[msgt/ret]

Not a lot of details but a reminder kids are curious and find things no matter how well you thought they were hid.

NC mom of 5 accidentally shot after kids find gun in purse: cops

A North Carolina mother of five was accidentally shot to death after one of her children found a loaded gun in her purse, authorities said.

www.foxnews.com

 

[ShooterGranny]

Kids are better than crooks at finding things. And when they find it, they will play with it! Thus it has always been.

 

[KILTED COWBOY]

Common sense and basic gun safety would have prevented this.
But instead of education they will use this to further the confiscation argument.

 

[LimaCharlie]

When children are around, the guns are either in the safe or on my body. I have a cousin who is a paraplegic because he and his brother were playing with dad's hidden gun.

 

[OldVet]

FL has laws requiring safe storage of guns when not under direct control of adults, but kids still manage to shoot someone. I really don't recall anyone being convicted of violating those laws, typically "they've suffered enough" being used as an excuse not to prosecute.

 

[Mike in Texas]

One of the most impactful parts of my license to carry class is when I read the law that tells them the state can’t arrest them for 10 days after a child is killed by their firearm. I get a confused look every time. Then I tell them it’s so they can bury their child before going to jail. It’s pretty effective.

 

[alabamaguy]

Off body carry, 'tho I understand is sometimes the only option, needs to be treated in a special way. This woman may have been very careful for years, and this may in fact been the only time that she messed up which resulted in kid's access to a weapon.

When we off body carry we have to plan for the time when we make a human mistake and leave our weapon in a vulnerable place. We are human and mistakes will be made.

My suggestion to anyone who off body carry's (PS: I was one of them for about a year and am glad I no longer do that), is that they plan for failure. What if the 5 year old gets the weapon?

One approach would be to only carry a weapon that would be difficult or impossible for young kids to fire. My 80 year old brother recently bought a 380EZ and it has a palm safety, and he could not fire it until he went back to the dealer and the dealer showed him how to properly grip the weapon! A weapon like this may not be a shooter's "cup of tea", but it offers a degree of protection to young kids if they get a hold of it. This is just one possible example.

Bottom line, off body carry, one must plan for that one time you forget.

 

[RedSafety]

Doesn't say anything about ages of the children involved. And one state its evidently now illegal to teach gun safety to a child under 12. You have a gun and children? Teach them gun safety from birth.

 

[Holster]

Doesn't say anything about ages of the children involved. And one state its evidently now illegal to teach gun safety to a child under 12. You have a gun and children? Teach them gun safety from birth.

That's pretty much how it was at my house. There were guns around and we knew it. We also knew they weren't to be played with. When we were olde enough, big enough to handle particular gun, we learned to shoot. MY dad always filled gallon jugs with water, and shot them, or had us shoot them with the .308, so we would actually see the power that little projectile had, and the damage it would do. It made a lasting impression. We never played with the guns at home, and we knew where dad's loaded Chief's Special was. We knew what it was for, and knew to not play with it. We were allowed, and encouraged to shoot, so we didn't feel the need to play with guns. We knew they had their place, and we had to be responsible.

 

[Arbaces]

Do we all hide and lock our kitchen knives, car keys, and various household poisons, too? Education and supervision matter a lot with raising kids.

 

[alabamaguy]

Do we all hide and lock our kitchen knives, car keys, and various household poisons, too? Education and supervision matter a lot with raising kids.

I sure as heck had child proof hinges and/or locks on things like chemicals and knives when my kids were young. I need look no further than myself for an example of what kids can do; when I was a young boy I discovered that there was a monster under my bed and to combat that I took wadded up paper, lit it with my mom's cig lighter, and tossed it under the bed to flush out the monster. I ran out to the living room to announce my triumph to my mom who promptly called the fire department.

Of course we all try and want to teach our kids responsibility. And we hope that we are such good parents that kids will show proper judgement at all times. But the scientific fact is that the centers of human judgement are very slow to develop, and curiosity can be a powerful motivator in kids. And it probably matters a lot today (my guess) if we're talking 'down on the farm' or in some city apartment.

I did not read the starting article, but as a general rule of thumb, off body carry is particularly dangerous, no matter what the age.

 

[Militant]

Times have certainly changed. I remember spending the summers at my grandparents home in Mississippi (the country). My grandfather had multiple shotguns leaning on the walls in each room and road with 2-3 in the back window of his truck. We were taught not to touch those without adult supervision and we never did. My grandfather would take me hunting with him on numerous occasions and we'd shoot those shotguns together. It is sad to see that some gun owners today don't take the time to teach their children about gun safety while at the same time keeping them out of their reach until they are old enough to handle them. Sad!