Guns and kids - are people never going to learn

[74-911]

This is getting to be all to common around here. No law can ever punish these grand-parents more than they have already been punished. According to news on TV last night they put him down for a nap... a loaded .38 semi was on the nightstand next to the bed:

3-year-old shoots self with grandfather's gun in N. Harris County - Houston Chronicle

[HardDrive]

There is simply no excuse. Mini gun safes are cheap. Hell, you can get a little lock box with a key for $20. Put the key on the trim above a door.

[legion]

My son is 3. I would never put him alone in a room with an unsecured loaded gun.

That said, I've been training my son since he was 2:

If you see a gun:
-Don't touch it.
-Tell a grown-up.
-Leave the area.

When we were looking at houses last year, he stumbled on an M1 Garand in an unlocked closet. I was right behind him and couldn't see into the closet. I saw him open the door, his eyes got big, and he backed out of the closet and yelled: "Daddy, there's a gun in there!" I told him "good job" and gave him a huge hug. The whole rest of the day I made a point out of praising him for listening to daddy and doing the right thing.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by 74-911

This is getting to be all to common around here. No law can ever punish these grand-parents more than they have already been punished. According to news on TV last night they put him down for a nap... a loaded .38 semi was on the nightstand next to the bed:

3-year-old shoots self with grandfather's gun in N. Harris County - Houston Chronicle

They really need to spend some jail time and a LOT of community service. That is just beyond stupid and we need a new word to describe that level of depraved disregard for human life.

[HardDrive]

This. Hats off to you sir.

Originally Posted by legion

My son is 3. I would never put him alone in a room with an unsecured loaded gun.

That said, I've been training my son since he was 2:

If you see a gun:
-Don't touch it.
-Tell a grown-up.
-Leave the area.

When we were looking at houses last year, he stumbled on an M1 Garand in an unlocked closet. I was right behind him and couldn't see into the closet. I saw him open the door, his eyes got big, and he backed out of the closet and yelled: "Daddy, there's a gun in there!" I told him "good job" and gave him a huge hug. The whole rest of the day I made a point out of praising him for listening to daddy and doing the right thing.

[ckelly78z]

My FIL loves his guns and is usually safe, but at 77 years old, his attention span and judgement are now in question. On the 4th of July we all had a good time shooting at my target out in the back field which all went off without a hitch. Driving back up to the house after we were done he came within inches of clipping off his drivers mirror on my horse fence (stationary post) while talking to someone in the back seat. (this is the same van that he blew out the rear window and severly crumpled the lift gate when he hit the front of my truck after pulling him out of a snowy ditch with my 25' long tow strap). Later though, he was rummaging through the big bag of fireworks he had brought with a flashlight in one hand and a lit sparkler in the other, nothing was said but we all kinda backed away.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by 74-911

No law can ever punish these grand-parents more than they have already been punished.

Ah, but we could try. Whatever they are suffering through now is no reason not to throw the book at them. Hell, throw two books at them.

[intakexhaust]

On a related note. Makes you want to 'scratch your head.'

Devon Staples Dies Instantly Lighting Fireworks On His Head: Brother "There Was No Devon Left When I Got There" - dBTechno

[masraum]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

On a related note. Makes you want to 'scratch your head.'

Devon Staples Dies Instantly Lighting Fireworks On His Head: Brother "There Was No Devon Left When I Got There" - dBTechno

Or put a helmet on it. Very sad and stupid.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 74-911

This is getting to be all to common around here. No law can ever punish these grand-parents more than they have already been punished. According to news on TV last night they put him down for a nap... a loaded .38 semi was on the nightstand next to the bed:

3-year-old shoots self with grandfather's gun in N. Harris County - Houston Chronicle

Very, very sad. I agree, probably no point in putting grandpa in jail. I can't even imagine the pain and suffering that his whole family is going through.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by legion

My son is 3. I would never put him alone in a room with an unsecured loaded gun.

That said, I've been training my son since he was 2:

If you see a gun:
-Don't touch it.
-Tell a grown-up.
-Leave the area.

When we were looking at houses last year, he stumbled on an M1 Garand in an unlocked closet. I was right behind him and couldn't see into the closet. I saw him open the door, his eyes got big, and he backed out of the closet and yelled: "Daddy, there's a gun in there!" I told him "good job" and gave him a huge hug. The whole rest of the day I made a point out of praising him for listening to daddy and doing the right thing.

