This one is tough all around. High school friends hanging out shooting bottles with a small caliber gun. Gun jams, is handed back to the owner, and negligently (edited to firearms term) discharges striking the victim in probably the only place it could kill. Tragic. I have no kids so it’s nearly impossible to put myself in this situation, but I often wonder if I would have any interest in pressing charges. It clearly was an accident and this young adult (17) is going to have to live with this the rest of their life, regardless if any of it is in prison. I also wonder what good it would do to send this person to prison in the first place. Take away their right to own a gun, whatever. Counseling seems more appropriate than prison.
It sounds the victim’s family want someone to be held accountable. By my very limited understanding of GA gun laws, there was nothing illegal about these kids, though underage, using this firearm as long as a parent had given permission. Stories like this make me sad, not only for a senseless death and fallout in the victim’s family, but also the kid that discharged the weapon. Maybe a bit of projection, but I’d need help making it to tomorrow and no amount of prison time would change that.
This one is tough all around. High school friends hanging out shooting bottles with a small caliber gun. Gun jams, is handed back to the owner, and accidentally discharges striking the victim in probably the only place it could kill. Tragic. I have no kids so it’s nearly impossible to put myself in this situation, but I often wonder if I would have any interest in pressing charges. It clearly was an accident and this young adult (17) is going to have to live with this the rest of their life, regardless if any of it is in prison. I also wonder what good it would do to send this person to prison in the first place. Take away their right to own a gun, whatever. Counseling seems more appropriate than prison.
It sounds the victim’s family want someone to be held accountable. By my very limited understanding of GA gun laws, there was nothing illegal about these kids, though underage, using this firearm as long as a parent had given permission. Stories like this make me sad, not only for a senseless death and fallout in the victim’s family, but also the kid that discharged the weapon. Maybe a bit of projection, but I’d need help making it to tomorrow and no amount of prison time would change that.
Accidentally discharges, or the guy didn’t handle it safely? Sounds to me like he was trying to clear the jam but didn’t point it down at the ground or walk away and do it away from people. Seems more like negligence than a tragic accident.
““At some point, Candace did have possession of a .22 pistol that they were using for target practice,†Ashley Hulsey, spokeswoman for the county, said Friday afternoon. “The gun jammed and she handed it to 17-year-old Jeremy Matthew Gray to clear the jam. As he was proceeding to do so, the gun did go off, it did strike Candace in the head and ultimately resulted in her death.—
This happened pretty close to where we have some land we are about to build on. When my kids (17 to 21 years old) go out there to hunt or target practice, I know they know how to handle a gun, but I fear they will have a momentary lapse of judgement and something like this will result.
I don’t want to imagine what any of these families are going through right now.
It sounds the victim’s family want someone to be held accountable. By my very limited understanding of GA gun laws, there was nothing illegal about these kids, though underage, using this firearm as long as a parent had given permission.
Maybe not criminal, but speaking generally and not about the facts of this case (since I don’t know much the case or the law in Georgia), maybe it’s possible to sue the parents of a child who uses a gun negligently if the parents gave permission without having done due diligence in ensuring a reasonable expectation of responsible gun handling? E.g. having taken an NRA class or something?
I remember from my childhood NRA classes - “keep the gun pointed in a safe direction” is rule #1. I also remember not long after that a misfired or jammed gun is definitely not a safe gun. And not long after that, that when handed a gun, a round is in the chamber until, you, yourself have verified a round isn’t chambered. And even then you shouldn’t point it at someone while handling it. Makes people nervous.
Accidentally discharges, or the guy didn’t handle it safely?
Does it have to be one or the other? He was negligent and it accidentally discharged.
seems more like negligence than a tragic accident
Again, can it not be both?
Yes, in that it’s accidental because it wasn’t deliberate. however, I think we tend to use negligent when referring to firearms safety to reinforce the point that guns don’t really discharge without some form of negligence from the person handling that firearm. it’s meant to impress upon potential firearms users that they are responsible for the weapon and any discharge, intended or otherwise.
I was about this age when a friend and myself where cleaning .22’s after some rabbit hunting, and my friend’s (who should have known better) rifle went off in the kitchen. And while he may not have cleared the rifle before stripping, it was at least pointing in a safe direction. And maybe I should have checked to see he had cleared it rather than assuming he was careful enough to have.
My parents never did find out what caused the chip in the tiling.
Stories like the one linked to above make me shudder as to how much worse things could have turned out.
Yeah, I don’t think you will get any arguments that a semblance of gun safety was adhered to. Not asking you or anyone else to answer these things I think about, but I wonder what good it would do to sue the parents. Again, if they are found to be at fault, take away their right to own firearms. How does putting them in prison help? In some ways that just destroys another family. The parents have to live with that guilt as well as console a son who just negligently killed a friend. Of course on the other hand the victim’s family is entitled to whatever closure they see fit within the confines of the law.
When I read stories like this it makes me think how lucky I was growing up with all the stupidly dangerous shit my friends and I did and how that all could have changed so quickly.
I failed my hunter safety course first time. At the end of the practical test the instructor says, “You did great, here is your gun” So I take the gun no questions asked. Then he says you failed you may have just taken a loaded gun. I had to go back and do over.
Accidentally discharges, or the guy didn’t handle it safely?
Does it have to be one or the other? He was negligent and it accidentally discharged.
seems more like negligence than a tragic accident
Again, can it not be both?
Yes, in that it’s accidental because it wasn’t deliberate. however, I think we tend to use negligent when referring to firearms safety to reinforce the point that guns don’t really discharge without some form of negligence from the person handling that firearm. it’s meant to impress upon potential firearms users that they are responsible for the weapon and any discharge, intended or otherwise.
I think that negligent is also used to emphasize the US idea that people are the problem and not the gun.
Accidentally discharges, or the guy didn’t handle it safely?
Does it have to be one or the other? He was negligent and it accidentally discharged.
seems more like negligence than a tragic accident
Again, can it not be both?
I don’t know, to me ‘accident’ means ‘nothing reasonably could have been done to prevent it’. If the kid had followed proper gun safety, the gun may still have discharged, but the bullet wouldn’t have hit anybody. I wouldn’t call this event a terrible accident.