Mother of airgun death boy in pledge
Parents renew call for ban
Published:
THE mother of a Glasgow toddler who died after being hit by an airgun pellet yesterday spoke of the “promise” she made at her son’s graveside to ban the public sale of the weapons.
Andrew Morton was just two when he died after being hit in the head with an airgun pellet near his home in Easterhouse in March 2005.
The shot was fired by drug addict Mark Bonini, who is now serving a life sentence after being found guilty of murdering the child.
Yesterday his parents, Andy and Sharon Morton, renewed their call for airguns to be banned from general sale to protect other parents from “going through what we have been through”.
The couple joined Tommy Sheridan on the campaign trail in the Glasgow north-east by-election.
The Solidarity candidate is calling on the other candidates to back the campaign and take the issue to Westminster, out of respect for the toddler’s memory.
The Mortons have campaigned tirelessly for the ban since their son’s death.
Mrs Morton said: “The sooner we get the ban the sooner we can save our kids.”
Mr Sheridan said he had been moved and touched by the death of Andrew and his parents’ commitment to removing airguns from the street. The then MSP said he went on to introduce a bill to ban the public sale of airguns into the Scottish Parliament in 2006, and was told any change in the law would have to be passed through Westminster.
He said: “This is a Westminster by-election. Airguns are the responsibility of the Westminster parliament and that is why the campaign to ban airguns is so vital and so important as a part of this by-election campaign.”
