Lock Up Guns
Saturday, December 01, 2007
The Grand Rapids Press
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1196493467182320.xml&coll=6
The shooting of 6-year-old Zara Haight by her brother, Jon, 8, is yet another horrible reminder for adults about the dangers of unsecured guns. With each new incident, there is the hope that adults will finally learn the lesson -- a lesson that others have had to learn through heart-wrenching tragedy.
That's true despite the reasonable decision by Ottawa County Prosecutor Ronald Frantz not to bring charges against the children's grandfather, the owner of the gun used in the shooting. Accidents happen, even in the home of a gun safety instructor, as was the case here.
On Nov. 18, Zara and Jon wandered into their grandparents' bedroom in Marne, when Jon found the loaded gun and shot his sister once in the abdomen. She remains hospitalized. Stephen Larson, the grandfather, told investigators he and his wife normally secure the weapon but the children's visit was unexpected.
In reviewing the case, Mr. Frantz determined that while there was arguably some negligence on the part of Mr. Larson for failing to secure the gun, he found it difficult to bring criminal charges because of the children's "surprise visit" and the weapon was in a bedroom not normally open to visitors. He decided also not to charge the boy, who is autistic, and "too young and limited." Reasonable conclusions on all counts.
Every day eight children, ages 0-18, are killed by guns in the United States, according to a 2004 National Center for Health Statistics report. About 1.7 million U.S. children and youth under the age of 18 are living in homes that have loaded and unlocked guns, according to the journal Pediatrics study published in 2005. Every gun owner has a solemn responsibility to ensure his or her firearms are safely secured from children. Locked cabinets, safes, trigger locks, are all good methods of securing firearms from kids who could stumble upon then.
Parents and other adults have to protect youngsters from their own natural curiosity and bad judgment. But locking up guns in one's own house is no safety guarantee. Children have to be taught, too, that guns are dangerous. Parents would be well advised to use this sad incident to drive home that message. Children should be told not to touch a gun when they encounter one, to leave the vicinity and to immediately tell an adult when a gun is found at the home of friends and relatives.
The fear of causing the death or injury of a child should prompt all those with guns in their homes to keep them locked up at all times. Zara Haight showed us, yet again, what can happen when they're not.
