking, "Why couldn't this have been in Arkansas, the other state that start with AR?" A boy shot his mom over household chores. Seriously, is life so invaluable?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7810192.stm
I'm not sure what's more troubling. I give you statements from the article:
- "Mr Munoz, who helped raise the boy, said he had taught him how to use the weapon for emergencies and self-defence."
- "Prosecutors wanted the child tried as an adult, but the judge [. . . ]"
Now, the reason both of these are troubling is a) why should a 12 year old need to know how to use a gun for emergencies and self-defence? Shouldn't parental guidance be in place during emergencies and what kind of state is AZ in when a child needs to be able to use a firearm for self-defence? I'm liberal, but I'm not a bleeding heart by any stretch of the imagination. I think this is a situation where society, i.e.- the kids parents, should have been more present in this kid's life. Come on, he "needed" a gun to protect himself? I didn't realize that 'rural Cochise' county was the inner city ghetto. B), prosecutors wanted to try a 12 year old as an adult. Do I really need to put my own stamp on this one to point out the lunacy in that?
This kid can't see a movie with the eff-bomb in it without parental supervision but he can sure as hell sit through a trial as an adult, expected to have a fully formed vocabulary and educated view of the world as well as the concept of the good. Puh leeze.
Wow, I guess that's the most liberal thing I've ever said on here. Maybe I wanted to make it an issue because I got this post from a foreign news source instead of a domestic one. I mean, seriously, doesn't America already look bad enough to the rest of the world?
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