CHILD SHOOTINGS

[CHansen]

I’ve noticed a fair number of accidental shootings in the news by very young children, say, 5 years of age and under who’ve managed to come into possession of a friend or family member’s handgun in some manner or another. Without knowing the identity of the firearms themselves I’m thinking that the light trigger pull and possibly no safety of many striker fired guns must be a major player in these incidents as it’s hard to believe that a child could muster the strength to fire most SA/DA or true double action handguns in most cases. While irresponsible firearm management by the owners will always be the main factor, I can’t help but think these tragedies are more likely to continue to occur nowadays. Any thoughts on this matter? Or am I presuming too much about the probability of the action playing a role?

[lastinline]

No, the mechanical attributes are not the factor. It is the absolute and total negligence of adults that is the issue.

[billped]

<end thread>

[Cowboy T]

No, the mechanical attributes are not the factor. It is the absolute and total negligence of adults that is the issue.

This could not have been stated better. As a five-year-old, I knew where my Dad's guns were. He showed me. Yes, at that age. They were right there in the nightstand and NOT LOCKED UP. He also made sure that I knew not to touch them without his permission. After all, they're *GUNS*. My parents also made sure I knew the difference between what I saw on Saturday morning cartoons and the real world. Result: I didn't touch Dad's guns AT ALL until I was in my 40's and already an experienced RSO, and even then, it was with his permission.

It's all about parenting, and sadly, too many parents are not doing their jobs these days; I saw this first-hand working in a K-12 school district for nearly 10 years.

[naz]

source

Twenty-five percent of 3- to 4-year-olds, 70% of 5- to 6-year-olds, and 90% of 7- to 8-year-olds have a two-finger trigger-pull strength of at least 10 lb

tl;dr got to keep your guns locked around kids.

[BillyMays]

My two year old can fire a 6lb DA trigger. Not because he can pull it directly, but because children are good are using their environment to accomplish tasks in unusual ways. He would probably wedge a lego through the trigger guard then sit on it, using his entire body weight to pull the trigger. This is how he learned to pull the trigger on my cordless drill.

It is 100% the firearm owners fault for not keeping the firearm in a locked container away from the reach of children.

[CHansen]

There was a recent case of a three year old. A family member stupidly dropped a gun from his pocket, unaware of it, and the child managed to shoot himself in the chest with it-at his own birthday party. Ok, I’ll take it that we should ascribe such accidents totally to adult irresponsibility, and not to any possible inherent level of safety differences between firearm designs.

[nedro]

source



tl;dr got to keep your guns locked around kids.

If you are a parental failure.

[Cowboy T]

If you are a parental failure.

Agreed. Fortunately, my Dad wasn't; he taught me properly. That's what parents need to do, generally, not just when it comes to guns.

[Tarmy]

Gun ownership is a responsibility...one that NEVER should be taken for granted.

This applies to many aspects of ownership.

[foothillman]

No child is safe.
Parents are the ones who keep them safe.

Nearly one child a month dies after being entangled in window blind cords, ... Efforts are underway to get corded blinds off the market

The blinds are not at fault just like firearms.
Parents do not take responsibility so they blame the company's products.

Willing to give up your car?
Will save 2 children a week from death.

Every week in America, there are more than fifty backover accidents involving children. The average age of the child is one-year old. The majority of the time, a parent or relative is driving the vehicle. Mostly these accidents happen with larger vehicles like a truck, van, or SUV. Of the fifty children run over, two of them die.

[badfish71]

Wow new members making their way over here from OT?

[Subotai]

If we just got rid of the cars, we'd save thousands of lives.

[madland]

No, the mechanical attributes are not the factor. It is the absolute and total negligence of adults that is the issue.

^^^^^This

<end thread>

^^^^^And This

And for the record..pencils don't misspell words and forks don't make people fat.

[alpha_romeo_XV]

occupant in a motor vehicle traffic crash.

There are those that worry about the pennies while blowing the dollars.
I liked this Adam Carolla stand-up hit of Gavin Newsome's "priorities" for California.
NSFW (language)