Toddler Shoots and Kills Mother

[Ayreonia]

Agreed.

The whole tragedy could've been prevented if the mother had left the safety on before putting it in her bag.

Right, teach common gun sense instead of banning them in the name of safety.

How do you propose we teach "common gun sense" to toddlers?

[Shilya]

http://www.idaho.gov/laws_rules/firearm.html



You need to pass a test to get a drivers licence. You should also need to pass a test to get a shooters licence.

WTF is a shooter's license? Do you mean a carry permit?

Something that isn't a thing (at least not in the US), but should be. Want to buy guns? Go pass a test on gun handling and safety.

[New Tsavon]

Right, teach common gun sense instead of banning them in the name of safety.

How do you propose we teach "common gun sense" to toddlers?

By properly securing your firearms so toddlers can't play with them.

I'm pretty sure he meant teaching common gun sense to the owners of the firearms, not toddlers, though.

[Eastern Equestria]

Right, teach common gun sense instead of banning them in the name of safety.

How do you propose we teach "common gun sense" to toddlers?

Parents should be taught to keep firearms as far away from their toddlers as possible.

I feel horrible for that little boy. He had no idea of the implications of what he was doing, and now the knowledge that he killed his mother will haunt him for the rest of his life.

[Ayreonia]

How do you propose we teach "common gun sense" to toddlers?

By properly securing your firearms so toddlers can't play with them.

I'm pretty sure he meant teaching common gun sense to the owners of the firearms, not toddlers, though.

Toddlers can take the safety off, be it by accident or by fooling around.

But yeah, agreed. Of course I feel sorry for the victim, but carrying a loaded and unsecured handgun around in your purse is foolish and plain asking for trouble.

[Gun Manufacturers]

WTF is a shooter's license? Do you mean a carry permit?

Something that isn't a thing (at least not in the US), but should be. Want to buy guns? Go pass a test on gun handling and safety.

Well, I did that when I got my CT carry permit. Of course, I bought my AR15 lower receiver before I took the NRA Basic Pistol course.

[Ayreonia]

WTF is a shooter's license? Do you mean a carry permit?

Something that isn't a thing (at least not in the US), but should be. Want to buy guns? Go pass a test on gun handling and safety.

but muh freedums

[Lunatic Goofballs]

Police sketch artists have released an illustration of the suspect:

(Image)

Yay!

[New Rhodinia]

Just ran into the "Gunman kills three" issue and went with door 1: restrict firearms to law enforcement and the military. I'm not doubting an average person's ability to use a gun properly and use it as people want it to be used, but guns only have one purpose: to kill. And in a world where firearns are more accessible and effective then what the second amendment thought was considered a "firearm", you can't help but get a little worried.

[Imperializt Russia]

Firstly my thoughts and condolences go out to this woman's family and friends. It seems like accidental gun deaths are in the news a lot lately. What's the answer to these killings? Up to 100 children die each year in the US from accidental shootings, and thats still not counting adults. So how do we combat this? Regular gun control? Or specific laws targeting guns in households with children? I'd prefer to see restrictions on firearms in houses with children, but we've also got to educate people about the dangers of these weapons. This woman clearly wasn't carrying the gun in a safe spot. Can we make sure that people know how to properly and safely carry and store firearms?

Proper and safe carry and storage would probably have involved not having the weapon loaded, cocked and ready to fire. That's begging for a disaster. Even if the weapon was a revolver, it could surely have been left uncocked - I don't know if this is true of modern revolvers, but perhaps not fully loading the cylinder and resting the hammer on this empty chamber would prevent an accidental discharge.

This is an issue of education. This weapon was not safely being carried.
Also, how did the toddler get to it? Did it reach into her purse while being also carried by the mother? Did the mother leave her bag (with her loaded, cocked, ready to fire handgun) momentarily, and the baby with it? This is a shocking level of complacency.

[Greater Weselton]

Why did this person have a gun at Wal-Mart?

[Tubbsalot]

The whole tragedy could've been prevented if the mother had left the safety on before putting it in her bag.

How do you know she didn't?

Right, teach common gun sense instead of banning them in the name of safety.

A lot of people aren't going to internalise theoretical teachings. They'll do the required lessons and immediately forget them. And of course, these kinds of accidental shootings are only a part of the many, many issues which result from having guns everywhere.

[MERIZoC]

Firstly my thoughts and condolences go out to this woman's family and friends. It seems like accidental gun deaths are in the news a lot lately. What's the answer to these killings? Up to 100 children die each year in the US from accidental shootings, and thats still not counting adults. So how do we combat this? Regular gun control? Or specific laws targeting guns in households with children? I'd prefer to see restrictions on firearms in houses with children, but we've also got to educate people about the dangers of these weapons. This woman clearly wasn't carrying the gun in a safe spot. Can we make sure that people know how to properly and safely carry and store firearms?

Proper and safe carry and storage would probably have involved not having the weapon loaded, cocked and ready to fire. That's begging for a disaster. Even if the weapon was a revolver, it could surely have been left uncocked - I don't know if this is true of modern revolvers, but perhaps not fully loading the cylinder and resting the hammer on this empty chamber would prevent an accidental discharge.

This is an issue of education. This weapon was not safely being carried.
Also, how did the toddler get to it? Did it reach into her purse while being also carried by the mother? Did the mother leave her bag (with her loaded, cocked, ready to fire handgun) momentarily, and the baby with it? This is a shocking level of complacency.

Indeed. I see lack of proper safety knowledge/not giving enough fucks to be the biggest problem here.

