What if Reeva had a gun the night she was murdered?

The notorious scandal of the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp has sent shock-waves around the world, especially for families with vulnerable daughters. In the early morning of Thursday, February 14th, Reeva got out of bed and went to the bathroom.

A few minutes later Oscar woke up and, after hearing noises, grabbed his gun and fired 4 shots through the bathroom door, hitting Reeva and killing her instantly. The question needs to be posed, what would have happened if Reeva had a gun the night she was murdered? What if the gruesome murder could have been prevented? Reeva and murdered teenager, Anene Booysen we’re named SA Persons of the Year 2013 by the online newspaper, The Daily Maverick.

The death of Reeva and the atrocious rape, disembowelment and murder of Anene Booysen highlights the disturbing reality of violence against women in our country but it also highlights an important need. The need for women to own and successfully operate firearms in order to protect themselves. The power of an armed citizen is a lot stronger than what one can imagine.

Not only will a criminal rightfully get what they deserve, being faced with a bit of their own medicine, but many lives could be saved, many families could be in a better situation to escape or prevent harm to themselves, and most importantly, less families will need to bury the bodies of their loved ones. This clearly shows us that guns CAN save lives! They turn victims into survivors!

Reeva Steenkamp