In a town not far from where I grew up, here are the facts as they were reported: Two 12 yr old friends were left home alone. One of them took out their father's readily accessible loaded gun to "play" with. Not surprisingly, the gun goes off, one of the children dies. The child who killed his friend is charged with a felony The father is charged with a misdemeanor. So who, the father or the child, is more at fault, if either one? Given that even the slightest semblance of parental responsibility could have 100% prevented this (by properly educating his children and, better yet, by locking up his gun and ammo while his kids are home alone), I think he should be the one charged with the felony, while the 12 yr old...well, I'm not sure how a 12 yr old should be legally punished for this. Obviously making guns illegal isn't the solution, but what is the solution to prevent such things? Should all states have a law making people lock up their guns and ammo, especially if children are present in the household? And if so, would such a law violate our rights? I'm not sure what the answer is, but I believe the father is the one most legally responsible for this accident.
Guns don't just go off, someone pulled the trigger I'm guessing. Sounds like kids being stupid to me. Punishing either of them isn't going to being the dead one back. I'm sure they've already learned a good lesson.
Is this not the most obvious solution? Gun crime statistics in the US are absolutely crazy. I think the number was around 10'000 last year. Whereas the stats for your northern neighbours was around 200. That speaks volumes imo. Pulled the statistics from: Murders with firearms statistics - countries compared - NationMaster
i see nothing wrong,,, with a household with kids,,,, to be requirred to lock thier weapons up... '' they do make trigger locks'' and people with no kids in the house,, can have thier guns displayed openly.... i mean they make me wear a seatbelt,, for my protection,, so whats another law on the books<--------
But does telling people how to handle their guns violate their rights? Does that hinder one's ability to protect themselves when necessary? I would agree with chicken, that forcing parents to put their guns and ammo under lock and key doesn't. Obviously the kid pulled the trigger, but the question is does that make him more responsible for the death than the father? Of course punishment doesn't bring back the dead. It sounds like you're advocating that a murderer shouldn't be punished for killing someone if "they've learned their lesson" since it won't bring the dead back.
I also agree with Chicken. They shouldnt have to be locked up when there are mature, responsible people in the house, but this is about ones with kids. I have both my shotty and rifle next to me in their bags. Theres no chance of them just jumping out and shooting someone Second, knowing how to properly use and store firearms does not violate rights in any way. Its just how it should be done, otherwise, you probably should be in possession of firearms, and you show why they should be banned
If firearms were illegal there would be a very small chance for a 12-year old to be able to get their hands on a gun thus preventing a disaster like this happening again. I was referring more to the "Gun control" part I suppose
as of 3 years ago the national organization of pediatrics,,,,, advised its doctors of the organizations new policy.... when recieving a new child patient,, TO ASK THE PARENTS IF THIER IS GUNS IN THE HOUSE,, and they have the right to refuse to accept your kid as a patient ,, if you own guns and have kids, theres a big.. hoo-haha going on in florida right now over ^^^^^ that topic.
I think it's just a terrible accident and neither the father nor son should be punished too bad. I would imagine the guild and remorse would be enough. The father probably told his son numberous times not to go into his room or whatever... but kids disobey. At the same time the father maybe should have locked his gun up when he isn't home. But what if he forgets to unlock it the night somebody breaks in and kills the whole family because he couldn't get the gun in time? There's just so many situations and possibilities so I don't think anybody is a fault. Maybe the gun. When I was 12 years old I was already properly trained with guns. Everyone should be. And this seems to happen at least every year. how do they accidently pull the trigger? Seems like a perfect murder =O
It is a matter of personal responability. Which sadly most people today seem to lack. It always is easiest to blame a bad situation on something else rather than the true cause. Everyone should be properly trained with weapons of any kind. It just doesn't seem like people respect anything anymore.
kids also die in outside home swimming pools....irresponsible parents leaving a door ajar. shall we ban the use of swimming pools if you have kids,?
No. Accidents will always happen, kids are stupid...What can I say? Perhaps if the father educated them on the proper handling of a firearm, this "accident" would not have happened. Look at mortality rates on a number of issues: smoking, car accidents, alcohol, obesity...to name a few compared to guns. I think you will be surprised and perhaps focus your energy on those "issues" instead of blowing hot-air over firearms which don't actually kill that many Americans compared to what I listed above.
Yes, it does. One can try to place blame on others but what it really comes down to is personal responsibility. This case doesn't sound like premeditated murder, does it? It sounds like a horrible accident. One gun safety course could have prevented this, I took my first when I was about 10 years old...maybe younger.
In regards to children getting a hold of firearms then yes to an extent. But locking guns up adds a restriction to them, somewhere the child is not allowed to go which will then normally increase the anticipation and the want to get a hold of a gun and experience this object which is so guarded. So when a lapse happens and the cabinet is not locked properly or the gun is left out by mistake, incidents like this can occur. I admit it would be a hell of a job to try and actually put this into action considering the amount of firearms in circulation in the US but the lives it could save would and should be worth it. Imo
I'm sorry but I would rather have a few dead 12 year olds than make guns illegal for everyone. Don't shit on my rights just because you think you are holier than thou. A couple of my favorite quotes come to mind: "He who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither." -Ben Franklin & "...to disarm the people - that was the best and most effectual way to enslave them." -George Mason
Well, obviously we should. Got nanny state? What else can we ban? How about toys in Happy Meals...wait San Fransicko already did that! lulz