How many here have had gun violence affect their lives?

[Javaman]

19. 3 tiimes, the first was in 5th grade...

(I was not there when this happened, I heard about it the next day) a friend of mine, whose dad was a cop, was "showing" another friend his dads gun when it went off killing the other kid.

another time, when I was living in a studio apartment in Burbank, CA, some gang members running down the alley outside my ground floor apt, opened fire on another gang member right outside my window. It was dark, I had my lights off and dove onto the floor. Loud as hell, muzzle flashes. They emptied the clip. I heard the click when it ran out. They tried peeking into my window to see if anyone was in my place, but I was already under my bed.

yet another time, it was my first New Years in Los Angeles. I was living in an apt with two roommates in North Hollywood. (it was a really crappy area back then). All week long I saw PSA's on the TV for people not to shoot their guns in the air on New Years. I asked my roommate if this was true? (He lived in L.A. for many years). "Oh yes, absolutely" he replied. So on New Years, I was broke, didn't know anyone and my roommates were home for the holidays. As soon as the New Year hit, my neighborhood erupted in gun fire. It was like Beruit (to use an old phrase). We were on the second floor of a two story complex. I heard rounds hitting the roof. I was crawling across my floor and peeked out my back windows, only to witness some morons shooting machine guns and pistols in the air from the parking lot of the apt complex behind us. The next morning, in the courtyard of my apt building, there were spend casings everywhere. t