The blood is on whose hands?

The Sicilian-style vendetta killing of a 66-year-old man in Ayia Napa points yet again to lax government controls on gun ownership in Cyprus. 

Your family could be next

The victim was shot dead with a hunting gun after a family feud, according to The Cyprus Daily (print edition).  So your brother-in-law and your sister get divorced, then you kill him?  That's really going to help the sister’s life.  Not to mention the shame brought upon the family.  

But more senseless is the ease with which any Tom, Dick and Harry in Cyprus can acquire a hunting gun, and use it for purposes other than hunting.  Does the government carry out psychometric tests before issuing hunting licences?  I doubt it.  

I know one of my neighbours has a hunting gun because I’ve seen him go out dressed like Rambo.  He’s in his 70s.  He’s also a suspected cat-poisoner in this neighbourhood.  Should he be the sort of person allowed to have a gun?  

Who's the chump?

I’ve got nothing against hunting per se.  Regulated hunting.  God gave us animals to eat and I’m quite partial to a bit of game myself:  roast pheasant or venison with plum sauce, mmm.  But I don’t classify shooting hare and wood pigeon as real hunting.  Big boys with big toys.  The noise of gunfire terrifies domestic animals, and every year hundreds of hunting dogs in Cyprus are dumped and left to starve on the roadside when the hunting season is over. 

As for the abhorrent and barbaric practice of trapping tiny birds alive on glue sticks and then stabbing them in the throat with a toothpick, before pickling, grilling or boiling them, not only has it been illegal since 1974, but it continues in Cyprus to this day, and the government turns a blind eye.  The ambelopoulia industry brings in an estimated 5 million euro annually. 

Before....

... After

Perhaps when Mr. Resurrection (President Anastasiades) has finished sucking up to the Kuwaitis, he might want to think about getting a grip on gun laws and hunting laws in this country before another human life is lost.  Otherwise, their blood is on his hands too. 

Material prosperity of a nation is one thing but it counts for little in a lawless society. 

Almighty and Eternal God, may Your grace enkindle in us a love for the many unfortunate people, whose poverty and misery reduce to a condition of life unworthy of human beings.  Arouse in the hearts of those who call you Father, a hunger and thirst for social justice, and for fraternal charity in deeds and in truth.  Grant, O Lord, peace in our days:  peace to souls, peace to families, peace to our country, and peace among nations.  Amen.