There were not supposed to be any guns in the house. But 3-year-old Gerald Miranda found one and shot himself in the chest. Spider-Man costumes and toys were waiting for him under the Christmas tree.This was sent to me by WarOnGuns Correspondent Tony G, who adds:
Police have not determined who owned the pistol, and the family is struggling with the question of who would bring it into the house.
I know we that read your blogs are responsible gun owners but please lets warn people of the dangers of leaving your gun out if even for a few seconds.
Here's the thing, Tony. I don't know if we can fix this. A few random thoughts:
I agree, leaving a firearm where a 3-year-old can get to it is unconscionably negligent. How do you fix that?
We could talk training--which for a 3-year-old is problematic. For those older, there is Eddie Eagle, but our enemies turn people off to it using the "Joe Camel with feathers" pejorative. In some neighborhoods--I suspect most urban ones--NRA grassroots volunteers trying to provide such training would be unwelcome.
For families who aren't part of the educated community of gun owners, there isn't much they can turn to. Most mainstream sources of information--from police, to newspapers, to pediatricians, to schools --will tell you not to have a gun in the house in the first place (and we see from this story that was the assumed state of the house involved, although I reserve judgment on whether I believe that), or if you do, to keep it locked away, with ammunition under separate lock and key.
But, of course, we don't want to enable any more pitchfork murders...
There are those of us who have trained our children in responsible use and handling of firearms--starting very young and continuing development of skills at maturity-appropriate stages. I'm at a loss for what more we can do than that--except continue to espouse the truth about guns so that the curious, the motivated and the intellectually honest can learn more if they choose to.