A tragic story.

I have always had guns in the house. I taught my kids gun safety very early on, and continue to do so. They have a great deal of respect for firearms, and treat everyone they see as if it were loaded until proven otherwise.

Story says he kept his gun in a closet. I'm not sure what good would come of prosecuting this guy. He's gonna live with this every day of his life. Him being a cop isn't even relevant to the story. Prosecuter says "he's a cop he should know better" REALLY? Does that extend to our government? How about to Eric Holder?

If his mother left a knife on the table while making dinner, and went to answer the phone and had the same tragic result, I don't think anyone would be talking about prosecuting her.

I think its a very sad tragic accident. Prayers sent to those involved.

What if he didn't shoot himself? What if he shot someone else? Then who should be punished?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/21/jordan-brown-killed-fathe_n_168862.html
I went to school with this kids dad and he was taught every aspect of gun safety, he was an avid hunter with his father, but he is still just a kid. If his father would have been responsible enough to secure his shotgun and shells this would have not happened. This poor kid is on trial and yet the adult who let this happen will face no cosequences for his in-actions. Kids will be kids, and you can teach them things a million times but they will still make mistakes....

A tragic story, The pain he will feel for the rest of his life will be far more then any sentence he gets. It was an accident and should be treated as such. The analogy above about an accidental drowning puts it into perspective.

Mike

Big Jim, thats a tough one. There are some differences in the Childs ages and according to the story you posted, that Child was actually planning it, and had alledgedly spoken about it to a peer. At that point I would imagine if he didnt have access to a gun, once the frustration of emotion or sickness he was dealing with got to be enough, he would have found another weapon to fit the bill. Cant say for sure, either way that man will know that his pregnant girlfriend is forever gone, and his son did it. That effectively takes out 3 of the most important things in his life, and leaves two young girls Motherless due to his error. You can argue about semantics regarding culture of the area, and how many kids hunt and have guns, you can argue about all kinds of things, but according to the story, he planned it, and as I said, if your inclined enough, a steak knife would do it.

I can understand your point exactly Irish. My concern is though, what if it wasn't his step mother, what if it were another child, or even worse what if it were one of our own children he shot? What would be your thoughts on the Fathers irresponsibility then? I feel as an adult, it was his responsibility to properly secure his guns & ammo. I'm not trying to sway anyones oppinion just my 2 cents.

Such a very amazing link!
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