It’s never enjoyable to read a story about a child being killed. Yesterday in Minneapolis a child came across one of his parent’s firearms and shot his brother to death:
A 2-year-old boy was fatally shot Wednesday afternoon in a Minneapolis home by his 4-year-old brother, who got ahold of a handgun that “accidentally discharged,” police said.
As expected many advocates of gun control are using this tragedy in an attempt to advance their cause. Whenever a story like this appears in the news they claim that it demonstrates the danger of owning firearms in a home with children. What these stories actually demonstrate is the need for constant vigilance on behalf of parents. There are countless dangers strewn about every household that could cause death to a child. Cleaners and medications can kill a child who happens to ingest them. Electrical outlets offer danger if a child managed to insert a metal object into one. Stairs can cause a great deal of harm to a child if they fall down them. The number of dangers in the average household are mind boggling.
In each of the above mentioned cases parents must take precautions to protect their children. Cleaners and medication should be stored out of reach of children, electrical outlets should be covered, and gates should be placed at the tops of stairs. Firearms are not different. If you have young children in the house you should store firearms out of their reach. That doesn’t mean you have to store firearms unloaded and separate from ammunition but it does mean any defensive firearms you want to leave loaded should be kept in a quick access safe. You should also educate your children about firearms, specially teach them to be responsible around them.
Stories like this should reinforce the concern parents must have regarding safety and not just when it comes to firearms.
3-1 odds that there is more to this story than meets the eye. A while back I followed up on a batch of stories like this, and in almost every case there were other obvious risk factors in the household, although most weren’t mentioned in the original story.