Saturday, August 13, 2011

12-Year-Old Charged - Gun-Owner Dad Gets a Slap on the Wrist




First of all, there's something terribly wrong here. I can understand not being angry and vengeful towards the kid, but the gun-owner dad is another story. Allowing kids access to guns should be an extremely serious offense. Men who are responsible for that should pay a heavier price than a slap on the wrist and they certainly should not enjoy the continuation of their gun rights.

Secondly there are the improvements in gun law that the grieving parents would like to see.

The Naumkin's say they'd like to see all gun owners have liability insurance for their firearms, and take a required safety course every three years. They want that course to include family members of a gun owner, as well.

Yuri Naumkin would also want to see signs displayed at homes with guns to increase transparency.
"We're supposed to have a right to know who they are and they have a right to express it freely," said Yuri.
"Transparency" and the "right to know," those are interesting concepts. What do you think? Isn't it reasonable for parents to want to know if there are guns in the homes where their children visit?

Well, as reasonable as that desire might be, I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough.  Even if every home with guns were marked, it still depends upon the level of responsibility of the adults who reside there.

I think it always gets back to increased controls on gun owners. Safe storage laws, mental health screening, mandatory training, and severe sanctions for infractions, these and other policies would help.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment. 

4 comments:

  1. I agree. Gun owners should have liability insurance. And those who can't afford it should have it provided by the government in true Obamacare fashion.

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  2. Gun owning is an option, not a requirement for survival; more people don't own guns than do.

    The need for health care is not optional, it is a necessity for survival for nearly every one.

    Very few gun owners ever survive by having a gun.

    As usual RedAz, you make a specious argument, you conflate two dissimilar things as if they were similar; they are not.

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  3. But, what about this stupid son-of-a-bitch who made his gun available to an 11-year-old? Should he continue to own guns in your opinion?

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  4. Judges in NY, according to the NY State Police's FAQ on such matters, have the option of revoking a handgun license if they feel it's necessary.

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