More tragic news. In Tennessee, a toddler accidentally shot and killed himself with his grandfather’s gun.
WBIR reports, “Police say 2-year-old Brennan Nowell died after he picked up the .40 caliber gun and shot himself in the side.”
We don’t know the brand of the gun, but as an example, the .40 caliber Smith and Wesson “was developed as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s reduced-velocity 10mm Auto cartridge, which could be retrofitted into medium-frame (9mm size) automatic handguns.”
Where is Wayne LaPierre to tell us that video games are to blame for this tragedy, or that guns don’t kill people, people do? Blaming the mental health of the shooter is also not applicable here, nor is the “bad apple” theory. There is no “bad guy” in this scenario.
America has a gun problem. A study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found “… on average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. The study estimated that people with a gun were 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not possessing a gun.” So owning a gun for self-defense may cause an unreasonable sense of safety.
We also have a gun owner problem. Based on the recent gun violence alone, it’s beyond reasonable to conclude that we need to educate gun owners about proper gun safety, and enact gun laws that require compliance with gun safety as a part of gun ownership. With freedom comes responsibility.
Our thoughts are with the Nowell family. A toddler, killed days before Christmas.
PoliticusUSA
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K from Bellingham
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Negligent manslaughter, anyone ?
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Reynardine
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 2:25 pm
My dad owned a Luger and a Marlin .22 since before I was born. Where did he keep them? I don’t know, because he hid them where we couldn’t see them, let alone get them. Both our parents made it very clear we were not to touch any gun that was not clearly a toy, and that guns killed. When I was nine, I was, under supervision, taught to shoulder the Marlin (too big for me) and shoot tin cans. At my tenth birthday, I got a Winchester bolt-action single shot .22, and was taught how it worked and how to keep it away from other kids, who might be brainless. I have never shot any living thing, including myself.
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JS
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Yes, there was a bad guy in this scenario. It was the Grandfather. Why did he leave his gun out where a toddler could pick it up? When will people learn they have to lock up their guns and ammunition?
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mjh
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Where is Wayne LaPierre to tell us that video games are to blame for this tragedy, or that guns don’t kill people, people do?
Where is Wayne LaPierre to tell us this tragedy could have been prevented by the presence of an armed guard?
.
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M.R.M
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 3:10 pm
i just dont understand, why so called “responsible gun owners” dont have trigger lockswith a key or combo, on there guns???
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ibwilliamsi
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 5:48 pm
I don’t understand why anyone is considered a “responsible gun owner” without rigid testing and repeated certification.
My parents came up in the 1930′s. The boys used to take their 22 rifles to school and shoot rabbits and squirrels in the bottom land after school. The entire family were hunters, and there’s a really cool photo of my grandfather and his brothers and cousins with a black bear over the fender of their old Ford.
One day the boys decided that they could get more varmints if they climbed the water tower and shot from there. They had their rifles slung over their shoulders and up the ladder they climbed. I doubt that anyone had a safety on. One cousin’s rifle went off, and shot the other cousin who was on the ladder below. He was shot in the head and died instantly. The family all stopped hunting instantly as well.
Now my 84 year old dad has a cabinet full of hunting rifles and handguns that no one has touched in 70 years. None of us hunt, but I have a crazy brother who thinks guns are fun. They’re absolutely useable, and when he dies they will go to someone who won’t have the intimate family history my father has.
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Christopher
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 6:47 pm
I think reluctance to have some of these basic safety measures in place stems from a fantasy some have that should they be confronted by an intruder they can pick up the gun and shoot in the same motion. Having to retrieve it from a locked cabinet or deactivate the safety slows that down. I think people need to realize that only on shows like Walker, Texas Ranger do the massively outgunned good guys manage to get a clean shot despite all the ammo flying their direction.
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Glea Sutterfield
Dec. 24th, 2012 at 2:36 am
The reason some people don’t lock their guns in the way that you imagine they should is… the freaking gun is no good to anybody when it’s locked up! Duh!
Some people don’t regard their guns in that way, for protection, and they should lock them.
Some people, however SHOULD have their guns locked, even from themselves.
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Wendy
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 3:17 pm
I do think there IS a “bad guy” in this scenario… the person who left this gun where an innocent 2-yr-old could pick it up
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Anne
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 3:33 pm
This is another needless death of a child. As far as I’m concerned, it falls under the category of criminal negligence. A huge part of gun control is for gun owners to be trained in gun safety, which includes locking them away from kids. A toddler is naturally curious about the world around him or her, and has no way of judging what’s dangerous or what’s safe. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the ADULTS in that child’s environment to use sound judgment and common sense to childproof the environment, especially the home. The NRA is either unwilling or unable to acknowledge that gun-related deaths are an extremely serious problem in this country, and the arrogance of Wayne LaPierre so soon after the deaths of so many children is a sickening example of that kind of misthinking.
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AFM
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 4:03 pm
You know I came from a military family and we never had guns in our home. My husband and I moved to Tn to take care of his parents. He came from a military family also. His dad was an avid hunter and a responsible hunter. My husband had a friend and we use to go over to their home. He had rifles out all over the place and it made me very uncomfortable because he had small children and grandchildren around. He said they don’t touch my rifles they know better. Well you never know because kids do things sometimes you never expect. I told my husband I will never go back to their home again. If this guy didn’t care his friends and grandkids I just couldn’t be there.
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luciboo
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Family probably belongs to NRA and supports their policies. Don’ t mean to sound
unsympathetic but you reap what you sow if that is the case.
