Strollerderby : kids and guns

Pistol Packing Preschooler Shoots Babysitter

JeanneSager — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:28:00 GMT

A four-year-old who was angry that his teen babysitter stepped on his foot loaded a shotgun and shot the teen in the arm. Now he's facing possible charges of aggravated assault.

Wait a minute, what? A four-year-old not only gets ahold of a gun but KNOWS HOW to load it, and police are seriously considering him as the criminal here?

Police in Jackson County, Ohio are also considering charges against Nathan Beavers, the 18-year-old who was shot - and who allegedly stepped on the boy's toes - for child endangerment. Now, would that be for the toe-smashing or for allowing a four-year-old to get hold of a gun? The story, as reported by WSAZ, doesn't say (only stating that the sheriff "isn't sure" if he will pursue charges for either).

Beavers, by the way, is recovering at the hospital. The shot, by a twenty-gauge shotgun, went into his arm.

We've seen the age of criminals dropping in our country. No one needs to remind me of the sad, sad story of the eight-year-old currently facing charges for the double homicide that included his father and his father's friend. But there has to be some age limit, even on violent crimes (and I would say this child was violent - an adult in the same situation would likely face a violent felony).

Can a four-year-old truly know right from wrong? Does he have the capacity to understand the ramifications of loading a gun and pulling the trigger?

I'm still shocked by the fact that this child, at four years old, could already load a shell into a shotgun. I am aware that there is a very different culture surrounding gun ownership in rural areas (according to Ohio state statistics, just one percent of the county's land is devoted to residential/industrial/commercial real estate), and children are often more often to be exposed to guns - and at younger ages. What country kids (myself included) learn about guns comes as much from osmosis as it does actual hands-on instruction. The guns are omnipresent in many rural communities.

So, perhaps, this four-year-old wasn't taught how to load a shotgun. Maybe he's a smart little kid who figured it out on his own. That still doesn't tell me why a gun, and a shell, were accessible by a four-year-old.

As the sheriff says he has't decided, I'm hoping he'll come to his senses . . . and make sure he protects this child's innocence.

Image: HearingVoices

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Mother of Slain Boy Denied Right to Sue

Shannon LC Cate — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:30:00 GMT

The mother of an eight-year old boy shot and killed by the biological son of his foster parents was denied the right to sue the social workers responsible in the case. According to the Joplin Globe:

"Braxton Wooden Jr. was shot in the head by Mark and Treva Gordon’s 14-year-old biological son, [Ethan] on June 2, 2005, during a game of “cops and robbers” with a handgun taken from a bedroom closet of the Gordons’ home.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis decided that because there was no evidence that the social worker and her supervisor had any knowledge of the presence of unsecured firearms in the home, the case did not rise to the standard of “conscience-shocking conduct” required to override a qualified immunity from lawsuits under which the Department of Social Services and state social workers operate."

When the social workers come to my house to do a six-month update of our foster license, they always ask "are any guns in your home in a locked cabinet?" To which we reply that we have no guns in our home. Every time I am shocked that a foster license is an option for gun-owners at all. Call me a big-city elitist, but a I don't believe a locked cabinet would stop a determined 14-year old any more than a bedroom closet would. And it's clear in this case that the 14-year old was determined to play with his parents' guns. He lied to investigators at first, claiming the eight-year old had shot himself. Later, other foster children who had stayed in the home testified that they had been chased by the boy more than once while he brandished "one or more of three handguns that were in the home" and had seen him loading and unloading the guns.

If the social workers aren't responsible for this tragedy, who is? Because when the state takes the drastic step of removing a child from the home of his birth, it had better make sure that the place it puts that child is safer than home. Protecting the professionals responsible for assuring this when they fail is not in the best interest of children. Not only should this boy's mother be allowed to sue the state, she should be awarded huge punitive damages to teach the state a lesson.

Pass the Butter or I'll Shoot!

Brett Singer — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A tipster pointed out Christopher Noxon's article on Reuters about boys who will go to any length to find a gun to play with -- including making one out of toast.

The funny thing is, I did the same thing -- although I didn't wait for the bread to be toasted, I just mushed it up and started shooting. It was the same basic situation described in the article -- mom doesn't want to buy me a toy gun, so I'll make one myself. She quickly gave up and procured my fake firearm.

One major difference between then and now is a four-letter word -- caps. Although you can still buy them, you won't find caps in every corner store you wander into, at least not in my neighborhood. Back in the day, I could easily refill my pistol at the same place I bought gum and comic books.

Noxon theorizes that the desire to shoot is genetic, and maybe he's right. But boys see characters shooting at each other on TV, in the movies they see, the video games they play -- not to mention what they hear from OPK (Other People's Kids). And in the interest of fairness, some girls like to play with guns too -- at least, Rosie O'Donnell's kids do (although apparently her daughter was mimicking her brothers when she did it.)

