In the wake of a 12 year old in Detroit killing a 24 year old woman on Detroit’s Westside made many wonder how did a 12 year old end up on the street with a gun at midnight. This is a question that continues to plague many communities, how our youth are continuing to get access to guns with all the gun laws we have on the books already. How are guns getting in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them such as youth and previously convicted criminals? The answer should be simple and that is guns are too accessible. A 12-year-old boy being charged in the murder of a 24-year-old Davison woman who had come to Detroit for a job opportunity should make everyone upset about the fact that young man was allowed to get access to a gun and no one seems to know how he got. The incident happened just after midnight on Aug. 1 on West Outer Drive and Minock Street in Detroit and according to witnesses, Trisha Babcock and a male friend were sitting in their car when the boy, Demarco Harris of Detroit, approached the vehicle and pointed a gun at Babcock.
"When she didn't respond to his demands, he shot her," Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans said at a press conference today. Police also are looking for another suspect. Babcock, who was struck in the chest, was taken to Sinai-Grace Hospital, where she died a short time later. Warrens said the boy was charged as a juvenile but with adult designation -- meaning Judge Leslie Kim Smith, who will oversee his trial in Wayne County juvenile court, has wide discretion when it comes to sentencing. If found guilty, the judge will have the option of sentencing Harris as a juvenile, as an adult or reviewing his conduct at age 19 and resentencing him as an adult or juvenile. As an adult, Harris could face life in prison. "We have not charged him as an adult, but it is a case where we decided to adult-designate him," said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, explaining how the designation allows a judge broad options in sentencing at the conclusion of a juvenile court trial. "Because he is so young and the crime is so heinous, we wanted the judge to have full information and background to make an intelligent and complete decision as to sentencing," Worthy said. Police used forensic evidence to link Harris to the murder, although Evans would not elaborate further. The boy's father turned him in to police on Friday.
Still the fact of the matter isn’t that the 12 year old boy could be charged as an adult and spend life in prison or the fact he took another young person’s life, who had a bright future. All of those are tragic and are just as important as what I am about to discuss which is, we as nation should focus on the fact that guns in our nation are too accessible to our youth even with all the gun laws that we have on the books. Just look at the city of Chicago and all the youth in the city that are being shot and killed by other youth in the city for the most part. This problem is an outrage but what is even more of an outrage is that the state legislator banned certain zip codes in the city of Chicago from having guns but the violence in those zip codes continues to rise. Therefore for anyone to think that simply passing new guns will curve gun violence are not aware of the fact that guns don’t kill people but people kill people and it is clear that some people don’t believe in gun laws or any laws for that matter. More gun laws alone will not curb the problem of youth violence or the fact that guns continue to land in the hands of many youth across this nation.
The war on our youth is being lost because we have not properly shown our youth that guns are not the way to go in solving the problems that ail them. Violence only begets more violence which is what our youth have heard before but do not understand it. Our youth continue to solve their problems with guns and continue to think that if their lives aren’t going anywhere than why should they care about someone else’s life. These are the attitudes of our youth but what doesn’t make any sense is how do our youth get the guns they get. Our youth are not getting guns from family i.e. their parents or closet kin but usually most youth who are caught with a gun get it from someone on the streets. Most youth who use guns to resolve their issues or problems say they get the weapon they used from a friend or someone their friends know. This is the problem that is taking place.
With all our gun law as a nation and even within our own states, it still seem as if guns are continuing to get in the hands of our youth and now it is at a rate that is similar to that of the 1980s and early 1990s. Guns seem to pop up in the hands of our youth like never before and it seems as if our youth know how to use guns better than most adults. Therefore, the solution to solving youth violence is not as simple as passing more gun laws, while that sounds good in theory, we can’t ignore the fact that we have tons of gun laws on the books now and many of which are not being implemented and applied properly. However the good news that should be seen across the nation is that many states and cities such as New York are applying their gun laws to everyone equally which is seen in the plea deal that former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress recently took in his gun possession case. Burress is getting a two year sentence and will be heading to prison which is a sign that some cities and states are enforcing their gun laws.
Still when looking on the television and seeing AK-15’s being held at rallies in Arizona and other handguns being on protests in New Hampshire, it makes me wonder, why many states continue to have relaxing gun laws. I know if I see these images than this makes it all the more easier for our youth to see this and find ways to have their own guns. The gun laws in this nation are too lax but more gun laws will not solve all the problems dealing with youth and violence if we don’t enforce the current laws we have on the books. Anytime a 12 year can be allowed to be on the streets at midnight with a gun, should be seen as a sign that we are not enforcing our gun laws yet alone our curfews on our youth.
Guns are too accessible to our youth and this can be seen from California to Maine that guns continue end up in the hands of youth who have no reason to have them. Our youth aren’t just creating these guns on their own and guns in this nation aren’t just coming over here on its own. The war on our youth is connected to the war on drugs and guns which is being fought on our border with Mexico. Nonetheless, until we protect our borders better, there are things we can to prevent guns from getting in the hands of our youth. We as a community need to work with our law enforcement to report crime or suspicious neighborhood and our law enforcement need to work with our communities to help them feel safe by taking all of their compliments and concerns serious. Guns are too accessible in our neighborhoods and the fact that our youth are being little assassins should send make everyone outraged because this is no different than what is taking place in third world or underdeveloped countries where youth at the age of 9 or 10 to fight in century long wars.
Therefore the fact that America is a first world country and developed nation, should make our nation upset with ourselves that we are seeing our youth continue to get a hold of guns and worse than that become little assassins. The guns that our youth are getting a hold of and how they are getting a hold of these guns with all the gun laws we have on the books should make us a nation get serious about really enforcing our nation’s laws. We need to get serious about punishing those who use guns, who sell guns illegally and give guns to former criminals. We need to enforce these laws in order to make sure our youth don’t a hold of guns. We need to get aggressive about gun prevention and making sure the current gun laws we have on the books are enforced properly and effectively. The red flag should be signaled now more than ever especially when a 12 year old is possibly being convicted for murder because he possessed a gun and what’s worse is that the 12 year old was on the streets at midnight. This is why we need to save our youth and win this war on them once and for.
However in order to win this war on our youth, we must get serious about gun prevention and violence prevention. They are intertwined but both are two issues that are plaguing our youth today. The fact that guns are too accessible to our youth is a major problem and until we address this issue than youth all across this nation are in danger of being gunned down at any moment and at any time. We must win this war and we must save our youth so that their future is better than their present.
SAVE OUR YOUTH!
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