The dust has not settled from the shooting of a senior police officer two weeks ago and now a 12-year-old boy was shot to death as he slept in the enclosure and protection of his home in Savaii.

This tragedy over the weekend is shocking as a young life has been lost because a man had access to a gun and out of anger used it on a boy, while he slept. This is cold-blooded murder. No amount of traditional apologies would heal the wounds of the family of the child, even if the ifoga has been accepted.

This incident shows us that if a gun is available, people will not hesitate to use it. Rage is an emotion that often blinds people from straightforward thinking. It is a situation where common sense does not prevail anymore. However, that is no justification for shooting a child point blank.

This situation tells us that guns should no longer be kept in homes. No matter how safely they are kept, if it is at arm’s length, the probability of it being used is quite high.

The government is not responsible for the actions of the various gunmen who have discharged their firearms resulting in deaths. But the government is responsible for keeping the citizens of this country safe from harm and crime.

The law needs to be revised. The law should state that all guns, whether owned by individuals or not, need to be kept at police stations or government offices under lock and key. When the owner needs to use it to kill wild pigs, he should take it out of police custody and return it after using it.

The law should also state that a person cannot hold onto firearms for longer than two days. While this will not affect gun ownership, it will control the use of firearms according to what is stated in the law.

Or maybe, cancel gun ownership across the board. Only the trained personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture and the police should be allowed to use them and if farmers need to rid of wild pigs, they do it through a quick and easy government process.

The use of guns and the recent deaths are not matters that should be shrugged off. It is understood that the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is a priority, in no way it could be more important than the life of a person.

The government and the opposition must agree that guns are damaging and there needs to be changes to the law. While the gun amnesty is on, only those who feel they must do the right thing will come forward.

There are still people who will try and keep illegal firearms. There are now two ways about this, guns need to go out of this society for a safer future.

We have said this before. The number of illegal firearms suggests that they are somehow coming in through border control. The same way methamphetamine is probably coming in.

The increasing number of firearms in the country would also bring in a need to provide more safety for law enforcement.

The amendments in the gun law and modernising it to deal with the current problems would help but the thing that needs to be immediately done is to find out how these illegal products are coming into the country. There is a need for stronger control of the borders and customs.

Guns portray society as unsafe and one of having a high crime rate. That is not needed, especially when Samoa is being promoted as a tourist destination. People travel to places where they feel safe and with guns out in the open, this will not be able to happen.

The last thing we need is a person walking into a bar or a school with a gun and opening fire.

As it is, one fight at a drinking party results in a series of fights among young men from different villages, what if these youths had access to guns?

There needs to be stricter gun laws and there is a definite need to reduce the number of firearms in the nation.