Houston Toddler accidentally kills self with gun

[BookShaka]

Police: Houston toddler dead after self-inflicted gunshot — ABC News

Boy do I get sick of hearing these stories, which seem to happen at least every week in America. In my opinion the parents of these children should be held legally accountable for the untimely death of their child. Our household doesn’t own a firearm but if we did it’d be in a place my kids would never be able to find and I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

 

[Confounding]

I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

That's the exact opposite of what you should do. The key to safety is education, not ignorance. Kids aren't retarded. They can be taught to respect the power of firearms. It's when you keep them ignorant that their curiosity gets the better of them and people end up dead. Would you really gamble on the kid never finding out about it at any point during their childhood? I wouldn't. I'd rather educate my child thoroughly and make sure they understand all of the dangers involved.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

Police: Houston toddler dead after self-inflicted gunshot — ABC News

Boy do I get sick of hearing these stories, which seem to happen at least every week in America. In my opinion the parents of these children should be held legally accountable for the untimely death of their child. Our household doesn’t own a firearm but if we did it’d be in a place my kids would never be able to find and I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

When I was a kid my brother and I knew where the home guns and ammo were. So did our friends know where theirs were.

None of us dared to "play" with them because 1) we had been trained that they were not toys and 2) we knew our asses would glow for days after having been tanned for even thinking about it.

Different culture, I guess.

I agree, negligent parents should be held responsible.

 

[Moonglow]

I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

That's the exact opposite of what you should do. The key to safety is education, not ignorance. Kids aren't retarded. They can be taught to respect the power of firearms. It's when you keep them ignorant that their curiosity gets the better of them and people end up dead. Would you really gamble on the kid never finding out about it at any point during their childhood? I wouldn't. I'd rather educate my child thoroughly and make sure they understand all of the dangers involved.

Most three year olds have no problem comprehending the features of a firearm and handling it safely...Derp

 

[iceberg]

Police: Houston toddler dead after self-inflicted gunshot — ABC News

Boy do I get sick of hearing these stories, which seem to happen at least every week in America. In my opinion the parents of these children should be held legally accountable for the untimely death of their child. Our household doesn’t own a firearm but if we did it’d be in a place my kids would never be able to find and I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

but when they find it looking for something else, then what? they now know their parents lie to them.

i agree parents need to be much more accountable for gun ownership. but you raise kids to know the dangers of gun ownership, not hide it and hope they never learn off the streets or have to figure it out by finding your own hidden gun.

 

[there4eyeM]

Trigger locks.

 

[Vastator]

Crime Stoppers has $3000 check in the mail to the family...

 

[Moonglow]

Crime Stoppers has $3000 check in the mail to the family...

That should alleviate the loss of a child worth millions.

 

[Pilot1]

They don't happen every week. They are rare. It is a tragedy for sure, but not a common occurrence, nor one in which to change, nor make public policy. Use common sense, and these accidents don't occur.

 

[BookShaka]

I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

That's the exact opposite of what you should do. The key to safety is education, not ignorance. Kids aren't retarded. They can be taught to respect the power of firearms. It's when you keep them ignorant that their curiosity gets the better of them and people end up dead. Would you really gamble on the kid never finding out about it at any point during their childhood? I wouldn't. I'd rather educate my child thoroughly and make sure they understand all of the dangers involved.

It’s possible to educate without telling them there’s a firearm within their reach. We were all kids once and we know how they think—that they’re smarter than us. If they don’t think there’s a gun to be found they won’t go searching for it. I respect your opinion and maybe when my kids are older I’ll agree with you. That said, they will be going over to other people’s houses eventually and I can’t trust others to keep their guns locked up so I will definitely be letting my kids know what I expect of them. I can control where I put my gun but I can’t control where others put theirs, nor can I rely on others to do what I think is necessary to keep children safe... these toddler gun incidents are evidence enough of that.

 

[Vastator]

Crime Stoppers has $3000 check in the mail to the family...

That should alleviate the loss of a child worth millions.

I thought calculating the taxpayers cost savings over this incident would be callous. Apparently you didn’t. I ain’t saying your wrong; but perhaps it’s just too soon...

 

[BookShaka]

Police: Houston toddler dead after self-inflicted gunshot — ABC News

Boy do I get sick of hearing these stories, which seem to happen at least every week in America. In my opinion the parents of these children should be held legally accountable for the untimely death of their child. Our household doesn’t own a firearm but if we did it’d be in a place my kids would never be able to find and I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

When I was a kid my brother and I knew where the home guns and ammo were. So did our friends know where theirs were.

None of us dared to "play" with them because 1) we had been trained that they were not toys and 2) we knew our asses would glow for days after having been tanned for even thinking about it.

Different culture, I guess.

I agree, negligent parents should be held responsible.

