5 yr old shoots 2 yr old

[Light]

Originally Posted by Titus2woman

Me. We are farmers and hunters, our chidren and grandchildren can plant a garden, milk a goat and shoot a squirrel by the time they are 5.

I have a loaded shotgun (every gun in my house is loaded) behind the front door. I have a loaded AR in the bedroom.

My husband carried a pistol as part of his job for 20 years. It was always in the house... loaded.

This gun was supposed to be unloaded... probably their only mistake... Many more people are accidentally shot with 'unloaded' guns than with loaded ones.

My lord, their only mistake??
A 5 yr. old that will have to live with killing his 2yr. old sister because his parents were not responsible enough to at least put the gun on a shelf the kid couldn't reach.

[Cindy]

[Cindy]

Yes, and some people should not have guns in their house at all. A tragedy like this hits home for gun owners.

[Titus2woman]

Originally Posted by Light

My lord, their only mistake??
A 5 yr. old that will have to live with killing his 2yr. old sister because his parents were not responsible enough to at least put the gun on a shelf the kid couldn't reach.

Maybe I shoud be more clear... We keep all guns loaded... because it ensures that we treat all guns as loaded. Tragedy happens when someone believes a gun is not loaded when in fact it is. Had the gun been treated as loaded it would not have been standing casually in a corner with small untrained children around.

The five year old will probaby be fine if the situation is handled correctly and he recieves the proper support now. Kids grow up in war zones, get in horrific accidents where loved ones are killed, witness parents deaths, etc.

Kids have accidents and die doing what kids do... riding bicycles, horseback riding, skating, even playing sports. I am not suggesting that this is acceptable... only pointing out the obvious, that it IS... What's done is done and bashing the parents or discussing how horrible this is won't change it and really it won't prevent it from happening in the future... becaue and accident by definition, is not an on purpose.

[OnTheFritz]

Seems like this thread should be about prayers for the poor family and child that will have to live with this. Instead it's all about politics. Sounds right.

[CC1]

Originally Posted by Light

If the gun wasn't in the home this would not have happened. What kind of person gives a 4 year old a gun??

If we outlawed cars then no child would ever accidently put one in neutral and cause an accident.

We could also reduce the fatality rate in America by making the speed limit 35 mph on all highways including the interstate. Of course we don't do that because it is absurd just as your notion to not have guns in a home would cause gun accidents to cease.

[CC1]

Originally Posted by Titus2woman

Maybe I shoud be more clear... We keep all guns loaded... because it ensures that we treat all guns as loaded. Tragedy happens when someone believes a gun is not loaded when in fact it is. Had the gun been treated as loaded it would not have been standing casually in a corner with small untrained children around.

The five year old will probaby be fine if the situation is handled correctly and he recieves the proper support now. Kids grow up in war zones, get in horrific accidents where loved ones are killed, witness parents deaths, etc.

Kids have accidents and die doing what kids do... riding bicycles, horseback riding, skating, even playing sports. I am not suggesting that this is acceptable... only pointing out the obvious, that it IS... What's done is done and bashing the parents or discussing how horrible this is won't change it and really it won't prevent it from happening in the future... becaue and accident by definition, is not an on purpose.

Before I had children of my own I was one of those shaking my head and calling out parents as being terrible when I would read about one of those tragedy's.

Once I had kids I learned that bad things can happen very quickly when they are young and that the best of parents can have a terrible tragedy happen.

When my son was about 2 years old he was an escape artist looking for ways to get out of the house. We kept the front door locked but when a neighbor came over to borrow some sugar or something it was unlocked for just a few seconds and he darted out without us seeing him. I saw the door ajar within seconds and ran outside. In those few seconds he had apparently been running full tilt and was three houses down standing in the middle of the road at a four way stop. I thought I was going to have a heart attack before I got to him.

[Titus2woman]

Originally Posted by CC1

Before I had children of my own I was one of those shaking my head and calling out parents as being terrible when I would read about one of those tragedy's.

Once I had kids I learned that bad things can happen very quickly when they are young and that the best of parents can have a terrible tragedy happen.

When my son was about 2 years old he was an escape artist looking for ways to get out of the house. We kept the front door locked but when a neighbor came over to borrow some sugar or something it was unlocked for just a few seconds and he darted out without us seeing him. I saw the door ajar within seconds and ran outside. In those few seconds he had apparently been running full tilt and was three houses down standing in the middle of the road at a four way stop. I thought I was going to have a heart attack before I got to him.

My oldest four children are a year apart each. When they were preschoolers I spent a lot of time in an exhausted daze, compounded by the fact that because we could not afford day care I worked nights. One day when I laid down to nap a few minutes my two year old (who could not open the front door BEFORE I fell asleep) learned to open the front door while I was asleep. He was found wandering about 5 blocks from home at the local park, barefooted and in nothing but a diaper and t-shirt. It is only by the grace of God that someone recognized him and brought him home. They woke me knocking at a wide open front door with me on the couch with the 1 year old and the three year old playing in his room.

I've had plenty of other near misses since then... My oldest son turned 35 last week... Everybody lived and today I am happy to report that I have five great grown kids and five even better grand kids... but I realize that there were plenty of moments when that number could have been reduced and still could by an accident. Children do things we do not expect them to do and we can not always prevent everything, although every loving parent spends a huge amount of time trying. When one fails let us be loving and merciful.

[OnTheFritz]

Originally Posted by Titus2woman

My oldest four children are a year apart each. When they were preschoolers I spent a lot of time in an exhausted daze, compounded by the fact that because we could not afford day care I worked nights. One day when I laid down to nap a few minutes my two year old (who could not open the front door BEFORE I fell asleep) learned to open the front door while I was asleep. He was found wandering about 5 blocks from home at the local park, barefooted and in nothing but a diaper and t-shirt. It is only by the grace of God that someone recognized him and brought him home. They woke me knocking at a wide open front door with me on the couch with the 1 year old and the three year old playing in his room.

I've had plenty of other near misses since then... My oldest son turned 35 last week... Everybody lived and today I am happy to report that I have five great grown kids and five even better grand kids... but I realize that there were plenty of moments when that number could have been reduced and still could by an accident. Children do things we do not expect them to do and we can not always prevent everything, although every loving parent spends a huge amount of time trying. When one fails let us be loving and merciful.

Amen to that.

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by OnTheFritz

Seems like this thread should be about prayers for the poor family and child that will have to live with this. Instead it's all about politics. Sounds right.

Yeah... seems like it. But that wasn't the agenda under which it was posted.