Celebratory Gunfire Has Shocking Result

When I was coming up, NRA promulgated the "10 Commandments of Gun Safety." They've since marked that down to about four, since it is thought kids can't remember 10 things, and I might have trouble remembering all 10 myself.

But two that I do remember are "be sure of your target" and "be sure of your backstop."

Too bad they apparently don't teach those in Saudi Arabia, where celebratory gunfire at a wedding resulted in 23 deaths and 30 injured.

Celebratory gunfire is a tradition in the Arab world, the Balkans and Mediterranean countries like Crete and Cyprus. It's not at all unknown in immigrant communities in this country, especially in Southern California. While it may have been harmless enough in the days of camels and tents, this story makes clear that Saudi Arabia has become too urbanized for this formerly harmless bit of fun to continue. What goes up, must come down.