In most jurisdictions in this country if you leave your dog in an unvented car and it dies from heatstroke you can be charged with Animal Cruelty and Negligence. Negligence because the outcome was foreseeable.
In many jurisdictions in this country, if you leave your child or children in an unvented car and they die from heatstroke you can be charged with Child Endangerment and/or some form of Negligent Homicide. Again, because the potential outcome was foreseeable.
However, because of the NRA and their grip on this country, in too many jurisdictions in this country, if you leave your child or children unattended in a car with easy access to a loaded gun and one of child fatally shots one of the other children, odds are you won’t be charged with any crime. Even though your actions were negligent and the potential outcome was foreseeable. Because in this country, the rights of gun owners are greater than those of a young child to live.
Shannon Watts’ tweet and my response;
Every responsible gun owner should be outraged! This kind of recklessness is why gun control laws are going to pass. And because of this kind of recklessness the restrictions are more than likely going to be greater than what you would prefer. Responsible gun owners should be the first to speak-up and speak-out when an event like this occurs. What kind of idiot leaves a loaded handgun in their center console? Sure it gives you easy access if you need it, but if it’s easy for you, it’s easy for your children to access. And if your neighborhood is so bad that you need to carry a gun, maybe you need to move. If your neighborhood is so bad you need to carry a gun in your car, then why the hell are you leaving your children alone in the car in the first place?
And we haven’t even talked about the psychological damage the child that shoots their sibling is going to have to deal. Short term. Long term. Is the surviving child more likely or less likely to commit suicide in their teen years? And if there’s a gun still in the house?