There are no national statistics regarding children shot by other children, or family members wounded or killed when a child accesses a loaded weapon. The NRA is certainly pleased about this fact.
Once an association which was serious about gun safety, and the safety of all Americans, it became a lobby in 1977, and has only one concern; to increase the profits of gun manufacturers and gun sellers. They have been very successful.
Today the NRA resents any form of gun control, background checks, and has no concern if gun owners practice gun safety. Laws should be passed making it a felony if a child is able to access a loaded weapon from a private home or vehicle.
Jessica Barkley lives in Louisville, Kentucky. Last month her two-year-old toddler took Barkley’s handgun from a drawer in her nightstand; it was loaded with five rounds of ammunition. The toddler pointed the gun at her mother, discharged a round, striking Barkley in the upper torso. She was treated at a local hospital for a non-life threatening injury.
On March 9th, Barkley was arrested, facing charges for “wanton endangerment in the first degree, a class-D felony punishable by one to five years in prison.”
“The statute reads that it’s basically where there is a disregard for human life or you create a circumstance where a human life could be taken and putting someone in danger. In this case, the Commonwealth’s Attorney and the county attorney’s office felt that it met those elements,” Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson Dwight Mitchell told reporters.
When I was a young man, my grandfather taught me about the dangers of guns. He told me that if there was a weapon in the home, the gun and the ammunition must be kept in separate locked locations. The weapon must not be loaded until it was to be intentionally fired.
In March, another mother, who is a ‘gun rights’ advocate, was shot in the back as she was driving by her four-year-old child. Jamie Gilt lives in Florida. She was driving her truck to pick up a horse. She placed a loaded handgun underneath the driver’s seat. It slid into the back. Her young son was able to unbuckle himself, reached the gun, and pulled the trigger striking Gilt. (The photo is of Gilt)
As of this day, she has not been charged with an offense.
Any adult who keeps a loaded weapon in their home, car, or any other area occupied by children should be culpable for any injuries or death caused by a child’s act. There is absolutely no excuse for ignorance; logic must preside over the love of their weapons of mass destruction.
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
Photo Courtesy of Yaz Obara
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