Local news reports
A four-year-old boy died of a gunshot wound in his home Saturday, investigators said.
Cody R. Hall died from a single gunshot wound, Marion County Sheriff's Office spokesman Don Thomson said. Investigators on Saturday said the shooting appeared to be an accident. They are not looking for any suspects in connection with Hall's death.
Hall’s death is the second accidental shooting death of a young child in our area in the last week. On April 14, nine-year-old Shayla Shonneker was shot and killed in her back yard by a stray bullet in Oregon City. Her mother’s boyfriend was inside the home practicing drawing a gun when it fired, investigators said. He does not face charges at this time.
This is gross nonchalance. It seems in Oregon as soon as they determine it was an "accident," they're satisfied. I say there's not much difference between an intentional homicide and this type of gross neglegence, at least not much difference in the body count. To not hold gun owners responsible for their misbehavior is wrong.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
The story says that there are no known details regarding how the shooting happened, but you can tell us that it was gross negligence huh? Those are some amazing psychic abilities!
ReplyDeleteLook, Mike, we all are saddened by tragedies like this, and if there is gross negligence or recklessness, we want to see punishment as well.
We have laws for negligent homicide and reckless homicide in this country. Each state sets the standards for what applies as each. You are basically calling for a determination of reckless homicide, or even depraved heart murder for every single firearms accident. That is what we have a problem with, just as we would have a problem if the same thing was done for every fatal automobile crash.
All we are asking is that the determinations be made the way they would be in any fatal accident, be it with a car, lawnmower, swimming pool, etc. Yes, guns are dangerous, but so are many other things. If car accidents, which kill far more people than gun accidents, are treated under the same laws as everything else, there is no reason to treat guns differently.
How can you be saddened and do nothing about it?
ReplyDeleteWe don't yet know what happened here to know what TO do about it. In cases of defective products, the answer is to improve the gun design--Greg talks about designs to prevent a single action revolver from firing if dropped--and to educate people about which guns have the safer design. If it's because of negligent behavior, the answer is to work to improve training and help hammer safety rules through people's heads, etc.
DeleteBut I suspect these things don't count as doing something about it, and you mean that I should give up defending the second amendment for the good of the children.
Sorry, but I don't give up my liberties just to buy safety. I'm not giving up my right to own various guns because you think that MIGHT prevent some shootings, or make it more "difficult" for the shooter (difficult meaning his suicide run will cost him more--what a deterrent), just like I'm not going to give up First Amendment protections on free exercise just because Michelle Bachman tells me that the Muslims are coming for all of us.
The key question is what to do. Sadness is an emotion. As such, it is a motivator, but it is not a logical path to an answer.
DeleteWe know what to do to cut these incidents, but innocent death is not as important as your rights, nice attitude.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a useful proposal yet from the gun control freak crowd.
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