3y/o dies of gunshot wound

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3y/o dies of gunshot wound

Submitted by Norm on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 9:36am.

Story courtesy of www.komotv.com

CLARKSTON, Wash. -- A 3-year-old boy died after shooting himself in the chest with a handgun in.

Police said the boy was apparently playing with a 9mm semi-automatic at the home of his mother's boyfriend on Monday.

Ladies and Gentlemen: If you own a firearm, and ever have a child playing in/outside your home....LOCK THEM UP! I don't even have a child and I make sure they are all locked up and out of reach when a child is at my place. There are enough things to get children killed in this world and this is the one thing that will constantly be under attack as long as stupid people don't take necessary precautions.

If you have a child, teach them about the dangers associated with firearms. If you have a young child, who obviously won't comprehend the lesson (ie a 3 y/o) keep them out of reach, unload them, lock them up, WHATEVER you have to do.

I am pretty darn pro-gun but people have to start taking better precautions. And for anyone interested, passing another law won't help this. We need better education and INDIVIDUALS need to step-up and take some responsibility. You may never serve jail time if your child accidentally shoots their self(sp?) but can you live with that?

Norm's blog
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This here screams of tragedy..

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 10:22am.

I feel bad for everyone involved and demonstrates why it is so important for all gun owners to lock up their weapons. The boyfriend probably didnt even realize the gun was within reach. Children will automatically grab anything they are not supposed to, whether it be: an extension cord, a gun, a drill or hand saw, bleach, pretty much anything shiny, etc..Unfortunately, a loaded gun is the absolute worst thing for them to play with. I just feel so bad for this kids mom.

I agree,

Submitted by OlyCop on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 10:56am.

keep them locked up when the guns are not within your immediate control.

Education is as important if you have kids in your home and also have guns. Kids are curious, and they will check things out. Better for them to check the guns and learn about them when you are there, rather than in your home or a friends home when no parents are around.

"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." Ellen Ripley - Aliens 1986

Thats the thing with this case..

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 11:23am.

The boyfriend may not have been used to even having small children in his home. He may have been a new boyfriend or something. Thats why its important for all gun owners to know how to properly store their weapons. Keeping a loaded gun on a table is just not good. That gun should have been unloaded and stored in a locked area by practice. There aint no reason to leave a loaded gun hanging around even if there are no children involved. Those things can go off and kill the gun owner if they aint careful..

Difference in times

Submitted by Norm on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 12:00pm.

Growing up we had a 20 gauge and a .338 behind the front door. Both had full magazines with an empty chamber, and open action. Pull the trigger = no boom. Move the bolt/slide forward and pull the trigger = boom.

From the time I could read Dr. Seuss I had at least a rudimentary knowledge of how to shoot, and that guns were dangerous and I was not allowed to touch them without an adult. This may sound downright abusive, but we lived on a farm. This was a way of life.

20'some-odd years later I have adapted and live differently due to my city dwelling. I keep "most" of my firearms locked up, or dismantled in some fashion. I still have one or two accessible, and loaded, available to me. Keep in mind I have no children at home, and when/if this happens I will have to adjust my procedure(s) a bit. If I have friends/family/etc over I tend to put them into a more secure holding, unless they are on my person.

My point being, not everyone keeps ALL of their firearms unloaded and locked up if they normally don't have a person within the household who could tamper with them. Obviously if you are having your girlfriend and her child over for dinner you need to adapt and change your methods.

I dont think your upbringing sounds abusive..

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 12:47pm.

Sounds like rural farm living (my brother in law lives in rural Oregon and has guns all over his house, but I dont feel that he abuses his family). But there is something to be said about the benefits vs. risks of leaving loaded weaponry around your abode. For example, about 4 yrs ago, my neighbor up the street had his house broken into, and the perpetrator not only jacked my neighbors rare coin collection, but also pistol whipped my neighbor with his own loaded gun (that he had right on his coffee table) and made off down the street with it, waving it around, at 3:30 in the afternoon. The perp had no loaded gun in his hand to wave around before entering my neigbors house, and then he did. Just like that. Criminals dont usually give a heads up that they are going to commit crimes like this, so there usually is little time to even react or use a gun in self defense. Guns can be a deterent to criminal activity in your home, but their are also serious risks involved when considering them for home defense. Folks need to know this, and this is where educated gun ownership advocates play a big role. Kind of like the NRA before they became just a lobbying arm. Myself, I keep my aluminum Easton baseball bat and a German Shepherd handy, but then again, all I need to worry about around here are tweekers, so I dont think I need more than a baseball bat to deal with those jokers.

