(I am an advocate for guns. I do not believe in the premise of gun control and believe it’s a ploy for the government to control the human populace even further. Comments are not needed on this topic or on my political affiliation – any such comments will be deleted.)
This popular Facebook page has been making its rounds on my daily news feed. It calls for the accountability and legal punishment of an individual who had a loaded gun in his home that resulted in the death of a teenage girl, Brooklynn Mohler. (You can find the story here and here.) A spokesman for the LVMPD stated the weapon was stored responsibly and was not left out carelessly.
As I was browsing through the page the other day, I came across this post from the moderator:
“There have been a couple of people that have commented this was just a horrible accident. Are we crazy to think it’s anything but negligence?! If I left a loaded pistol (ROUND IN THE CHAMBER!!) within the reach of my children, I would EXPECT something horrible to eventually happen. Wouldn’t that be negligent on my part? Children can access the top of a kitchen cabinet! I have found my 5 year old climbing the countertops to reach something in the cabinets, certainly it would be quite easy for 13 year old to do so as well! This weapon was completely accessible. “Out of view,” as some would like to believe (Las Vegas Laws), does NOT qualify as secure...”
The argument here is why would a 13-year-old not know any better to NOT touch a gun? The only negligence at fault is the child not knowing gun safety. I understand the moderator of the page is distraught and I also understand that a loaded gun should not be left unattended in a house with children; however, the girl was 13-years-old, which is old enough to know better. How did she not know any better?
This is something the teenage girl who shot Brooklynn Mohler would’ve been better off knowing. And if her parents were smart, should’ve taught her.
I do not have children. Should I ever decide to have children, I will still have guns in our house. My children will know how to unload a gun, will learn gun safety and as a baby, will have no access to the guns. Children are reflections of your teachings. Instead of blaming the individual for leaving a gun out with easy access, blame the individual for not teaching his daughter to NOT point a gun, whether loaded or unloaded, at any individual. Blame him for NOT showing his child to check for a loaded gun. Blame him for NOT showing the child how to unload a loaded gun. And most importantly, blame him for NOT disciplining her well enough to not touch the gun in the first place.
I understand any loss of a child is devastating. But instead of pointing fingers at an individual for an ACCIDENT he didn’t even commit, use common sense and learn/teach gun safety. This is one Facebook page I will not advocate.
Blue-Eyed Rockabella 