Cease Fire or Take Better Aim

Our wonderful, wonderful city is inundated with  gang shootings.  I am so sick of story after story of children and other innocent people being struck by "stray bullets" in Chicago.  Many of these people are actually inside their homes when a bullet comes through a window or a wall.  If you can't feel safe inside your own home, what kind of life is there to look forward to?      It breaks my heart.  I thank G-d for where I live because it hasn't happened in my suburb -- yet.  On my morning walk yesterday, less than three miles from home, I spotted gang graffiti.  A very large pitchfork with a crown on top.  Is this a sign of things to come in my own neighborhood?  Should I go out and get my own gun (heck we don't even allow squirt guns in our home!)  Indeed, many of Chicago's teens say they have easy access to guns and this was before the Supreme Court's gun ruling loosened Chicago's gun restrictions.  What can be done?

It has struck me (no pun intended) that perhaps these gang bangers need to visit a shooting range. Wouldn't it be in everyone's best interest if these criminals had better aim?  Maybe we need to provide gangs with the proper tools to shoot at each other accurately. If the gang bangers were a better shot, then at least they would be killing each other instead of innocent people and children.  Ok, I don't really mean we should promote more shooting ranges in our fair city.  But why is their aim so damned awful?

    There are a few groups, like Cease Fire, which are really doing something valuable to fight against gang violence.  They are taking the "fight" to the streets through mediation, public education and other means that just make sense to a concerned observer like me. I heard on the news that the State of Illinois recently cut the funding for this and similar groups. They could really use some help.  I'm way too chicken to inject myself in the middle of the violence like these brave angels, so I took the easy way and made a donation.  Perhaps we all should take this route, before bullets bust through our living room windows.

This post is original to Chicago Moms Blog.  Sophia Leto (a.k.a. Moody Mommy) rants and raves at her blog www.moodymommy.wordpress.com