I mean "your" in the general BTW..

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 12:52pm.

Not you Norm..

Not taken that way

Submitted by Norm on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 1:07pm.

no worries Bub.

your line: But there is something to be said about the benefits vs. risks of leaving loaded weaponry around your abode. That about sums it up. I'm certain that my habits will change once children are introduced into my life permanently.

I've never kept a weapon on my table, outside of cleaning it anyway. Pretty silly place to leave one loaded for some kind of defensive purpose. I worry more about Narsil and the Tsunami katana that are visible, if someone breaks in.

lol

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 1:18pm.

lol

When you get the family together..

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 1:19pm.

Dogs are a great way to keep your house safe. They pretty much guard my whole block 24/7.

As im sure you already know..

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 1:21pm.

from the farm days. If I had a farm, id have like 3+ dogs..

I love dogs!

Submitted by Norm on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 1:31pm.

Unfortunately I'm really, REALLY allergic to them. I had a golden retriever/yellow lab and a german shepard growing up. They were almost strictly outside animals though. Even with the outside thing I was/am a frequent benadryl user. They were both so docile though that we were probably on our own as far as safety. My german shepard was GREAT for not letting us get lost as children though.

Possible solution?

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 1:47pm.

(for home defense it would need a gun for a mouth though, so we are back to square 1)

Norm ~ I'm curious as to

Submitted by OperaGirl on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 2:44pm.

Norm ~ I'm curious as to what your thoughts are on toy guns. The neighbor kid just came out of his house with a very realistic looking machine gun type toy and sat there "shooting" my three year old. It made me very uncomfortable because even though it's a toy, what would he do should he ever stumble across the real thing someday having only thought of guns as "toys"? Does that make sense?

I'm torn

Submitted by Norm on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 3:44pm.

First, if you know the boy's parents you may want to talk with them about it. If not, remind your boys that it's not a good thing to point guns at people even if they are fake/toy/play guns.

Growing up I had quite a few cap guns. My absolute favorite thing to do was dress in BDU's and rummage through the woods like I was in special forces. Growing up I wanted my cap guns to look as real as possible! Let's face it, nothing puts a cramp in "coolness" like a bright pink model of a 9mm. We were not allowed to point cap guns at another person....ever. Squirt guns it was allowed but they all looked like something from disneyland so it made no difference.

As an adult I have begun to have a real problem with toy guns. Originally I only had a problem with the ones that didn't have enough bright coloring to them. Then I read a report ( I think from officer.com) about gang members in the LA area spray painting their handguns orange to look like toys. ie confuse the cops for a second just long enough to drop them while they are confused about a supposedly toy gun.

Add to that the realism of the airsoft replicas, and the use of them, along with paintball weapons ( you are in combat with fake guns trying to take out your enemy ) and I'm having a harder and harder time with them. When you and I were little it was the lazer tag games. One of the first "cop vs kid" shooting I heard about was a cop who shot a kid with a lazer tag gun. I can't imagine the psychological repercussions there.

I'm thinking, at least at this point, that my kids won't have cap guns. I'll have to figure out another activity I suppose

Pink gun

Real gun

Airsoft gun

Toy

another airsoft, but pistol

another toy

So, the bottom 2 are toys. The top one is real. Looking from a distance could you tell the difference?

OG,

Submitted by OlyCop on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 3:41pm.

makes perfect sense.

I was raised in a house with lots of guns. And I had my own guns at very young ages, and lots of training to go along with it. My first BB/pellet gun at 6, first rimfire at 7, first centerfire at 9, first pistol at 13. And were we lived I was allowed and able to go plink or hunt by myself at age 10. I didn't do stupid stuff with guns like some, probably because I was trained better and knew if I did something stupid I would lose the privledges I had.

But my father did not allow me to point even a toy gun at a person, requiring me to observe the firearm safety rules when walking around with even a toy gun. At the time being a kid, I thought it was kind of harsh. But I also knew that I had greater privledges with firearms than most other kids, and I respected my dad, so I did as he said.