[Shilya]

Just ran into the "Gunman kills three" issue and went with door 1: restrict firearms to law enforcement and the military. I'm not doubting an average person's ability to use a gun properly and use it as people want it to be used, but guns only have one purpose: to kill. And in a world where firearns are more accessible and effective then what the second amendment thought was considered a "firearm", you can't help but get a little worried.

I don't know, my parents own guns, and they don't intend to use them to kill. In fact, they never carry them. They use them at the range, for target shooting. It's called fun.

[WestRedMaple]

Firstly my thoughts and condolences go out to this woman's family and friends. It seems like accidental gun deaths are in the news a lot lately. What's the answer to these killings? Up to 100 children die each year in the US from accidental shootings, and thats still not counting adults. So how do we combat this? Regular gun control? Or specific laws targeting guns in households with children? I'd prefer to see restrictions on firearms in houses with children, but we've also got to educate people about the dangers of these weapons. This woman clearly wasn't carrying the gun in a safe spot. Can we make sure that people know how to properly and safely carry and store firearms?

Proper and safe carry and storage would probably have involved not having the weapon loaded, cocked and ready to fire. That's begging for a disaster. Even if the weapon was a revolver, it could surely have been left uncocked - I don't know if this is true of modern revolvers, but perhaps not fully loading the cylinder and resting the hammer on this empty chamber would prevent an accidental discharge.

This is an issue of education. This weapon was not safely being carried.
Also, how did the toddler get to it? Did it reach into her purse while being also carried by the mother? Did the mother leave her bag (with her loaded, cocked, ready to fire handgun) momentarily, and the baby with it? This is a shocking level of complacency.

Safe carry can certainly involve it being loaded and ready to fire....that's the best way to have it for self-defense. The problem occured when the two-year-old was allowed access to it.

[Ayreonia]

Why did this person have a gun at Wal-Mart?

Maybe she was afraid the groceries would assault her.

[South Arabia-]

This must be very shocking. I have a small toddler and I don't own guns. Even if I would, I would still never allow him to play around with it.

[Gun Manufacturers]

Just ran into the "Gunman kills three" issue and went with door 1: restrict firearms to law enforcement and the military. I'm not doubting an average person's ability to use a gun properly and use it as people want it to be used, but guns only have one purpose: to kill. And in a world where firearns are more accessible and effective then what the second amendment thought was considered a "firearm", you can't help but get a little worried.

I don't know, my parents own guns, and they don't intend to use them to kill. In fact, they never carry them. They use them at the range, for target shooting. It's called fun.

That's why I own them as well. I have never carried a firearm (either concealed or openly), but Connecticut requires me to have one to buy a pistol/long gun, buy ammo, transport my firearms to/from the store, range friends house, etc.

[Mavorpen]

Why did this person have a gun at Wal-Mart?

Maybe she was afraid the groceries would assault her.

You mean that doesn't happen regularly?

Damn it, and here I've been walking into grocery stores dressed in full body armor.

[Imperializt Russia]

Proper and safe carry and storage would probably have involved not having the weapon loaded, cocked and ready to fire. That's begging for a disaster. Even if the weapon was a revolver, it could surely have been left uncocked - I don't know if this is true of modern revolvers, but perhaps not fully loading the cylinder and resting the hammer on this empty chamber would prevent an accidental discharge.

This is an issue of education. This weapon was not safely being carried.
Also, how did the toddler get to it? Did it reach into her purse while being also carried by the mother? Did the mother leave her bag (with her loaded, cocked, ready to fire handgun) momentarily, and the baby with it? This is a shocking level of complacency.

Safe carry can certainly involve it being loaded and ready to fire....that's the best way to have it for self-defense. The problem occured when the two-year-old was allowed access to it.

Allowed is a strong word.

I'm sure many concealed carry shooters would tell you it is better to carry your weapon not cocked. It would be far safer.

[New Tsavon]

By properly securing your firearms so toddlers can't play with them.

I'm pretty sure he meant teaching common gun sense to the owners of the firearms, not toddlers, though.

Toddlers can take the safety off, be it by accident or by fooling around.

But yeah, agreed. Of course I feel sorry for the victim, but carrying a loaded and unsecured handgun around in your purse is foolish and plain asking for trouble.

Just because the safety can be disabled by a toddler doesn't mean it will. Although, securing the aforementioned firearm out of reach of any toddlers is still the best option.

It was a tragedy indeed. I can agree that keeping a firearm in range of a toddler is a bad idea regardless of safeties. However, I see no problem with legally carrying a handgun.

[Tubbsalot]

I'm sure many concealed carry shooters would tell you it is better to carry your weapon not cocked. It would be far safer.

It would also make it utterly pointless to carry a weapon in the first place. There would be no situation where it was useful (as though there were many reasonable applications for a concealed weapon in the first place).

[Sebastianbourg]

Why did this person have a gun at Wal-Mart?

Maybe she was afraid the groceries would assault her.

I dunno but I found this quite funny.

[Big Jim P]

Carrying a gun in a purse is very irresponsible (the only proper way to carry is on the body. If the woman had a CCW she should have known this). Allowing a child access to the purse (where the woman KNEW the gun was) is negligent in the extreme.

[Imperializt Russia]

I'm sure many concealed carry shooters would tell you it is better to carry your weapon not cocked. It would be far safer.

It would also make it utterly pointless to carry a weapon in the first place. There would be no situation where it was useful (as though there were many reasonable applications for a concealed weapon in the first place).

No it would not.

If you're in a situation where you would be unable to cock the handgun when you need it, you probably won't have the time to draw it in the first place.