Major props for teaching your son the correct procedures when encountering a firearm.

If adults that have not been exposed to firearms adopted a similar process, there would be less accidental discharges today...

-Z

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

On a related note. Makes you want to 'scratch your head.'

Devon Staples Dies Instantly Lighting Fireworks On His Head: Brother "There Was No Devon Left When I Got There" - dBTechno

That is just mind blowing....

How about this Darwin award winner.

KFDM Channel 6 :: News - Top Stories - Alligator attacks and kills 28-year-old man

[Tervuren]

Swimming pools are even more dangerous by an incredibly large margin, but it doesn't seem to have the headline making shock value, especially as its one of the major causes of death of inner city black kids, and I guess they don't matter as much.

Legion, great approach, thanks for your efforts.

[Rapewta]

Ok..

We think of parents as they used to be. Mature, loyal, hard working honest men and wives.

Well, throw that out the window.

Men have no maturity, no sense and have no idea what it is to be a husband.

Sorry you awesome owners of high performance sports cars...

You suck big time.
I love your passion but I know that if you got smacked in the mouth in front of a

Starbucks... You wil drop the tears big time. I love you anyway but, the guys today are
.... well... just watch tv commercials. Yea.. that's you.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by masraum

Very, very sad. I agree, probably no point in putting grandpa in jail. I can't even imagine the pain and suffering that his whole family is going through.

It's not about him entirely, it's about all the other dumbasses out there who do the same thing every day and don't have a second thought about it. Obviously "Gosh, if I leave my grandson unattended with a gun, he might be killed," isn't enough motivation. Perhaps adding, "And I'll spend the rest of my life in prison," might motivate the dumbass to think about what he's doing.

[aigel]

Some people have guns in every room, every drawer and stuffed between each cushion on the sofa, bed, recliner etc. - it isn't even on their radar that something bad could come from this. It is all about them feeling "safe". Maybe they live in neighborhoods that are awful, but it still is going to be more likely that you or a family member will get shot by one of your own guns than that the gun will help bail out you or a family member. That's just my two cents. Kids in the house? Guns are locked up. Even more so when they are toddlers.

G

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

It's not about him entirely, it's about all the other dumbasses out there who do the same thing every day and don't have a second thought about it. Obviously "Gosh, if I leave my grandson unattended with a gun, he might be killed," isn't enough motivation. Perhaps adding, "And I'll spend the rest of my life in prison," might motivate the dumbass to think about what he's doing.

It's not about him entirely, it's about all the other dumbasses out there who do the same thing every day and don't have a second thought about it. Obviously "Gosh, if I leave my grandson unattended next to the pool he might drown," isn't enough motivation. Perhaps adding, "And I'll spend the rest of my life in prison," might motivate the dumbass to think about what he's doing.

A very sad tragedy indeed but, as has been pointed out earlier in this thread (and evidenced in the post quoted above), guns raise the emotional stakes for the dumbasses suffering from their schitzoid, hoplophibic paranoias.

They have suffered enough. Your childish lust for revenge - simply because this involves a gun - is disgusting.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

Swimming pools are even more dangerous by an incredibly large margin, but it doesn't seem to have the headline making shock value, especially as its one of the major causes of death of inner city black kids, and I guess they don't matter as much.

Legion, great approach, thanks for your efforts.

Swimming pools are the number one cause of death for kids in AZ. And there are a gazillion more guns here than swimming pools. And we have a lot of swimming pools.

[onewhippedpuppy]

But if the headline read "Negligent Grandparents Kill Grandchild", half of you guys wouldn't click it. And clicks are what it's all about. What if they were in a car accident and the child was killed because he wasn't properly restrained? Falls in a pool? Wanders into the street? It's just another excuse for the self-righteous to lecture.

My kids all get early exposure to guns, learn that they are not toys, and are instructed in how to use them properly. Mine are all locked up. It's called responsible gun ownership. But nobody would click on that either.

[74-911]

Announced on the news tonight that the 3 year has died.....

police and Child Protective Services are still investigating the circumstances and no charges have been filed.