Trigger-happy

(The Philippine Star) Updated December 30, 2010 

Fire and get fired, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo has warned cops, firefighters and jail guards who fire their guns to greet the New Year.
A similar warning should be given to soldiers, some of whom also like to welcome the New Year with the most powerful noisemaker on hand – their guns. The irresponsible revelry has killed several people in previous years, including children sleeping in what their parents thought was the safety of their bedrooms. No culprit has ever been caught.

Authorities have tried to curb the indiscriminate firing by sealing the muzzles of the guns issued to police and military personnel. If a seal is broken, the gun owner should have a valid explanation for firing the weapon. Many soldiers and police officers, however, have their own guns apart from their service firearms. It is doubtful that anyone has kept an accurate accounting of the privately owned guns, not all of which are covered by the required licenses.

That failure to keep track of all the weapons owned by military and police personnel as well as the unlicensed firearms owned by private individuals all over the country has always been a weak point in previous efforts to stop the indiscriminate firing of guns. Another weakness is the failure to conduct ballistic tests and keep records on stray bullets that kill or wound people or cause damage to property during the New Year revelry. If a lethal bullet came from an unlicensed gun, the culprit will be tough to trace, but there’s also a chance that the bullet came from a licensed firearm. Then weapon and ammunition can be matched, and justice is possible for the victim of a stray bullet.

In the absence of such measures, the public can do its part to discourage dangerous revelry. Anyone spotted firing a gun indiscriminately should be immediately reported to authorities. If the gunman happens to be a military or police officer, he should be reported to his superiors. The departments of the interior and local government as well as national defense should provide hotlines to facilitate reporting of such incidents. Cops or soldiers who fire their guns to greet the New Year should not only be fired but sent to prison.