I'm not saying toy guns are a bad thing. Ultimately it's up to parents to decide what they want to their kids to play with. Although if you really want to stop your house from turning into a shooting range, you might have to ban bread as well.

image: Daily Mail

5-Year Old Boy Shoots Bear, Grandpa Calls Davy Crocket A Pansie

makeitadouble — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:00:00 GMT

As our children grow up, there are firsts and milestones we parents can look forward to experiencing with our hearts swelling with pride, our blubbering eyes welling with tears and with $1500 state-of-art digital video cameras held in our hands capturing the monumental achievement to thereafter broadcast to the world on our personal blogs or YouTube if it’s humorous in any way.

Their first tentative steps, first intelligible words, first time they use the potty, their first shaky pedals on a bike without training wheels and of course the first time they bag a black bear 12 times their size with a youth rifle.

Tre Merritt, a 5-year old from Arkansas who has been handling firearms since he was 2 ½ years old, shot and killed a 445lb Black Bear while hunting with his grandfather last Sunday. According to Mike Merritt, the boy’s “paw-paw”, Davy Crocket, the legendary coonskin cap sporting pioneer, is Tre’s 10th great-grandfather. Incidentally The Ballad of Davy Crockett implies that he killed his first bear at the age of three to which “paw-paw” scoffed, “I really doubt if Davy killed one when he was three.”

If you will excuse me a moment, I just need to get my soapbox set up before I continue. OK, now I’m ready. Ahem. Putting aside my opinions about the egregious misinterpretations of the Second Amendment, my objections to what I perceive as the cruelty of hunting, the troubling number of recent school shootings and the tragic Omaha mall shooting massacre, to let any child whether they be 2 ½ or 5 handle firearms and hunt for carnivorous animals even under the supervision of an adult warrants an investigation by child protective services and is an indication that the child’s home is an unsafe place for minors.

Teaching gun safety and putting a gun in the hands of a 5-year old boy who doesn’t have the emotional maturity to fully comprehend the dangers of hunting, the consequences of mishandling a weapon and the permanence of death is irresponsible and borderline abuse. Isn’t it bad enough children are already exposed to excessive violence in the media and in video games like World of Warcraft, although the latter may help kids survive a moose attack.

The boy’s father said the family plans to get a life-sized mount of the bear, but is still unsure where they’re going to put it; Might a recommend looking for space towards the back of the trailer or perhaps near the stenographer in Family Court.

~~And can someone tell me why I can’t find this story on YouTube?~~

Found it.

Gun Safety: Some Parents Enjoy Russian Roulette

Melissa Summers — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:03:00 GMT

A survey of 96 pediatrician's offices in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico found one-quarter of 3,754 families had a gun in in the home. In 70% of those homes parents said they hadn't taken "adequate precautions" to store their firearm safely. These are parents who like to live on the edge. I guess?

The study suggested pediatricians take a role in promoting gun safety in homes by asking parents if there are guns in the home and if they are stored safely in the same way they ask if your child rides in a car seat. 18 states have child-access protection laws which make parents or other adults liable when an accident or death occurs from a child finding an unsecured gun.

The study defined "safe storage" as "guns being unloaded, locked in a cabinet or with a gun lock, with ammunition stored separately". I wonder how many parents have their guns locked but not unloaded or unloaded, but not locked and that affected the high number of supposedly 'unsafe' homes the study found. I don't own a gun and have no plans to ever own a gun, however it seems to me that the main reason one has a gun is for protection. If the gun is unloaded and locked and the ammunition is stored elsewhere how do you get to it quickly in a crisis situation? I know people can be really stupid but I can't believe over half of parents in the study would purposely put their kids at risk.

For gun safety information see The Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence.

10 Months is Old Enough for a Gun Permit in Illinois

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Fri, 18 May 2007 15:37:00 GMT

Ten month old Bubba Ludwig can't vote, he can't legally drink, he can't join the army - hell, he probably can't even walk, but he has a gun permit issued by the state of Illinois.

Bubba's Dad is Howard Ludwig. Howard is a columnist and I assume he filled out the form for his child to see what would happen. The child's grandfather bought the baby a shotgun as a gift (don't get me started on that). Bubba's dad filled out accurate information on the application including his 20 pound weight, height and baby picture.

The permit was issued with the baby picture on it.

Now Bubba has a legal gun, I guess. He can't buy any more guns in Illinois until he is 18, so it might be a little while before he can start a real collection.

I think I am going to be sick. Good for the second amendment and everything, but even Charlton Heston couldn't convince me that a ten month old has any use for a shotgun.