The mother of Yoshihiro Hattori, a Japanese high school exchange student who was shot dead in Baton Rouge, Louisiana just over 20 years ago, attended a meeting in the city on gun control and appealed for removing guns from American homes.
US should work toward creating a society in which people do not feel the need to possess guns for self-defense, said Mieko Hattori, 64, whose 16-year-old son was gunned down on 17 October 1992, by a local man when the teen mistakenly walked up to the man’s house on his way to a Halloween party.
Mieko addressed the meeting after the screening of a documentary film about the incident.
Mieko said she and her husband Masaichi, 65, have continued to work for stricter gun control measures in the United States, hoping that their son’s death will not have been in vain.
But she admitted to being shocked by how the situation surrounding gun use in the US has worsened.
She was referring to the fact that more than 30 US states have adopted the so-called stand-your-ground law.
Under the law, a person is justified in using deadly force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of an unlawful threat.
Having seen calls for enhanced gun control failing to gain much momentum in the United States, Mieko said, ‘I hope families of the victims with truly heartbreaking experiences will take a step’ toward lobbying for gun control.
‘I would like to send a word of encouragement from Japan,’ she said at the church, where a memorial service was held on Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary of the shooting.
US should work toward creating a society in which people do not feel the need to possess guns for self-defense, said Mieko Hattori, 64, whose 16-year-old son was gunned down on 17 October 1992, by a local man when the teen mistakenly walked up to the man’s house on his way to a Halloween party.
Mieko addressed the meeting after the screening of a documentary film about the incident.
Mieko said she and her husband Masaichi, 65, have continued to work for stricter gun control measures in the United States, hoping that their son’s death will not have been in vain.
But she admitted to being shocked by how the situation surrounding gun use in the US has worsened.
She was referring to the fact that more than 30 US states have adopted the so-called stand-your-ground law.
Under the law, a person is justified in using deadly force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of an unlawful threat.
Having seen calls for enhanced gun control failing to gain much momentum in the United States, Mieko said, ‘I hope families of the victims with truly heartbreaking experiences will take a step’ toward lobbying for gun control.
‘I would like to send a word of encouragement from Japan,’ she said at the church, where a memorial service was held on Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary of the shooting.