There’s a must-read in-depth report at the New York Times about the accidental shooting of children. The article presents evidence that these shootings have, for years, been grossly under-reported in official statistics, perhaps by as much as half. Because of quirks and inconsistencies in the way the deaths are recorded and reported, many are neither counted as accidents or prosecuted as homicides. It’s like they don’t happen.
Further, very few states have effective “negligence” laws in the books that make it a crime to leave a loaded gun where a child can get to it.
Researchers recognized this under-reporting probably was happening back in the 1990s, but the NRA successfully lobbied to stop the research.
NRA:
Nuts, Racists & Assholes.
And while I feel badly for the parents, if they leave a gun around and their child kills him/her-self, or another child, or adult, then they should be charged with negligent homicide.
The three-year-old child in the article who was given a 22 as a gift just struck me as a child not being raised by competent parents. I don’t care who is offended by that statement, because 3-year-olds are not mentally competent. Look at the children who die on 4-wheelers every year. Same thing. They are operating a machine they lack the judgment to manage properly. What does it take to constitute legal negligence? What does it take to send people to jail? Why are children acceptable victims of “collateral damage” in the gun club? And in the non-gun club, because there is no movement anywhere to hold people responsible for allowing their guns to be accessed by children. Sorry, evidently pointless rant over.