Some kids listen to their parents and some don’t. Sometimes telling your kids not to do something sparks their curiosity to do it and like I said there is a stage in most every childhood where they think they’re smarter than you. I went through a stage in my teens when I literally didn’t give a fuck what my parents said. Most people raise their children the best way they know how, but sometimes despite this the kids make bad decisions which can lead to disastrous consequences.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

That's the exact opposite of what you should do. The key to safety is education, not ignorance. Kids aren't retarded. They can be taught to respect the power of firearms. It's when you keep them ignorant that their curiosity gets the better of them and people end up dead. Would you really gamble on the kid never finding out about it at any point during their childhood? I wouldn't. I'd rather educate my child thoroughly and make sure they understand all of the dangers involved.

We should teach gun safety starting in grade school. The Israelis have the right idea

 

[BookShaka]

Police: Houston toddler dead after self-inflicted gunshot — ABC News

Boy do I get sick of hearing these stories, which seem to happen at least every week in America. In my opinion the parents of these children should be held legally accountable for the untimely death of their child. Our household doesn’t own a firearm but if we did it’d be in a place my kids would never be able to find and I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

but when they find it looking for something else, then what? they now know their parents lie to them.

i agree parents need to be much more accountable for gun ownership. but you raise kids to know the dangers of gun ownership, not hide it and hope they never learn off the streets or have to figure it out by finding your own hidden gun.

It’s possible to educate without letting them know there’s a gun within reach. I’ll have other kid’s parents to worry about eventually and that’s reason enough to educate. Right now I don’t have to worry about it as they’re so young but maybe in the future I’ll change my mind. Chances are we’ll never buy a gun anyway unless it’s the end of the world and/or a deadly foreign invasion.

 

[rightwinger]

Police: Houston toddler dead after self-inflicted gunshot — ABC News

Boy do I get sick of hearing these stories, which seem to happen at least every week in America. In my opinion the parents of these children should be held legally accountable for the untimely death of their child. Our household doesn’t own a firearm but if we did it’d be in a place my kids would never be able to find and I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

A small price to pay for our second amendment protections

 

[Moonglow]

A child doesn't have cognitive abilities until around six years old, so teaching a toddler about firearms is like telling them not to shit their pants..

 

[BookShaka]

They don't happen every week. They are rare. It is a tragedy for sure, but not a common occurrence, nor one in which to change, nor make public policy. Use common sense, and these accidents don't occur.

They aren’t rare occurrences, actually far from.

Children Killed or Injured in 2018 | Gun Violence Archive

Analysis | American toddlers are still shooting people on a weekly basis this year

Guns are now the third leading cause of death for U.S. children

 

[BookShaka]

Police: Houston toddler dead after self-inflicted gunshot — ABC News

Boy do I get sick of hearing these stories, which seem to happen at least every week in America. In my opinion the parents of these children should be held legally accountable for the untimely death of their child. Our household doesn’t own a firearm but if we did it’d be in a place my kids would never be able to find and I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

A small price to pay for our second amendment protections

You don’t believe the parents are to blame in these situations?

 

[centerleftFL]

I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

That's the exact opposite of what you should do. The key to safety is education, not ignorance. Kids aren't retarded. They can be taught to respect the power of firearms. It's when you keep them ignorant that their curiosity gets the better of them and people end up dead. Would you really gamble on the kid never finding out about it at any point during their childhood? I wouldn't. I'd rather educate my child thoroughly and make sure they understand all of the dangers involved.

Most three year old have no problem comprehending the features of a firearm and handling it safely...Derp

Some stupid ass REPUBLICAN commented sometime after Sandy Hook and Charleston and a couple more within that 'time frame', that should you find yourself in that situation, "make yourself as small as possible."

I was incensed. I picked up the phone and called his DC office and asked, "just how fucking small can a first or second grader make themselves?"

Stone cold silence on the other end.

 

[Confounding]

I’d probably lie to them and tell them we don’t have one just so when they’re old enough they don’t go looking for it.

That's the exact opposite of what you should do. The key to safety is education, not ignorance. Kids aren't retarded. They can be taught to respect the power of firearms. It's when you keep them ignorant that their curiosity gets the better of them and people end up dead. Would you really gamble on the kid never finding out about it at any point during their childhood? I wouldn't. I'd rather educate my child thoroughly and make sure they understand all of the dangers involved.

It’s possible to educate without telling them there’s a firearm within their reach. We were all kids once and we know how they think—that they’re smarter than us. If they don’t think there’s a gun to be found they won’t go searching for it. I respect your opinion and maybe when my kids are older I’ll agree with you. That said, they will be going over to other people’s houses eventually and I can’t trust others to keep their guns locked up so I will definitely be letting my kids know what I expect of them. I can control where I put my gun but I can’t control where others put theirs, nor can I rely on others to do what I think is necessary to keep children safe... these toddler gun incidents are evidence enough of that.

Your kids are going to go through your stuff anyway. I think it's better if they don't accidentally find guns they didn't know exist. I'm extremely honest with my son, maybe to a fault. He was very young when we started talking about injury and death. He understands that guns kill people every day, and that if he doesn't respect them he could easily be next. I think maturity is all about understanding the consequences of immaturity. Kids can really surprise you if you educate them properly.