All Hail the Second Amendment

[The Grand Nudger]

Can;t you, and is it really a matter of being stupid?  Our kids play cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, army man.....lots of gun based games...when you think about it, lol.  We start em young so as to create better footsoldiers in the future...for scaring the fuck out of the rest of the world.

That;s why you can't leave your fucking guns and their rounds in the same place. One or the other, or both, has to be under lock and key. It's criminal negligence, otherwise...but honestly, a halfway decent parent shouldn't need that law to compel them. We certainly can't rely on them "not being stupid", if that's an issue in any case. Where do stupid adults come from, they were all kids once, right?

[Edwardo Piet]

Kids are responsible for themselves, their parents, and, among other things, the laws of logic and mathematics. I mean, c'mon, FatAndFaithless, everyone knows that. It's reality 101.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Kids are responsible for themselves, their parents, and, among other things, the laws of logic and mathematics. I mean, c'mon, FatAndFaithless, everyone knows that. It's reality 101.

A three year old should know better, right?

[Opoponax]

I can't imagine being so stupid as a kid to pick up a gun and shoot it. And my dad used to keep it on a stand some nights. It never even crossed my mind to play with it, lol, and not just because they told me not to.

I agree they shouldn't leave it out in the open, but still. What if those kids that get in those accidents are the same ones that would've done the same growing up, more or less? Horrible thought, worth a mention. I was a kid too once, and I wasn't so fucking retarded to play with a gun. Unless at the shooting range and given permission.

Fortunately, the law (at least here in California) disagrees with you:

§ 273a. Willful harm or injury to child; endangering person or health; punishment; conditions of probation

(a) Any person who, under circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of that child to be injured, or willfully causes or permits that child to be placed in a situation where his or her person or health is endangered, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison for two, four, or six years.

Child endangerment can be committed by both active and passive conduct, that is, child abuse by direct assault and child endangering by extreme neglect. People v. Felton, 122 Cal. App. 4th 260, 18 Cal. Rptr. 3d 626 (4th Dist. 2004), as modified on denial of reh'g, (Oct. 13, 2004).

When the harm to a child is indirectly inflicted, the requisite mental state for the child-endangerment offense is criminal negligence. People v. Burton, 143 Cal. App. 4th 447, 49 Cal. Rptr. 3d 334 (3d Dist. 2006), review denied, (Jan. 17, 2007).

 

In People v. Odom (1991) 226 C.A.3d 1028, 277 C.R. 265, defendant was convicted of felony child endangerment of his two children, ages 7 and 9. A search of defendant's home revealed that dangerous chemicals used in the manufacture of methamphetamine were improperly stored in and around the house. Illegal and exposed electrical wiring, in conjunction with the chemicals, posed a danger of fire and explosion. The home contained 12 weapons, 3 of them loaded, and the children were apparently not denied access to the weapons. The home was extremely unsanitary and had defects that would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the children to escape in an emergency. Held, substantial evidence supported the conviction. “The dangers created in the home were so hazardous that … the existence of the hazards even for a short time sufficiently endangered the well-being of the children to be a violation” of the statute. (226 C.A.3d 1035.) (See People v. Toney (1999) 76 C.A.4th 618, 622, 90 C.R.2d 578 [statutory elements were met where defendant's home contained dangerous chemicals easily accessible to child; a reasonable person would understand risks presented, and danger to which child was exposed was likely to produce great bodily harm; following Odom].)

So lawmakers and judges, at least here in California, recognize that leaving dangerous things lying around the house meets the standards for criminal negligence, despite how "retarded" the kid may have been. 

[Minimalist]

I think it should be a crime to leave a loaded handgun where a child could easily get it and shoot someone.  And I don't trust "I could leave my gun on the coffee table and my children won't touch it."

All gun owners are safe gun owners. Until they're not. Just ask them. They'll tell you all kinds of crap about "what really happened was..."

Yep.  "I'm a law-abiding, responsible, gun owner" ( a L-ARGO).  Except for that one time.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

All gun owners are safe gun owners. Until they're not. Just ask them. They'll tell you all kinds of crap about "what really happened was..."

Yep.  "I'm a law-abiding, responsible, gun owner" ( a L-ARGO).  Except for that one time.

Well, the toddler's dead, but hell, her Dad is a good citizen, always votes Republican, card carrying NRA, so there's no real reason to make his life worse, now is there?

[Minimalist]

Seems to be the way it works in Louisiana.

[Crossless2.0]

If you want a close range manstopper (door to driveway).  You don't want an ak or an ar (or any rifle).  You want something short and light, in common caliber, slow and flat.   SMG in 9mm para b.

I still swear by a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun. Everyone knows that sound. If they're crazy enough to continue forward, you'll have man-stopper power to spare. Also, you don't have to be good a shot to hit a close-range target when your adrenalin is pumping.

Bonus: you can use the damn thing for hunting, if you're into that.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

If you want a close range manstopper (door to driveway).  You don't want an ak or an ar (or any rifle).  You want something short and light, in common caliber, slow and flat.   SMG in 9mm para b.

I still swear by a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun. Everyone knows that sound. If they're crazy enough to continue forward, you'll have man-stopper power to spare. Also, you don't have to be good a shot to hit a close-range target when your adrenalin is pumping.

Bonus: you can use the damn thing for hunting, if you're into that.

Staring down the bore of a 12-gauge can be a bit intimidating as well. That's why I bought a lupara when I was in Sicily.

[Kosh]

We need to start a vocal liberal atheist gun organization. Nothing would turn off the NRA loving christian gun nut more.