It’s happened again: another gun accident, another dead child.
In the very same week when Donald Trump declares an end to “gun free zones,” an innocent 5-year-old girl found her Daddy’s loaded .45 caliber gun on the table and shot herself to death with it.
RawStory covered the horrific events, reporting that the little girl found the gun on a table. Her Dad wanted to take a shower, so he placed his loaded handgun on a table within reach of a 5-year-old. Then he stepped into the bathroom to get himself clean.
The life of little Haley Moore of Louisiana ended right there. Haley won’t live to finish kindergarten because her Dad left his loaded weapon on a table in his house.
Neighbors reported that the father was an Iraq War vet, someone who understands that guns are deadly. He was recently divorced. He was described by locals as “vigilant” with his weapons.
I bet he was. I bet he was as vigilant and as careful as a human being can be. But who hasn’t gotten distracted and left his keys in the car? Who hasn’t been tired or upset and carelessly placed a potholder too close to the burner?
Humans make mistakes. A lot of American humans make mistakes with their loaded guns. A lot of American humans then die of those mistakes.
Less than a month ago a 2-year-old baby shot himself to death with his mother’s loaded gun. So far this year, 23 toddlers have fired guns, killing themselves, parents and siblings. The Gun Violence Archive, a non-political independent group, has recorded 100,000 incidents of violence with guns in the U.S. since 2013.
I think that it doesn’t much matter how well-trained a parent is with guns. A loaded weapon does NOT belong in a home with children.
I also think that it doesn’t matter if Mom or Dad wants to be able to protect the family from some invisible potential boogey man. A loaded weapon does NOT belong in a home with children.
Everyone makes mistakes. I think we have an obligation to minimize the lethality of our mistakes. I think we should realize that a small mistake a with loaded handgun can mean a horrific death.
A loaded weapon does NOT belong in a home with children. I’m sure that Haley’s dad would agree, now that its too late.
Featured image by Erich Ferdinand via Flickr. Available through Creative Commons License 2.0
