Columnist Jamala Rogers
Whenever I hear about the death of a child, I do my own personal grieving. The act, no matter the circumstances, seems to be in defiance of the natural order of life itself.
The death of Jocquees Billups was no exception. Sixteen-year-old Jocquees was on the receiving end of the hail of bullets that also injured another student from Parkway East High School. Alma King and her 16-year-old son were on the giving end, armed with a pistol and a rifle.
When I first heard the news of this most unfortunate incident, I immediately thought about HB 189. The “Castle Doctrine” law, heavily lobbied by the likes of the National Rifle Association, passed with flying colors in the Missouri House and has moved on to the Senate.
The bill creates a “presumption” in certain situations that allows a person to use “defensive” force with immunity if s/he has “reasonable” fear of death or harm. In short, you have the right to blow a person away if you feel they are invading your home to do you bodily harm.
I’m all for upholding the right to bear arms as protected by the U.S. Constitution. My problem always comes to the fore with who actually uses their guns and upon whom. In a hyper-vigilant society where we are scared of our own shadows, putting deadly weapons in the hands of trigger-happy people is a scary thought. Recent examples of our fear-factor syndrome were the Boston reaction to a creative public relations campaign for a cartoon show. The other was the shutting down of the St. Louis airport when someone mistook a belt buckle for a gun during a security check.
Before your mind starts zooming on the Castle Doctrine law, there’s one entity that is exempt. You guessed it – the police or other law enforcement agents. So, if an unidentified, plain clothes detective approaches your house with weapon drawn in a threatening manner, you have to stand down and take whatever’s coming to you. This law, if passed, will not protect you. In fact, if Governor Blunt has his way and you were to kill that officer of the law, you’d automatically receive the death penalty.
Here’s the consensus about the King situation that I’ve gathered from talking with people, listening to talk radio, checking out the internet and reading various publications. Most people, regardless of race and class, seem to side with Alma King. King sits in jail on a $1 million bail charged with second degree murder, armed criminal action and assault. The fate of her son will be decided on April 19 in a certification hearing as to whether he can be charged as an adult.
The King family had been the target of numerous incidents of harassment. The St. Louis County Police had been called to the home on at least 10 occasions, although they only wrote up two reports. The Kings had even put up a surveillance camera.
How do civilized people get into these kinds of binds? Did the Billups family know that the teens had been involved in feuding that was escalating? Did the King family have no faith that the police could or would protect them? Were the youth involved in the attack taught that messing with grown people’s property is different from that of a peer? There are so many questions that we need to try and answer as a community if we are to avoid similar situations down the road.
What I know today is that our neighborhoods, our cities and our nations need to get beyond deadly consequences as the only way to learn a lesson.