The false confidence of an unloaded gun:

[Robb]

Police: Henry County teen accidentally shot and killed by brother

Charges could be forthcoming against a Henry County mother and her 14-year-old son after the teen accidentally shot and killed his 15-year-old brother, police said.

Henry County police Sgt. Joey Smith said officers dispatched to the family’s home on Deer Trace Drive near McDonough at 2:41 a.m. Saturday discovered that the younger teen had shot his brother.

The brothers, along with a friend who was spending the night, had gotten the mother’s handgun, “which at the time had been unloaded,” Smith said.

“During the course of the evening and early morning hours, one of the boys had evidently loaded the weapon, Smith said. “The 14-year-old at some point pointed the weapon at his brother and pulled the trigger, which resulted in the 15-year-old being struck in the chest area.”

Read More: http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/police-henry-county-teen-accidentally-shot-and-kil/nT3CG/

[slackmaster]

1. Basic gun safety should be taught in public schools

The first rule of which is "You must assume that every gun is always loaded."

[Robb]

2. Read the article. Do you think they didn't know it was loaded?

[slackmaster]

5. The boy violated at least two of the other rules of gun safety

[Robb]

7. Well, then it's really his fault.

[slackmaster]

9. It's largely his fault

Depending on applicable state law it may also be the fault of the owner of the weapon. In California it would be.

[baldguy]

40. Rule One: There's no real reason for anyone to have a gun.

[geckosfeet]

14. A gun is always loaded.

[Orrex]

3. At the very least, you should assume that it's loaded after you've loaded it.

[slackmaster]

6. Some people aren't smart enough to make that connection

[Orrex]

10. No doubt

I don't think that firearm safety should be taught in public schools, because honestly we don't need yet another constraint on the already strained time and funding of those schools, but such training should definitely be required prior to gun ownership.

[surrealAmerican]

13. The article is not clear on that point.

It may have been the victim who loaded it. We don't know if the 14-year-old knew it was loaded.

[Orrex]

15. Good observation

Shame on me for a too-quick reading.

[Hoyt]

21. I suppose you want some NRA certified instructor to do it? Just what we need. And

the standard answer by the gun culture every time something like this happens.

Howsabout teaching , Find a gun -- call the police. And guns are not your friend or desirable in our society. You think some hack from the NRA is going to teach that?

[sarisataka]

28. If it is for school children

Yes.

The NRA sponsored I class I offer to schools teaches exactly what you say. Don't touch a gun, inform a responsible adult if present or call the police if not. Guns are dangerous and should never be handled.
The NRA is never mentioned in class; it is to educate the children not to recruit.

[Hoyt]

30. I'd rather a non-gun culture member teach it. NRA should not be involved in any way.

[sarisataka]

31. No gun control group has a similar program

I looked outside the NRA first

[MattBaggins]

54. Do they receive money for this?

I would prefer my money not go to that corrupt organization.

[sarisataka]

57. Not from the schools

there is a grant program through the nra that covers materials cost. I believe it is funded with member dues, as An educational program, and some outside contributions.

I donate my time when a school wishes to have a class. Usually it is done on An opt-in basis so parents have the final say if their children participate.

[JimDandy]

33. Yes, and knife safety'

Last edited Sun Jan 20, 2013, 03:54 PM - Edit history (1)

because knives kill too; driver's safety, because the NRA says car crashes kill more people than guns, (Whoops, no, Driver's Ed has been cut from schools due to LIABILITY and money problems) and tae kwan do, so our kids can defend themselves against the bullies on their way to their 30 minutes science class (Physics/Bio/Chem all crammed in) because there's just not enough time in the day you know. Yes, we'll squeeze in your "gun safety" because as teachers, we believe that should be America's highest priority.

ETA

[slackmaster]

35. I learned saw safety in seventh grade woodshop

Yes, we'll squeeze in your "gun safety" because as teachers, we believe that should be America's highest priority.

Most teachers would get a break for the hour needed for a firearm instructor or retired police officer to instruct students in the fundamentals.

[JimDandy]

42. I had all kinds of little safety lessons

in each of the 3 'trades' classes I had to take (I chose woodworking, small engine repair- my dad's lawn mower never was the same afterwards- and Home Ec) but those safety bits were integral to what was being taught, as was your saw safety.

There isn't enough time in the school day, no matter who you want teaching our kids about guns. And if there was time, I'd rather have them teach my kids driver's ed-it's much more useful and pertinent to the real skills and safety lessons they need.