Playing cops and robbers with my friends was not the same as for some kids. Maybe that's why I play cops and robbers now. :)

I know your question was for Norm, but thought I would throw in my .02 worth too.

"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." Ellen Ripley - Aliens 1986

Thank you to the both of you

Submitted by OperaGirl on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 4:40pm.

Thank you to the both of you for your thoughtful replies. Both my boys have been known to use sticks or Legos to fashion guns (usually of the laser variety since they are Star Wars nerds!) but I don't let them point at each other. The Barbie pink one is a real gun? That's crazy!

My husband grew up as an army brat and spent a good amount of his time playing "soldiers" with his brother and friends and he doesn't allow our boys to point their pretend guns at each other and doesn't care to have toy guns around either.

My father in law is a volunteer sheriff and I feel like between all of us the kids are gun savvy enough to know what to do if they come across one or are with a friend who wants to play with one. It does frighten me ~ especially reading stories like in the original post. Also as Kid One is getting to the age where he's going over to friend's houses after school and such I feel a loss of control of avoiding him getting into situations like that. Even though I know the parents and that they are home that doesn't really mean much. Anyway ~ I just hate thinking about my kidlets being hurt in any way!

I was around lots of real

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 4:47pm.

I was around lots of real guns growing up, and thanks to hunting I knew exactly what a gun did. The guns were kept unloaded with the ammunition stashed elsewhere. I didn't really have toy guns (outside of obvious things like Buck Rogers beeps-and-sirens type rayguns or clear squirt guns) but if we were somewhere where the kids had them I wasn't allowed to point at all. The time I thought it'd be funny to hold one to my head my folks really went ballistic.

My Mom believed that if you showed a kid something they were curious about (like letting them see the gun, or letting them shoot at cans with a Daisy) they'd be less inclined to sneak around and try to get their hands on it.

Guns aren't necessary for

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 5:54pm.

Guns aren't necessary for there to be an Unfathomable Tragedy.

Of course not. But I am

Submitted by OperaGirl on Tue, 06/26/2007 - 6:40pm.

Of course not. But I am secure in knowing that I will never have to protect my children from a father filled with "roid rage".

x2

Submitted by Norm on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 8:30am.

He's not a tiny guy but I wouldn't even think of him as having a 'roid problem. Or a strangling smothering kind of guy.

Now Operagirl....I think she may have a 'roid problem. And she's definitely the "get in ma face and I'll get you a big dentist bill!" kinda girl.

My bulging glistening

Submitted by OperaGirl on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 8:40am.

My bulging glistening muscles are 100% natural, I tell ya! I just oil them up and I'm good to go...I must go through 10 bottles of baby oil a week!

Oh My!Please, this is a

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 8:49am.

Oh My!

Please, this is a family website...

You know you want to squeeze

Submitted by OperaGirl on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 8:56am.

You know you want to squeeze one of my slick biceps.

Well, at least we're kinda

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 9:02am.

Well, at least we're kinda sticking to the topic about "big guns"

And in case anyone thinks I've might've crossed the line, I'm referring to arms.

Whoa! Hey! I didn't even make that pun on purpose!

Crack me up!

Submitted by Sarah on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 11:11am.

Oh this is giving me a good out loud almost in tears laugh! Cause it is so true! OG must go through more like 20 bottles a week, I'm tellin' ya.

Mrs Olympia

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 11:32am.

Thanks for posting my

Submitted by OperaGirl on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 11:52am.

Thanks for posting my picture!

Olympia must just be full of muscle people..

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 12:07pm.

Type "Olympia" into Google video and all you muscle people pop up..

Beefcake!

Beefcake?

Submitted by Norm on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 12:53pm.

This is what Olyblog has

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 1:21pm.

This is what Olyblog has devolved into: guns and skin pics. I love it!

Dont forget the Zombies and Nazis..

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 1:37pm.

Dont forget the Zombies and Nazis..

Now all we need is some dip & some Busch Light..

Even bears don't drink

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 1:55pm.

Even bears don't drink Busch

If you ever run into Josh Carbomb remind him of that one.

Devolved?

Submitted by Norm on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 2:21pm.

Surely you jest!? We're movin' on up!!!

Movin' on up..

Submitted by bubba z (not verified) on Wed, 06/27/2007 - 2:27pm.

To the Eastside

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