5-Year-Old Looking for Candy Finds Gun, With Tragic Results

majj27

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I agree to a certain extent. It depends on who is in the house. If you have someone who is very young or who you know or reasonably show know is mentally unstable then you are right, BUT if you have a teenager or adult that gets hold of a gun (provided you did not know and had no reason to believe the person was mentally unstable) who then goes and does something with the gun whether it be a mass shooting, some other crime suicide whatever the case may be the person should NOT face charges.

I wouldn't argue this.

In my mind, if you want to be a responsible gun owner, you probably would take steps to be responsible with your gun(s). And that includes safe storage, maintenance, knowledge of proper handling and usage, when using it is appropriate and when it is not, etc.

It's a tool. But it is a tool that needs to be treated with proper care and respect, because if you just screw around with it, you could dang well kill yourself or someone else.
 
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majj27

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Common sense goes am long way in cases like this. A 5 yr old is plenty old enough to learn not to touch firearms, however the parents should have had trigger locks at least. There is no excuse for this and guns should be locked or elevated and trigger locked at least. I am a hunter and I have a ccp as well so yes I carry. I am well trained and I would try to protect anyone if the need was to arise. I pray to never need it, But it is a tool, Just like my pocket knife.

Well, you can teach a 5-year old that firearms are not toys and are not to be touched, but five-year olds aren't the best with impulse-control. Hence, *some* form of safety equipment should be used (much like you'd unplug a chainsaw if it's where a kid could get to it, EVEN IF they know it's not to be touched).

But if it turns out this gun was just shoved in a drawer somewhere easily reached, that's irresponsible. And now this poor kid gets to live his life remembering that he shot and killed his little brother.

I can't even imagine how much that will haunt him.
 
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dogs4thewin

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The problem is that many of the "self-defence" crowd don't believe in safe storage, because it runs counter to their very reason for having a gun.
It depends You can store them when you are NOT in and when are home there is no need and/or as your children get older there is really no need to safely store your weapons ( away from them) unless they happen to be mentally unstable.
 
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dgiharris

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I used to teach gun safety and I hate how this scenario plays out over and over again in this country week after week after week.

I told every single one of my clients, if you are honestly and truly afraid for your safety and security at home then get a dog. A dog is a much better deterrent than a gun. Even a little ankle biter dog is better for you than a gun.

The other thing I tell all adults is that if you have a gun in your house, your kids know about it and they know where it is. PERIOD.

Also, we are human. We are not 100% perfect 100% all of the time. Even if you are well trained, respectful, and super careful with a gun... You are still human. And if you have a kid in the house all it takes is that "one" mistake. The perfect storm of events... You are stressed, in the middle of doing something, the phone rings, the doorbell rings, a bird flies through your window, whatever... and next thing you know, "somehow" you forgot to lock your gun safe when you put it at the top of your closet, out of sight out of mind...

Fast forward 3 days, you are out with the wife on date night, kids are at home with a family friend who also has a kid. They decide to go play and your kids say, "Wanna see something cool?" and they go up into your closet to look at the gun safe and click... the safe opens...

all it takes it that one time out of a million... and unfortunately, on a daily basis some family in this country finds out the hard way that guns just are more trouble than they are worth.
 
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dgiharris

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Common sense goes am long way in cases like this. A 5 yr old is plenty old enough to learn not to touch firearms,....

you have got to be joking if you think a five year old has the cognitive ability and emotional maturity to resist the temptation to not play with a gun when no one is around. Heck, I know plenty of adults who don't have the cognitive ability and emotional maturity to be responsible with a gun.
 
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Nithavela

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For years, the NRA has taught kids in schools, clubs, and everywhere they can how to avoid gun accidents, should they find one. They emphasize:

1) Stop
2) Don't touch
3) Tell an adult

But, this is a stop-gap.
Responsible parenting is the key.
Those NRA programs have been proven useless for children like the one in the OP numerous times. They only provide a false sense of security for the parent.
 
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USincognito

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I was referring to the parents lol.

Anyone who leaves a gun out where a young kid can easily get to it was a person who should've been denied the right to own a gun in the first place. Clearly they weren't responsible enough to have it.

But but but! Shall not be infringed!!!
 
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Rubiks

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It should be required by law that guns be locked up and pulling the trigger of a gun should require enough force so a child cannot fire it.

I don't think toy guns should be blamed in any way. They already look completely different from the real thing.
 
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*LILAC

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I don't think toy guns should be blamed in any way. They already look completely different from the real thing.
Not necessarily. Just the other day someone brought out a plastic black gun that shoots little steel BBs. At first glance it looks real and alot of people were upset that it was in the house. You don't know if it's real or not at first glance. Some even shoot water, which seems harmless but the idea is still there that it's OK to point and shoot at someone.
 
