Thank you for this thread. My husband owns firearms. They are kept in a locked safe when they are not on his person (and he doesn't carry if he's drinking, horsing around with the kids, etc). Since my brother used to find my dad's revolver and point it at me when we were kids, this is a zero tolerance issue for me.

I also practice extended rear facing in properly installed Carseats and forced the kids to take swimming lessons until they were competent. See? Not mutually exclusive.

Hamblin says he was in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for work when he got the call that his daughter had been shot, and was initially told she had died. ... the girl, a 6-year-old boy, and another small child found the gun in an unsecured wooden cabinet. Hamblin says knowing that the gun wasn’t properly secured is what disturbs him most about a preventable tragedy, and hopes this incident is a lesson to all parents and gun owners to properly secure all firearms. Hamblin says his daughter’s injuries are serious, including a shattered shoulder, broken ribs, and punctured lung. “If you're a responsible adult and you want to own guns, take the proper precautions to do it,” Hamblin said. “Do not let another child, another angel that was given to you, get hurt."

“Part of being a responsible gun owner is you've got to protect your family,” Bare said. “That's the whole reason why you purchased a gun. So you want to have some type of device that will secure your weapon to keep any unwanted person, a kid another adult, anybody from getting access to the firearm.” Firearm experts say the misuse of handguns is a leading contributor to juvenile fatalities, and safely securing firearms from children will help prevent accidents and save lives.

http://www.wsaz.com/content/news/6-year-old-girl-taken-to-hospital-after-being-shot-by-6-year-old-boy-412832623.html

Anonymous wrote:How many children are getting killed every day by cars?
Now there's a REAL outrage.

You should start a discussion aimed at reducing child fatalities in auto accidents then. I'm going to stick with guns.

Fortunately, our nation is smart enough to walk and chew gum at the same time, so we can address BOTH issues, not one-or-the-other!

Anonymous wrote:How many children are getting killed every day by cars?
Now there's a REAL outrage.

We should take serios steps to reduce buth gun- and trafgic- related deaths.

We have great data on traffic fatalities, which is a big help in working to find a solution.

Unfortunately, Congress has blocked all efforts to collect data on gun fatalities. Why?

How many children are getting killed every day by cars?
Now there's a REAL outrage.

But...Hillery said toddlers were out running around gunning people down in the debate?

A joint investigation by The Associated Press and USA Today revealed that gun accidents kill at least one child in the U.S. every other day on average. ... children 17 years old and younger died from accidental shootings "far more than ... federal statistics indicate." ... The report stated that Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia are among the states with the highest per capita rates of accidental shootings involving minors and that most accidental shootings occur in homes where handguns are legally owned by adults for self-protection. ... The findings also showed a spike in the number of shootings that resulted in death or injury involving 3-year-olds -- "the vast majority of which were self-inflicted."
http://www.statesman.com/news/national/gun-accidents-kill-least-child-every-other-day-report-says/fkcF7rDks5CKsS05fG0FsJ/

October 2, 2016 - Piedmont, Georgia - An 18-month-old boy was fatally shot in a Georgia home on Saturday after he and his 3-year-old brother were left in a room with a loaded handgun. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, the "tragic accident" occurred Saturday afternoon when one of two brothers, ages 18 months and 3 years, got a hold of a family member's gun. Lt. Mike Ireland told FOX 5 the loaded .45-caliber weapon was set down in a bedroom and after a gunshot went off, two adults who were present turned to see the 18-month-old wounded in the head. "There were adults in the room at the time, but the adults were not paying attention to what was going on," Ireland told WSB-TV. “They did not actually see the incident occur.”

Sept 12, 2016 -- State police say a 2-year-old boy accidentally shot himself to death in his grandparents' Pennsylvania home. Authorities say Benjamin Smith was pronounced dead Monday at the hospital shortly after suffering a single gunshot wound to the chest. Emergency medical personnel responded to the shooting around 11 a.m. at the home in Milford Township, Bucks County, north of Philadelphia.

Deplorable.

