I wonder if the child's other parent consented to the gun being in the home.

You guys are so fixated on punishing and forcing people to act that you can’t see the obvious and attainable solution: awareness.

Marketing works. For better or worse. We can change human behavior through media and targeted awareness campaigns. Put $$ towards awareness campaigns for real progress.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is worse than forgetting your child in a car on a hot day, surely the consequences should be worse. But it’s America so…

So, here's my problem with that mindset: heavy punishment of parents in these cases might feel good, but it won't actually deter the bad behavior of others. It ultimately distracts from the need for changes that otherwise could have a positive effect.

But if you’d kid shot themselves at your neighbor’s house you’d be in favor of punishment no? We don’t own our children.

It's fine to say support harsh prosecution as an act of vengeance. You could even argue it is important for maintaining credibility in the legal system as a whole.

But it is ridiculous to claim it has a deterrent effect.

Punishment won't fix this problem. We need something else.

So you’d be ok if your neighbor left a gun out and your kid shot themselves. I mean why imprison people who kill their children? It happens all the time and doesn’t seem to stop anyone.

First of all, that's a different situation.

Second of all, read my post again. I'm not saying there isn't some value to imprisoning them. But I am saying you shouldn't kid yourself into thinking it would do anything to help prevent incidents like these in the future.

Anonymous wrote:And yet, we have no common sense gun laws.

What existing laws don't you think are "common sense," and what additional ones would you like to see?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is worse than forgetting your child in a car on a hot day, surely the consequences should be worse. But it’s America so…

So, here's my problem with that mindset: heavy punishment of parents in these cases might feel good, but it won't actually deter the bad behavior of others. It ultimately distracts from the need for changes that otherwise could have a positive effect.

But if you’d kid shot themselves at your neighbor’s house you’d be in favor of punishment no? We don’t own our children.

It's fine to say support harsh prosecution as an act of vengeance. You could even argue it is important for maintaining credibility in the legal system as a whole.

But it is ridiculous to claim it has a deterrent effect.

Punishment won't fix this problem. We need something else.

So you’d be ok if your neighbor left a gun out and your kid shot themselves. I mean why imprison people who kill their children? It happens all the time and doesn’t seem to stop anyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is worse than forgetting your child in a car on a hot day, surely the consequences should be worse. But it’s America so…

So, here's my problem with that mindset: heavy punishment of parents in these cases might feel good, but it won't actually deter the bad behavior of others. It ultimately distracts from the need for changes that otherwise could have a positive effect.

But if you’d kid shot themselves at your neighbor’s house you’d be in favor of punishment no? We don’t own our children.

It's fine to say support harsh prosecution as an act of vengeance. You could even argue it is important for maintaining credibility in the legal system as a whole.

But it is ridiculous to claim it has a deterrent effect.

Punishment won't fix this problem. We need something else.

Better screening and training before a gun license is given, +/- regular renewal requirements, to ensure that the individual who wants to own a gun will be responsible and safe. Same level of scrutiny as getting a driver’s license.

Clearly, there are people who are responsible as gun owners, and clearly, there are people who are not responsible.

That would do a lot more than going after the parents here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is worse than forgetting your child in a car on a hot day, surely the consequences should be worse. But it’s America so…

So, here's my problem with that mindset: heavy punishment of parents in these cases might feel good, but it won't actually deter the bad behavior of others. It ultimately distracts from the need for changes that otherwise could have a positive effect.

But if you’d kid shot themselves at your neighbor’s house you’d be in favor of punishment no? We don’t own our children.

It's fine to say support harsh prosecution as an act of vengeance. You could even argue it is important for maintaining credibility in the legal system as a whole.

But it is ridiculous to claim it has a deterrent effect.

Punishment won't fix this problem. We need something else.

Better screening and training before a gun license is given, +/- regular renewal requirements, to ensure that the individual who wants to own a gun will be responsible and safe. Same level of scrutiny as getting a driver’s license.

Clearly, there are people who are responsible as gun owners, and clearly, there are people who are not responsible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is worse than forgetting your child in a car on a hot day, surely the consequences should be worse. But it’s America so…

So, here's my problem with that mindset: heavy punishment of parents in these cases might feel good, but it won't actually deter the bad behavior of others. It ultimately distracts from the need for changes that otherwise could have a positive effect.

