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Maybe it will be another parent who receives the worst news possible, that their child has been fatally shot. Maybe it will be a lawmaker. Or one of the college kids Steve Young teaches about guns and the law... ...Young cried when he heard the court's rulings but also knew he would continue to fight. "You don't give up," he said. "Never, never." For now, he plans to go back to the work of spreading the word about gun violence... ...Young also pins much of his hopes on the students who have taken his class called "The Politics of Guns and the Second Amendment" at Northwestern University. "These kids are going to be out in positions of influence in 10 to 15 years," he said... http://www.sj-r.com/Sections/News/Stories/41214.asp DON BABWIN CHICAGO - Maybe it will be another parent who receives the worst news possible, that their child has been fatally shot. Maybe it will be a lawmaker. Or one of the college kids Steve Young teaches about guns and the law. Young knows the danger far too well. Eight years ago, he was the one hearing the words that his 19-year-old son, Andrew, had been shot to death by a teenager. He and other families hit by gun violence sued in an attempt to force gunmakers and sellers to be more socially responsible. But on Nov. 18, the Illinois Supreme Court dismissed their lawsuit and another brought by the city of Chicago accusing the firearms industry of knowingly allowing criminals to get hold of guns. Young still believes someone will find a way to hold those who make and sell firearms responsible for gun violence, whether it's the legislature, Congress or the courts somewhere else. "I think we are seeding the future," he said. "We will get some sanity in gun policies." The families could ask the state Supreme Court to reconsider its decision, or they could try a federal appeal if federal issues can be pinpointed in the case, said attorney Jonathan Baum, who represented Young and the father of slain Chicago police officer Michael Ceriale. There also are some avenues suggested by the Supreme Court justices themselves. Though the court dismissed both lawsuits unanimously, saying there was no legal basis in the lawsuits for holding the manufacturers responsible, five of the seven justices issued a separate opinion in which they urged the legislature to "turn its atten-tion to the problems" alleged in the cases. The justices said they were disturbed by claims that undercover police officers bought guns from suburban Chicago shops after making it clear they were buying them for criminals or taking them to Chicago, where the sellers knew handguns were prohibited. They also were alarmed by allegations that the products include easily concealable semiautomatic guns and guns with a fingerprint-resistant coating that criminals favor. "They seemed to be saying that they believed there were serious problems; they didn't quite believe our legal argument and to try another tact," Young said. He doesn't know what that argument might be, but he says it's out there. "Sooner or later, someone is going to break through, and these guys (gun dealers) will be held accountable for what they've done," Young said. Arlene Macias wondered after the court dismissed the cases whether the one good thing that could come out of her son's death - a law that might keep some cheap handguns off the streets - was forever lost. "When you really think about this, it's madness," said Macias, who had been a plaintiff in the case but was dropped from the lawsuit because the gun used to kill her 19-year-old son, Miguel, was never found. "My son died for no reason." Chicago Mayor Richard Daley called the court's decision "very disheartening in this day and age," but he also said he's not giving up. City attorneys didn't see a route for federal appeal, but Daley has been pushing hard for stricter gun regulations in the legislature. The mayor has been a driving force for years behind a package of bills that would limit gun purchases to one per month, require fingerprinting and photographing of gun-card holders and require sales at gun shows to go through criminal background checks. The bills repeatedly have failed, but Senate Judiciary Committee chairman John Cullerton, D-Chicago, and other supporters vowed to renew their efforts when lawmakers return to work in January. Young cried when he heard the court's rulings but also knew he would continue to fight. "You don't give up," he said. "Never, never." For now, he plans to go back to the work of spreading the word about gun violence and the day in 1996 when an argument between a group of teens in a car and some on the street on Chicago's North Side ended in Andrew's death. Cook County state's attorney's spokesman John Gorman said the 53-year-old father had "done a magnificent job in pointing out ... the danger of guns." Doctors now tell Young that when they talk to patients, along with questions about smoking and using seat belts, they ask if they have a gun in the house. "Parents say they now ask if their kids' friends have a gun in the house," he said. Young also pins much of his hopes on the students who have taken his class called "The Politics of Guns and the Second Amendment" at Northwestern University. "These kids are going to be out in positions of influence in 10 to 15 years," he said. Even if his work helped no one else, Young said it has given him some measure of understanding and even peace about the loss of his son. He said he came to see Mario Ramos, the convicted killer of his son, as a victim of the gun industry. "These kids are being set up by the dealers," he said. "They're young, they've got hormones racing through them and the dealers know what's going on." Associated Press writers Anna Johnson in Chicago and John O'Connor in Springfield contributed to this report. |
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