Parents Work for Tighter Gun Laws in Turkey

The Grimason’s son, Alistair, was shot and killed last year while sleeping in his stroller in a cafe in Foca. This week, Daimi Akyuz was found guilty of the toddler’s killing.

The Grimasons, who live in Great Britain, have been lobbying to change Turkey’s gun culture. They began circulating a petition for stricter gun laws and have since submitted 200,000 names to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Although [Turkey] was Ozlem’s home and we thought it was safe, we actually took him on that holiday where he lost his life, so we feel as if we have got to do something," said David Grimason.

Last year, David Grimason attended a major meeting in Istanbul to lobby for a ban on handguns. The couple hopes that their efforts and the support of 35 civic organizations will result in change.

"We got a letter from the Human Rights Commission telling us that they are going to work on new laws," Mr. Grimason said. "It could take up to a year for them to come through. They are looking at their whole law system because it needs updated. Even for drink-driving the punishment is very, very low, so they need to update everything. Part of that will be the gun laws, so that is good news, I suppose."