But if you’d kid shot themselves at your neighbor’s house you’d be in favor of punishment no? We don’t own our children.

It's fine to say support harsh prosecution as an act of vengeance. You could even argue it is important for maintaining credibility in the legal system as a whole.

But it is ridiculous to claim it has a deterrent effect.

Punishment won't fix this problem. We need something else.

No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
https://theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819576527/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is worse than forgetting your child in a car on a hot day, surely the consequences should be worse. But it’s America so…

So, here's my problem with that mindset: heavy punishment of parents in these cases might feel good, but it won't actually deter the bad behavior of others. It ultimately distracts from the need for changes that otherwise could have a positive effect.

But if you’d kid shot themselves at your neighbor’s house you’d be in favor of punishment no? We don’t own our children.

It's fine to say support harsh prosecution as an act of vengeance. You could even argue it is important for maintaining credibility in the legal system as a whole.

But it is ridiculous to claim it has a deterrent effect.

Punishment won't fix this problem. We need something else.

We're barely 2 months into 2026, and already there have been 3 accidental shootings of kids in Maryland.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/advocates-emphasize-gun-safety-after-montgomery-county-child-accidentally-shot/4063094/

As investigators work to piece together what led up to the tragic accidental shooting that claimed the life of a 6-year-old boy in Montgomery County Tuesday, there are calls for awareness to protect some of the community’s youngest residents.

There’s been at least three unintentional shootings by children in Maryland this year, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.

“This is a 6-year-old boy,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, the executive director of Moms Demand Action. “Had his entire future ahead of him, and it’s just so hard to hear something like this, especially knowing that this is a preventable tragedy.”

Moms Demand Action has many different gun safety initiatives, including “Be Safe,” which aims to help reduce the number of shootings that occur due to guns not being secured.

“When you educate people about the risk and then you give them the tools and understanding when it comes to owning a firearm, what that means and responsible gun storage is incredibly important when we talk about saving lives,” Ferrell-Zabala said.

Maryland law prohibits loaded firearms from being stored or left where an unsupervised minor may have access to the gun.

Gun owners should be required to show they have secure gun storage in their house before being able to purchase a gun. Then maybe we'd have fewer kids who shoot themselves to death accidentally.

https://www.everytown.org/press/amid-increase-in-unintentional-shootings-by-children-new-everytown-and-moms-demand-action-resource-details-secure-firearm-storage-options-for-gun-owners/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is worse than forgetting your child in a car on a hot day, surely the consequences should be worse. But it’s America so…

So, here's my problem with that mindset: heavy punishment of parents in these cases might feel good, but it won't actually deter the bad behavior of others. It ultimately distracts from the need for changes that otherwise could have a positive effect.

But if you’d kid shot themselves at your neighbor’s house you’d be in favor of punishment no? We don’t own our children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is worse than forgetting your child in a car on a hot day, surely the consequences should be worse. But it’s America so…

So, here's my problem with that mindset: heavy punishment of parents in these cases might feel good, but it won't actually deter the bad behavior of others. It ultimately distracts from the need for changes that otherwise could have a positive effect.

word salad.

Go on.

Are you really saying that you think gunowners would look at this case and think "gee, I don't really care if my child shoots themselves in the face, but I really don't want to go to prison for 5-10 years-- I'm going to lock up my guns"? Really?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So it was loaded? Stored while loaded? Stored somewhere this child could access it? Not locked?

All of which are illegal in Maryland.

Major, major failure.

I hope they throw the book at this family. Maybe it will save their other children, if they have them, or a neighbor or family member that was lacking in their own gun safety. I don't believe in "they already lost a child, that's punishment enough", I don't think it is.

I don't get what you think "throwing the book" at the family would accomplish. You think that prison time is more of a deterrent than losing your child? Maybe to some, but would certainly be the exception.

There was a case a few years ago, where a mother in Potomac backed over her child while backing down the driveway. I think this was before backup cameras. The prosecutor decided not to pursue charges because losing her child was already more than sufficient punishment.

I'm not a gun owner, but I know a few in the county. The guns are kept in safes with biometric locks.

I think the only thing that really works is things like fingerprint access trigger locks.

I suppose another possibility is random inspection of gun owners — eh cop shows up and says show me where you have it stored. But people would never allow that and we don’t have funds for that anyway.

What a horrible tragedy. I wonder if th adult at home even knew there was a gun in the house. Maybe not.