Hellobee Boards

Like any other crime, it all depends on the facts and the level of egregiousness (and there are only enough here to get a rough idea of what happened) . . . But my heart breaks for the baby girl. On so many levels.

Part of me thinks that losing a child is probably punishment enough. But then when I think about said child killing someone ELSE, then I do think the parents need to be held responsible. And then I think if they're going to be responsible for their child's actions with a gun, then it doesn't matter who was killed (the child or someone else).

So... yes?

"she found a loaded .22-caliber pistol that police say Clark had left under the couch"

It is very obvious that he didn't take precautions to keep the child away from the weapon. I think he should definitely be charged.

i would prefer laws that prescribe some guidelines about how firearms should be stored around children, and/or more public education regarding safe use and storage.

my concern about charging the parents with manslaughter or the like is that there is a lot of room for interpretation and that the laws would be selectively enforced against parents based on discriminatory factors, such as race or socioeconomic status. for example, if ted turner (i'm just picking his name out of a hat, i don't know whether he owns a gun) had a child who accidentally shot him/herself, would there be a criminal charge?

I think everytime someone doesnt lock their gun away in a safe and someone else gets access to it and hurts other people they should be held accountable in some way.
In this case the gun was left under the sofa! Thats terrible

@MsLipGloss: True, I didn't think of it that way. Maybe he manned up and admitted he left the gun out, who knows. Perhaps all adults living in the home should be charged to some extent for not providing a safe environment.

@Freckles: I agree that it should be the gun owner's responsibility, even if it was someone else who left the gun underfur sofa. It is the gun owner's responsibility to act in a responsible manner with their gun; follow up on where it is and ensure it's being stored responsibly at all times.

I think if a gun owner isn't storing their weapons per any weapon-storage laws/rules in their area, they should be liable.

My heart thinks they should be liable regardless of how their weapons are stored, if a child gets to them and violence occurs...but I'm hesitant on what the real-world legal limits of legislation like that would look like.

I think every situation is different, but my heart says that a responsible gun owner would know how to properly lock & store their gun. ESPECIALLY when there's a child/children in the house, gun safety should be exercised to a ridiculous extent. If it wasn't their child, it could have been a friend or family member who shot themselves ... In both situations, I believe the owner/parents were negligent.