And, if any school thinks they have time to teach anything about guns, then teach our kids that guns are "really really bad".

Must get back to packing-moving next week.

[warrior1]

4. another family destroyed

[Iggo]

22. But thank god the gun was saved!

[JimDandy]

34. LOL! n/t

[Drahthaardogs]

8. I guess I am not sure I believe this is an accident (they loaded the gun)

Someone loaded the gun during the course of "play". I also wonder what chargers they could press against the mother?

[NutmegYankee]

11. You never point a gun at something you don't intend to destroy, regardless of it's loaded status.

I never let a barrel cross a person, even when it's slide/action is locked open and no rounds are present. It's the old saying - with rights comes responsibility. These rules are stressed over and over again in the competition world for this reason.
I competition shoot, and we make very sure that the weapons have been rendered safe before we walk down range to compare/score or change targets.


In this case, teenagers should never have had access to this unlocked/unsecured weapon.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

12. Horrible. That's why my husband taught me about his guns

He made me be able to recite every part of it, he made me demonstrate how load, unload and clear it in case of misfire. I had to recite the rules: always assume it is loaded, never point it at anything you don't want to destroy, keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot and proper stance, finger placement etc. He was unrelenting and uncompromising but guns are something we have to have in our house. I was a very uncomfortable student but the more I learned the less scared I became. I told him s much at the time but he said he appreciated my sense of apprehension because it meant I wouldn't treat a gun as a toy.

[Pete Cortez]

18. Well said.

[Robb]

19. Good for you. But this child is dead.

What your parents did or did not tell you did nothing to help him.

[NutmegYankee]

20. But this kind of knowledge and education can help others.

I grew up with firearms, and at younger ages they were secured in strong boxes. Once I was a teenager, I was taught all of the safety rules and to respect guns. That was when I got into pistol competition.
I never lost a friend to guns because their parents did the same thing for them.

I did lose three friends to a horrific car collision, but that was because the driver was playing "Ghost" (driving without headlights on rural road).

[Nuclear Unicorn]

27. You can't legislate everyone wear bubblewrap.

Some parents -- too many parents -- will engage in manifestly irresponsible behavior. We can do our best to educate to prevent and hold them to account when they fail but to impose a set of laws on the insanely arrogant belief that we could legislate the perfectly safe society would lead to a society not worth living in.

Case in point: the 32 oz. soda rule. We're supposed to just sit there and accept these decrees over our lives. People who don't have weight issues (because they already don't drink 32oz. of soda) are still diminished but those who are obese aren't going to be improved. Nobody did anything useful; we're just supposed to be good little peons while I'll masters grow increasingly comfortable with telling us how much they know what is best for us.

HA!

And yes, I count this as a valid analogy, do to all the hoopla over childhood obesity.

[Robb]

55. Yes, that crazy dystopia without guns.

Sounds like a living hell.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

60. I think the place you're referring to is called

Chicago.

[TeamPooka]

24. Fact: A gun in the home make homicide 2.7 times more likely.

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-kellermann.htm

[Hugabear]

16. It should be illegal to keep a gun in a house with kids

Kids can be very determined. Even if the gun is locked, many kids can find a way to access them.

[Pete Cortez]

17. Or parents and teachers can take the time to educate children on the dangers of misusing firearms.

[Hoyt]

23. How about teaching them that guns are bad like cigarettes, racism, polluters, corporate greed, etc.

We need to quit glamorizing/celebrating/tolerating guns in our society.

[NutmegYankee]

32. I doubt it would work. Teens are drawn to things forbidden.

Smoking is rampant among the millennial generation. Corporate greed is at what seems to be an all time high and many talented youth are going into finance/business rather than STEM fields.

Racism has been reduced through exposure and integration of society. If you grow up playing and hanging out with people of other races and religions, you don't harbor racist feelings.

Pollution by industry has been reduced through decent regulation and enforcement, but I don't hold high hopes on pollution by individuals. One canot feel anything but disgust when you stop at a traffic light and see cigarette butts and water bottles piled on each other.

[Pete Cortez]

41. Some parents do just that.

Others teach their children that firearms are tools that put food on the table, keep your family safe, and instill a degree of discipline, focus and accomplishment.

[Hoyt]

43. "[Guns] instill a degree of discipline, focus and accomplishment" - ban anyone who believes that

from owning or being around guns.

