Woman Killed By 2 Year Old In Idaho

[campbellking]

She was carrying (legally, as she had a 'concealed weapons permit') a gun in her handbag, when her child reached into her bag, took the gun out and accidentally shot her.
Is there no regulation that states that the weapon should be carried safely, so that these incidents can't happen?

[Canary42]

How do they know it was accidental ? A 2-year-old is quite capable of doing it deliberately, not understanding the true circumstances of the result. And in the US they teach them how to shoot guns at a very early age.

[mikey4444]

Well said Lynda ! But these daft Americans that insist on their "right" to carry guns are just a danger to themselves. The reality is that this woman thought it was perfectly OK to carry a gun in her handbag, without the safety catch on, while shopping with a large number of children, in a huge shop. It could have been anybody that the child killed....it was somewhat ironic that it was its own mother that died.

Many thousands of completely innocent people are killed by legally held guns in America every year, and it doesn't seem to bother anybody enough to actually do something about it. Its America's own tragedy, made worse by a sanctimonious gun lobby, in whose interest the continuing sale of guns
is highly profitable. .

We have discussed this issue many times here on AB and it won't be long before another person, or group of persons, probably children, will be killed.
So we will be discussing it all over again.

We faced this situation after Hungerford and Dunblane and we acted sensibly....America doesn't appear to understand what being sensible means.

[youngmafbog]

300 million guns Mickey.

Where would YOU start then as you seem to have all the answers.

And try doing it without being condescending to the Americans, just because they happen to have a different view to you.

[Baldric]

YMB, you may have to explain that last paragraph I suspect!

[andy-hughes]

youngmafbog - "300 million guns Mickey.

Where would YOU start then as you seem to have all the answers.

And try doing it without being condescending to the Americans, just because they happen to have a different view to you."

I don't think Mikey is being condescending to the Americans.

Mikey appreciates - as do I - that Americans maintain this 'frontier' mentality that the early settlers needed to survive - the right of every man to bear arms to protect his family.

The irony is - that right enables the millions of guns to circulate, often in criminal hands, which does mean that protection is required - it's just the means of that protection that is a contentious issue.

I would start with the amendment of the Constitution which gives people the right to bear arms.

Of course, that is never going to happen.

No president is ever going to be elected on a platform of gun control. Even the most cautious and well-meaning President like Obama will and does fight shy of taking on the NRA, knowing full well that he will lose.

I am unsure what a realistic solution would be - since the systems that could eradicate the obsession with guns, and educate future generations that carrying guns is not a good thing, are all inoperable.

[mikey4444]

Canary....I'm not sure that even Americans are stupid enough to begin teaching 2 year olds to handle guns. This is an accident, that was allowed to happen because this woman thought that mixing small children and guns was was a good idea. A very sad day but hardly unknown.

[DTCwordfan]

Having lived in the States, I know where I would start. Tackling the ban of guns is nigh on impossible as the 2nd Amendment is not going to be overthrown in the near future - unless there is a massive and I mean massive takeover of both houses.

Therefore, I would tackle the bullets and tax them to the ceiling and beyond, a bit like tobacco tax over here, enough to discourage most folk.......For those needing bullets as part of their jobs, (rangers, police etc, they could be bought under licence - and controlled)

[Canary42]

This family started teaching to use a gun when when kid was 3-years old.

[Baldric]

If a 9 year old can't handle it!


http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/26/us/arizona-girl-fatal-shooting-accident/

[Old_Geezer]

Even if the child had seen westerns or whatever, and shot deliberately, I'm unsure it matters much. The issue is with the existence of the gun, plus the safety being off, and the availability of it to the child. Some mistakes have a high price/devastating consequence, that can not be fixed. Anyway, did it not say it was on CCTV, and witnessed; so presumably it was the accident it was claimed to be.