Apology to a Child

Bob Choi & Others

18 December 2012

Bob Choi: A fictional piece to express the loss, grief and guilt of parents who have lost a child in the Newton massacre:

Our child in heaven, we owe you an apology. We as parents have not done all we can to protect you from mortal danger. No one could have predicted what happened at the school yesterday, but it was an accident waiting to happen. It was the direct result of the obsolete, stupendous law that allows the private ownership of fire arms in this country. Firearms are designed to kill as efficiently as possible and we all bear witness to this yesterday. It is insane to allow people to buy and own firearms as if they were common household appliances.

We have always been skeptical of the Second Amendment which allows the people to bear arms. We believe it is out-dated and no longer serves its original purpose. BUT we did not speak out against it. We were happy to remain in the silent majority, our comfort zone. We thought we lived in a safe community and we faced no immediate danger. "We live in an affluent suburb with low crime rate. Nothing bad will happen here. Let somebody else worry about this."

WE WERE WRONG! Our selfishness and complacency are partly to blame for what happened yesterday. And our dear child, you end up paying for our mistake. We beg your forgiveness and in your name we shall make this our solemn oath: "We shall fight the gun lobbyists for as long as we live; we will not rest until the Second Amendment is revoked."

The US is the only country that I know of which allows its citizens to keep guns at home. This anomaly is made possible by the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. Now I understand people (esp. Constitutional scholars and lawyers) would like to think that the Constitution is sacred and untouchable. WRONG! The Constitution was written by men. It's not perfect. That's why there were 27 Amendments!

All we ask is to amend the Second Amendment so no more innocent people will be slaughtered just because some "nut-case" goes crazy and decides to exercise his rights under the Second Amendment!

If Americans can do without chopsticks, they can do without guns, ha!

Your loving Mom and Dad

Tim Fook: Bob, it is big shock to read the news and your masterpiece moves everyone’s heart. Obama is climbing uphill to fight the NRA and the democrats.

Bob Choi: By the way, there have been over 10,000 proposed amendments to the Constitution. Most of them were rejected, but many are still under review. I would like to propose an amendment to the Second Amendment. I have several versions for consideration:

Current text: "PEOPLE SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS."

Proposed text: "People shall have the rights to keep and bear arms in their own homes." This is not perfect but will at least confine the damage to a manageable scale.

Proposed text: "People shall have the rights to keep and bear arms, specifically their left and right arms." Hmmmm...

Proposed text: "People shall have the rights to keep and bear arms, but they are forbidden to purchase such arms." Let them make their own guns!

Proposes text: "People shall have the right to keep and bear arms, but not bullets." Let them shoot blanks!

See how a little common sense goes a long way?

Charles Chan: Bob, I agree with you that we need to amend the second constitution banning the possession and ownership of all types of assault weapons. There is no need in our daily life for this kind of military weapons. Amendment to ban guns will not infringe on anyone's interest and rights but to protect the interest and safety of the public.

If president Lincoln can lead the congress to amend the constitution to abolish the slavery right why can't our lawmakers simply pass laws to ban the assault weapons which can only means protecting the safety of the innocent people. How many more lives have to be wasted before the hypocritical politicians wake up and take some actions to throw out all the politicians and replace them with someone like Sifu Choi and Sifu Wu.

There was a gun shooting in Fashion Island Mall, Newport Beach, CA a day after the CT school incident. That was the place Linda and I hung out when we visited our daughter two weeks ago. It must be God's will send us home two weeks before the incident. Otherwise I'll probably be injured from the stampeded resulting from the shooting. Again praise our Lord to send me home instead of staying there to spend the holidays with Carol and Ray.

Wishing everyone a Happy Healthy Holiday Season!