Gun culture is delusional.

[Pete Cortez]

44. To each their own.

[Ikonoklast]

59. "My guns also make me ten feet tall and irresistible to women."

Funny how the NRA water-carriers are always telling us that a deadly firearm designed to kill living things is just an inanimate object, a 'tool', can do absolutely nothing all by itself yet can instill a degree of discipline, focus and accomplishment.

Mystical properties not apparent to anyone that doesn't know the secret handshake, I guess.

[TeamPooka]

26. how about 6 teachers killed teaches us we should have stronger gun laws.

not to mention to 20 young children.

[Pete Cortez]

52. That's the lesson you draw from the experience.

Surely your empathy extends to people who deal with the carnage more frequently and closely than someone observing a rare atrocity from hundreds of miles away.

[TeamPooka]

53. don't change the subject. Yes stronger gun laws are the amswer. Teachers know this now

nice try on the diversion though.

[etherealtruth]

29. I agree children need to be taught that guns are implements of destruction

The need to be reminded of the deaths of innocents (either by accident or design) due to the easy availability.

Good idea, educated children about guns and violence ... teach them how Australia handled it by instituting extremely tough gun laws!

[Pete Cortez]

38. I'll simply point out that at the nadir of the American experience with violent crime...

...pistol and rifle competitions were common features in middle and high school life.

[etherealtruth]

39. For whom?

[Pete Cortez]

45. Middle school and high school students.

[etherealtruth]

47. When was the nadir of our experience ....

Middle school and high school students, really doesn't answer anything ... did this include women, african americans, the Irish ... city dwellers ....

I will be 51 this month ... I grew up in a fairly affluent suburb ... we did not use firearms or receive any firearm training ... my parents will be 76 this year ... they are college educated , as well, grew up in relative affluence ... no guns ... my grandparents (1/2 college educated) born in the late 1800s ... no gun ownership or use ...

I don't disbelieve that rural and semi rural kids had the training you speak of ... I also believe they participated in 4-H programs ... this doesn't really reflect the American experienc.

[Pete Cortez]

48. I'm pushing 70.

And by nadir, I'm talking 50 to 60 years ago. And I'm not talking 4-H. I'm talking district funded varsity and junior varsity rifle and pistol. It was one of the most interesting, different things I encountered when I first came to this country.

[etherealtruth]

49. Let me assure you, that was not a universal experience

[Pete Cortez]

51. I don't know how widespread it is

But even today it's wide spread enough that searching "shooting sports" and "high school" and restricting to sites off the edu top domain yields 80,000 results.

On the other hand, I agree that it's considerably less prominent than it was 50 to 60 years ago. Shame.

[Hoyt]

46. I don't think the guns in school BS had anything to do with it, but I'm sure gun cultists subscribe

to such right wing bull.

[Pete Cortez]

50. Guns themselves have nothing to do with it.

It was a culture that placed firearms in their proper context, something that's missing on both sides of the debate today.

[lynne]

36. There is no such thing as an unloaded gun -

- at least, I never assume so. Don't care who says it's empty, I treat every gun as though it's fully loaded. I expect all members of my family to do the same.

Not sure what went on in this situation but it's certainly tragic. The gun should have been in a locked safe.

[raidert05]

37. Not following the Four Universal rules for gun safety

1.Treat every weapon as if it is loaded.
2.Never point at anything you do not intend to shoot.
3.Keep your finger extended along the receiver until ready to fire.
4.Keep the weapon on safe until ready to fire.

Treat Never Keep Keep.....say it seven times and it will become ingrained in your mind

On that note the only weapons that stay out of the safe are our carry weapons. My others stay locked up in my safe. Our carry weapons have keyed internal lock down features, locks the trigger and the slide down, keep the keys on our key rings, keep the weapons unloaded till we are ready to go out.

[Oilwellian]

56. A video that displays that mindset...

[kestrel91316]

58. If the other kid had been armed with a fully loaded Uzi this

never would have happened.

MOAR GUNZ!!!!

[ecstatic]

61. You can't hide anything from a t(w)een. They know where it is, trust me

I wish parents would understand that their kids know way more than they realize: They know where you hide certain things, including your gun. They know how to bypass all your parental controls and internet filters. If you watch porn, they know about that too. I don't know what the answer is: On one hand, you can teach them gun safety and trust that they don't shoot you the next time they get angry. But I'm thinking a gun is a bad idea for anyone with teenagers, especially boys.