Sept 12, 2016 -- LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A 3-year-old boy has died after suffering a gunshot wound inside a Louisville home. Louisville Metro Police Department spokesman Dwight Mitchell told media that the boy died about 4 a.m. Monday at Kosair Children's Hospital. Lt. Todd Kessinger says the child accidentally shot himself.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- A Louisville family is mourning and a neighborhood wonders how this could have happened to a small child for a second time in a month. A three-year-old died early Monday morning hours after police say he found a gun and accidentally shot himself.

According to investigators, that gun was hidden behind a television. The little boy retrieved it while his parents slept. The sound of a gunshot woke the couple about 10:30pm Sunday. They've been living a nightmare ever since.

LMPD investigators say, so far, they do not expect charges. The gun was legally owned, hidden behind a television in the apartment. The parents were asleep when little Anthony found it, accidentally firing the deadly round.

September 6, 2016 - Texas - Toddler seriously injured after being accidentally shot in the neck by 2-year-old sister. A toddler was seriously injured after she was shot in the neck Tuesday by her 2-year-old sister in Terrell, police say. The 22-month-old girl was shot from inside her father's Dodge pickup around 2:15 p.m. at Southwest Christian College, according to Terrell police Capt. A.D. Sansom.

The girls’ father, 25-year-old Elroy Caleb Middleton, admitted to police that he left them alone in his truck while he met with a coworker at Southwestern Christian College. He said he was standing just a few feet away from the truck when he heard a gunshot. Police said the 3-year-old toddler managed to grab a loaded handgun from under the front seat and shoot her sister.

Middleton reportedly showed up at the Terrell Police Department looking for help. Police said he was screaming and pounding at the door, but by the time officers got outside they could only find his pickup truck with the engine running and the 3-year-old still inside. After a search around the area, police found the distraught father at a nearby fire station. He had his injured daughter, who was also screaming and crying because of the bullet in the upper left side of her neck.

September 5, 2016 - LOGAN, Utah – A young boy accidentally shot his 13-month-old brother in the ankle or foot at the their Logan home Monday night, authorities confirmed. Tyson Budge with Logan Police said the boy, age 4 or 5, was able to find a deer rifle and accidentally shot his baby brother.

Logan police Capt. Tyson Budge said the child, believed to be 4 or 5 years old, got hold of a .30-06 rifle and accidentally shot his sibling. The 13-month old was taken to Primary Children's Hospital.

Anonymous wrote:September 3, 2016 -- South Carolina - Father was attempting to make his gun ‘safe’ before he shot his daughters, police say. A South Carolina father told police he was attempting to “make his gun safe” when he accidentally fired the weapon Thursday evening, killing his 2-year-old daughter and injuring her 4-year-old sister. The bullet struck Heaven Miller in her “upper body.” The 30-year-old father, who has not been named by police, also suffered a wound to his hand when the gun went off.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/03/father-was-attempting-to-make-his-gun-safe-before-he-shot-his-daughters-police-say/?utm_term=.24cc113ca971

why does this not surprise me?

September 3, 2016 -- South Carolina - Father was attempting to make his gun ‘safe’ before he shot his daughters, police say. A South Carolina father told police he was attempting to “make his gun safe” when he accidentally fired the weapon Thursday evening, killing his 2-year-old daughter and injuring her 4-year-old sister. The bullet struck Heaven Miller in her “upper body.” The 30-year-old father, who has not been named by police, also suffered a wound to his hand when the gun went off.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/03/father-was-attempting-to-make-his-gun-safe-before-he-shot-his-daughters-police-say/?utm_term=.24cc113ca971

August 31 - NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A 3-year-old boy is recovering at the hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the wrist Tuesday evening. Tyson told detectives that his son accidentally shot himself in the wrist after getting a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol out his father's backpack. Officials said Tyson is a licensed security guard with a handgun carry permit. Tyson said he and Treyvon put their backpacks on the floor of their apartment when they came home Tuesday evening. He said he asked the 3-year-old to get some clothes out of his own backpack. Tyson said he turned away, then heard a gunshot.