No Sympathy

From the latest Brady "We need money" email:

In December, we remember the anniversaries of the shootings in San Bernardino and at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as well as my own son Tyler who lost his life to senseless and preventable gun violence on December 22, 2012. I could let all this tragedy get me down, but instead I'm inspired to fight even harder to end gun violence in America, so no parent is in my shoes.

The lady's name is Delphine Cherry, the Chicagoland Brady Campaign Chapter President.  I did a little digging.  In 1992, her daughter, Tyesa Cherry, was killed.  From a Trib story:

As she left Chestnut Station Theaters, Tyesa Cherry was struck in the head and killed by a stray bullet from a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. The gun was allegedly fired by a 14-year-old gang member who was fighting with another youth while waiting in line.

This was during the height of Chicago's handgun ban. The movie?  Juice.  A 1992 film about violent gang thugs killing each other.  And the theatre?

During the early-1990’s, the theatre gained notoriety when a young woman was shot and killed in front of the theatre, and the theatre was known throughout the 1990’s of notorious for gang activity and the quality of films went down.  

20 years later, her son was killed:

Hazel Crest Village Manager James Whigham said Tyler Randolph was targeted by an assailant who walked up to him Saturday night and shot him to death about 8:15 p.m. in the 3500 block of Birchwood Drive. Randolph was taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital, Whigham said.

They go on:

Whigham said the public is not in danger after the attack because they are working under the assumption that the shooter was a "known offender."
"It doesn't appear to be a random act," Whigham said.

Why wasn't it 'random'?

Cherry says that in 2011, Tyler received a phone call to pick up a friend in need. The friend, she says, had stolen a purse outside of a Family Dollar. After Tyler picked up that friend and brought him back to the Cherry house, Hazel Crest police soon arrived. While Tyler faced the police at the front door, the friend escaped out the back door. With Tyler’s phone confiscated by police, they later locate that friend as well as Tyler and arrest them both, according to Cherry.

So at the very least he was an accomplice to a crime and was involved in the local criminal culture.

So the mother's response is to join a group that does everything it can to restrict and punish those who follow the laws, get the licenses, training, etc.

This is just one reason why I don't take 'Gun Safety' groups seriously.