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Darkhorse

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Those NRA programs have been proven useless for children like the one in the OP numerous times. They only provide a false sense of security for the parent.

I question whether this kid was ever exposed to the NRA program or any other warnings. If he thought the gun was a toy, he obviously had never been shown, felt, and warned about a real gun. The real ones are solid metal and are much heavier than toys.

As I said before, the parent's care and safety practices are paramount; everything else is secondary.
 
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Darkhorse

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The problem is that many of the "self-defence" crowd don't believe in safe storage, because it runs counter to their very reason for having a gun.

That's odd - my wife and I managed to raise two curious boys while carrying guns, without any "close calls" or accidents. You develop your protocol, you adhere to it, and you anticipate lapses and build-in safeguards for them.

It also wouldn't hurt to take the kids to the shooting range to show them the destructive power of a gun, and the amount of noise it makes. Along with loving guidance and instruction.
 
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dogs4thewin

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Parent should be charged with murder or manslaughter. They left the gun in an unsafe place.
If anything involunary manslaughter fits. ( in many jusiditions the lowest form of homicide. It would not be murder as that usually requires intent or a violent felony or sometimes an act where the act itself is so dangerous to anyone ( like drunk driving), but that is second degree murder and often a tougher sell in court. Nor is it voluntary manslaughter because that is heat of the moment killing. I come home see my husband in bed with another woman reach for a gun before I have time to think .
 
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BNR32FAN

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That’s just an irresponsible gun owner. I’m planning to buy a pistol so I can protect my family if I ever need to but I wouldn’t buy a gun without a way to lock it so my children or anyone else can’t get access to it.
 
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Southernscotty

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you have got to be joking if you think a five year old has the cognitive ability and emotional maturity to resist the temptation to not play with a gun when no one is around. Heck, I know plenty of adults who don't have the cognitive ability and emotional maturity to be responsible with a gun.
Not at all. At age 5 I knew that I would get a spanking if I touched them. In my day we didn't get time outs or none of that silly nonsense. We got our tails busted and we learned obedience from it. That is what is wrong today, People don't know how to raise children anymore, That is why we all these lazy people in the world refuse to do anything because they had everything handed to them in life.
Let me tell you I knew what guns were for and what they do, because I was taught. Dad and grampa and everyone carried guns on our farm and shot snakes and coyotes and "whatever" else and I was right there in the middle of them learning. They took the time to teach me things and a gun is simply a tool. A tool that killed things so I knew not to touch the tools. People are harming their children greatly by NOT teaching them about real life, Parents would rather sit them in front of a tv or give them a phone to play games on for a babysitter! This is why kids are so messed up today. They live in animation with no real world experience.
 
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majj27

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Not at all. At age 5 I knew that I would get a spanking if I touched them. In my day we didn't get time outs or none of that silly nonsense. We got our tails busted and we learned obedience from it. That is what is wrong today, People don't know how to raise children anymore, That is why we all these lazy people in the world refuse to do anything because they had everything handed to them in life.
Let me tell you I knew what guns were for and what they do, because I was taught. Dad and grampa and everyone carried guns on our farm and shot snakes and coyotes and "whatever" else and I was right there in the middle of them learning. They took the time to teach me things and a gun is simply a tool. A tool that killed things so I knew not to touch the tools. People are harming their children greatly by NOT teaching them about real life, Parents would rather sit them in front of a tv or give them a phone to play games on for a babysitter! This is why kids are so messed up today. They live in animation with no real world experience.

Good point. We should charge that kid with manslaughter.
 
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Good point. We should charge that kid with manslaughter.
I don't see why you would go there friend. I said earlier that there should have been trigger locks or something. This is tragic but I will blame no one because accidents do happen.
I was simply stating from someone else's post about at age 5 I was raised with real life respect towards guns. I was taught. NOT stuck in front of the tv so the simpsons or spongebob could raise me.
 
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Southernscotty

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I guess I will hop out of here because it just hit that most people probably don't understand me because they were not raised like I was. { Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song}
I live in a different world now and I seem to be a round peg trying to fit into a square hole. lol
I just see life so much different than most people. To be honest I am glad for this because I learned real world techniques and skills that are useful in my life and ministry.
Even before I was a saved, As a child I learned that we loved our neighbors and we took them food when they were sick. We cut and hauled their hay and took care of their livestock for free. We knew everyone's name on our 5 miles of dirt road and they were considered extended family.
As a child I carried a 22 rifle or shotgun or a fishing pole up and down our roads and hunted everywhere I wanted too with no thought of ever using a gun to do anything harmful to anyone.
I walked miles of creek fishing and hunting and I walked home and put my gun in my room and done my chores and then my homework. I am 46 years old and I don't even understand the world I live in.
I miss our farm but the lessons I learned on it have stayed with me. I learned respect because my parents loved me enough to teach me. Isn't this what God does?
 
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