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AFM
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 6:14 pm
After being in the house with all those rifles out I stopped going over there. I haven’t seen them in years. They were my friends. They were friends of my husband. But we do things together but he knows how I feel about guns and not wanting to be around them. He had a brother who got a shot gun for christmas one year. He was experienced. He knew how to shoot and his kills were stuffed and around his house. Well one year when his wife and daughters got him a shot gun for a gift he decided to go hunting with a friend. He was putting the rifle back in the cab of the truck and somehow he accidently shot himself and died instantly. Needless to say his friend freaked out. Now this guy was expierenced hunter. Yet a hair trigger on the gun went off. No more brother-in-law.
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Maritza
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Will Wayne LaPierre have a press confrence next week claiming “If that toddler was armed he could have protected himself from himself”! Knowing how sick these badstards that wouldn’t surprise me. These politicians have to stop being so scared of the NRA they are not that powerful!!
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carriev
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 10:00 pm
And what does this grandfather say to this little boys parents? How does he explain why thier 2 yr old son had a loaded gun. that it was where the little boy could get to it?. that just 3 days before christmas, there will be none for them because they will be busy arranging a funeral for thier little 2 yr old. This world is becoming sick. A human being is less important than a gun. How many more children do we need to lose before we stop the insanity
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Eykis
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 9:56 am
Interesting. I am in Tennessee. They are NOT showing the name or photo of the grandfather or parents. Usually, people are on the news talking about this type of situation.
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Kimani M. Kimani
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 10:45 pm
“Where is Wayne LaPierre to tell us that video games are to blame for this tragedy, or that guns don’t kill people, people do? Blaming the mental health of the shooter is also not applicable here, nor is the “bad apple” theory. There is no “bad guy” in this scenario. ”
Well, Seems Wayne LaPierre, NRA, et al, Made their Money and Left Town, as it Seems that’s All they Care About in the Deal ! ?…,,
Seems Like the Majority of the American People are “Projecting” their Own Value of the “Human Life” onto a Desert, where the “Human Life” Value “Don’t Grow” ! ?
Just Saying ! :-?
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gloriap
Dec. 22nd, 2012 at 11:14 pm
I am so sick and tired of this nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach…no sooner does it leave, when there is another story…another shooting…more death. Good God…what kind of country is this ?
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Jay R.
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 1:06 am
“Where is Wayne LaPierre to tell us that video games are to blame for this tragedy, or that guns don’t kill people, people do? Blaming the mental health of the shooter is also not applicable here, nor is the “bad apple” theory. There is no “bad guy” in this scenario.”
Right – because it’s the object’s fault, not the responsibility of the person who owns/secures it.
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Seorsa
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 2:15 am
Other bad guys in this story: 1) Gun makers: have the technology to produce weapons that can only be shot by one person, eliminating many accidents like this. 2) States that do not require a locked gun safe, and enforce those laws when these accidents happen or homes get robbed. 3) NRA, Congress and the President for not allowing proper gun enforcement, information access, and blocking legislation.
It is time to end unregistered gun show sales, have waiting periods and background checks. It is waaayyyyyy past time to stop these auto/semi-auto weapons with large capacity magazines. No grandfathering, outright ban them.
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Commoner
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 3:57 am
Seorsa: thanks for listing some of the options for gun regulating. The more information that the public has to address this problem, the better for everyone.
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HopeforAmerica
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 6:09 am
What imbecile would have a loaded gun around a Toddler ?! This is one the family will have to live with the rest of their lives.
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HopeforAmerica
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 6:18 am
The NRA is Very much about the money. Think about how they control Congress and lobby to bring more guns in our lives including Guns in our National Parks where our kids/families play and vacation. The NRA is an advocate for Gun & Ammo Retailers and manufacturers. But they want you to believe they are all about the Second Amendment. It’s Always about the money and the People need to call them on it. Call the NRA for what they really are… a bunch of greedy money grabbing bast_rds.
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KatzKids
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 12:50 pm
A three year old shot himself with his OK State Trooper uncle’s gun & was instantly killed just last week.
Earlier this year another Grandfather in the city my son lives in, left his gun out as he always did, and his 3 year old grandson also shot himself in the head. He survived, but is severely brain damaged, his life ruined.
But let’s not let anyone talk gun control. They’d rather have their precious weapons to hug than a child.
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Rick Tucker
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 3:59 pm
I wish we could legislate responsibility. If we could do that we would also legislate reasonable intelligence and caring parents.
There’s a reason the average person cannot fly a plane without a license. There’s also a reason the NRA repeatedly drops the qualifier in their partial recitation of the 2nd amendment.
When we finally wake up, fix the problem (that will undoubtedly annoy some simple minded people who never learn) and do a body count we’ll ask ourselves why it took us so long to right these wrongs.
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SAN BALL
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 10:06 pm
FOR EYKIS:
http://www.wate.com/story/20410078/toddler-dies-after-accidently-shooting-self
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Kathleen Kasul
Dec. 23rd, 2012 at 10:51 pm
I’m really sorry, Grandpa, but did you get the message?
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Ban it all
Dec. 24th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
I will support a full outright gun ban if everyone here supports banning other dangerous items that take way too many lives.
1. cars – Everyone knows many people affect by car accidents
2. smoking – cancer anyone?
3. fried food
4. snow/ice
etc…..
At some point, everyone needs to take responsibility for what they do.
This country has become a group of not my faults and looking to blame anyone but themselves. You own a gun, you lock it up especially if you have children coming over. My gun is not locked up but I don’t have kids. When someone is coming in the house for more than a short visit, it gets locked up without letting them know it was even there.
Yes, these news reports are tragic but all preventable by educating and enforcing the gun laws.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Dec. 24th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Sorry. You dont use those things to deliberately kill people. Trying to make a moral equivalency out of that is just simply ridiculous
So I guess the deal is off
What will you do if someone gets in, shoots you in bed then takes your gun so he can protect himself against an oppressive government?
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