Epijunky was kind enough to send me a link to this story:
Boy, 4, shoots babysitter for stepping on his foot
and was curious for my take on the situation. While I'm tempted to snark about "more victims than Dick Cheney" or somesuch, the truth of the matter is, this story depresses the hell out of me for two different, distinct reasons.
The first reason is that this kind of story is one of the hardest to defend against. You have a child getting ahold of a loaded shotgun - all perfectly legal in many areas. There's just no legislating common sense, but this won't stop the local politicos from demanding gun locks and "safe storage" requirements. Never mind that the kind of parent who would leave a shotgun loaded and unsecured in the presence of a pre-schooler and a teenaged baby sitter more than likely isn't going to worry too much about "safe storage" laws.
This is the kind of unfortunate incident that makes living in a free society difficult. This is the very kind of (near-) tragedy that makes the Brady Bunch salivate, as it perpetuates the "gun-owner-as-cousin-humpin'-redneck" stereotype. You've got an unsecured gun, a mobile home, and a teenager watching a pre-school aged child. All that's missing is the Camaro on blocks out front. But you know what?
That demographic has just as much right to own firearms as do the bluebloods and their $20,000 over-under shotguns.
The right to keep and bear arms isn't neat and tidy. It requires constant vigilance, and we as gun owners must always be on our guard for these types of stories. We need to be cognizant of our image, of how our actions as gun-owners can and will be twisted by a virulently anti-gun media to paint us in the worst possible light. We need to remember that we are all emissaries of the shooting sports; that our words in anonymous chat forums can be cherry-picked at will; and that every time one of us screws up, it sets the gun-rights movement back three-fold at least.
So keep your nose clean, your chin up, and your powder dry.
The second discouraging part to this story is the mindset shown by this young boy. Someone stepped on his foot, so he shot him? That signifies to me that violence is a daily part of this young child's life, and that saddens me beyond words. All the gun control in the universe won't help this child, but perhaps a new outlook on life, one that doesn't involve violence-as-a-problem-solving-tool, would.
I don't know where he got the idea that the proper response to someone stepping on his foot was to hurt them. Could be his upbringing (or lack thereof); could be his parents; could be the peer group egging him on. No matter the reason, there's a shocking lack of critical decision-making being shown (not to mention gun safety awareness...) in the process that says using a weapon against someone is a valid method of conflict-resolution. I fear that weapons being pointed and threats being made might be a usual part of this young boy's life.
In any case, the teenager who was shot was not seriously injured, and with any kind of luck the young man who did the shooting will get some positive interaction out of this. There's no way he should be charged with anything; he's simply too young to understand what's going on. The best hope is that there's some serious de-programming in his future that will teach him how to better deal with conflict as he matures...
Shorter ending: Good luck kid, you're gonna need it...
That is all.
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6 comments:
The Dad should be prosecuted for negligence or something of the sort. DHS should take a look - as you say, there very well be more than "nobody locked up the loaded shotgun" here.
Can't see how existing laws aren't just fine and dandy to cover the situation.
Ted,
This incident happened in OH.
I don't know that OH has "safe storage" laws - it is possible that they do not, in which case there's no existing law to cover this situation.
NOW... I am **NOT** advocating such a law - you CANNOT legislate common sense - however, this certainly should raise all kinds of red flags at the local Child Protection Services of OH.
I'm certain there's some sort of "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" type charge that could be dredged up.
I'd rather see a "you're too fucking stupid to parent" charge m'self...
Ohio does not have a safe storage law for guns. The nearest it comes is a requirement that in order to get a CCW permit, you have to demonstrate you know how to safely handle and store a handgun. In fact, Ohio's law on CCW strikes me as a fairly sensible one. Put simply, to get a CCW in Ohio you must pass a class -- taught by a certified instructor -- in the safe and legal use and handling of a handgun. Produce the certificate, pass a background check, and the sheriff "shall issue" your CCW permit.
The right to keep and bear arms isn't neat and tidy.
You can say this about any of our constitutional rights. It's a shame that people seem to have a different attitude about the Second than about the First, or the Fourth, or the Fifth.
When I first saw this story I was suspicious for an entirely different reason. What four-year-old kid has the arm and body strength necessary to load, hold, and fire a shotgun? Or was the gun owner really stupid enough to have stored the shotgun with a round in the chamber?
I'm going to be really curious how this turns out, once the investigation is done.
On the one hand, the vast majority of stories I've seen that initially say a young child shot someone turn out to be someone older passing the blame.
On the other hand, there was a commenter who claimed to know the babysitter, and is amazed that anyone would have him watch children. If it turns out that the child really did pull the trigger, I would be willing to bet that it was over something closer to abuse than a clumsy misstep.
The whole thing left me with a sick feeling in my stomach.
What kind of idiot leaves a loaded shotgun out where a four-year-old can get to it?
What kind of environment is this home if this child thinks it's okay to shoot someone for stepping on his foot?
And this one really has my curiosity piqued... How did this little kid manage to shoot off a shotgun? I mean, I have a little girl who's quickly approaching four who's tall for her age. I don't think she has the strength in her little hands to fire a shotgun.
Okay, I guess that's pretty much a "what everyone else said" kind of comment, my apologies, Jay. The whole thing just makes me sick.
Even a dog know when its been tripped over and when its been kicked. Does this kid ?
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