3-year-old S.C. boy killed after mistaking pink handgun for toy

Originally posted by danneu89
reply to post by Kentucky75

 

I absolutely see your point. If I'm living by myself and I want to put bleach in my pepsi clear bottle and rat poison in my aspirin bottle, that's fine. I just better know that I'm responsible if I have people in my house to warn them or make them inaccessible. Especially if it's kids were talking about. Same goes with a pink gun. Having a pink gun you must know that a child seeing it seeing it as a toy is more likely, and act accordingly.

Yes exactly my point..
You got kids there is no reason to have a gun colored to attract a kid to grab it either.

reply to post by greatlakes


Lot of problems with this "story".

1) I don't know of any way they could reliably determine that the 3 year old (now dead) child "mistook" the firearm for a toy. They can't ask... So that is nothing but presumption and conclusions based on the same.

a. Had the child ever even seen a toy gun?
b. Were there other pink toy guns in the home for the child to make such a correlation?
c. Can a 3 year old even draw such conclusions - color is equal to harmless toy vs. firearm?

The problem here is that the people who wrote the article have an agenda - and inserting such statements regardless of their veracity helps make their point. I am no child development expert but I doubt very much a 3 year old can determine reliably which items around him are harmful or potentially so and which are harmless "toys". To kids at that age the box and packaging items come in is sometimes more enticing than the toy itself.

2) Even if we accept the conclusion and headline on its face the actual problem is neither the firearm nor its color, shape, size, magazine capacity or any of the other things everyone loves to hate.

The problem is that the parents, adults or even teens who were charged with the child’s safety failed to conduct a proper sweep of the area for potential hazards and or take actions to mitigate harmful environmental effects such as padding sharp corners of furniture or covering outlets.

The problem is that the adults created an unsafe environment. Now, one could argue that a series of gun laws that mandate locks and safes and all manner of other rules will mitigate the problem or a background check or banning magazine size etc..

The bottom line is that some people just shouldn't be allowed to procreate. They are obviously stupid and have no business mating and creating (most likely) more stupid offspring. However, we all know that no one will ever tackle that issue as that is a fundamental human right. Screw away, without regard to means, ability or intellect who are we to limit your freedoms the liberals will yell...

Yet the same people will readily run in mouth foaming to restrict the right to own firearms (which are clearly not the problem at all) for everyone, or more laughably the color choice for a firearm based on the stupid, criminal and irresponsible actions of others.

This is tragic, certainly but hardly the fault of the coloration of the firearm or its availability.

The problem clearly is that some people have no business procreating...period. It is the Darwin awards for dummies. The only problem is that in this case the victim happens to be their child rather than themselves.

They will never forget to lock up a firearm when toddlers are around again I bet…

Originally posted by zonetripper2065
Once again we have a list of morons blaming the gun, not the person who left it in reach.

Hey dude your video about the morons you apparently didnt link it correctly irony

I didn't blame the gun i blame the parent's and color of guns..both are a factor in this case.

reply to post by Kentucky75


At least not a pink gun that is accessible to said child. There's just no reason though to ban me, who has no kids, from owning a gun painted to look like spider mans costume or whatever else I want. I like having the freedom to express myself through my guns paint job if I choose to. Now if I leave a gun, pink or not, in a place where kids get it, I deserve to rot in jail.

reply to post by Golf66


So you think a kid will grab this gun....



before they grab this gun of exact same model?



if you that there i no use in further discussion.

Originally posted by danneu89
reply to post by Kentucky75

 

At least not a pink gun that is accessible to said child. There's just no reason though to ban me, who has no kids, from owning a gun painted to look like spider mans costume or whatever else I want. I like having the freedom to express myself through my guns paint job if I choose to. Now if I leave a gun, pink or not, in a place where kids get it, I deserve to rot in jail.

edit on 5-2-2013 by danneu89 because: grammer

edit on 5-2-2013 by danneu89 because: more grammar, I'm terrible today

Yes i agree with ya paint ya gun how you want.
When ya done with it ..like most gun owners they sell under the table to who ever...now the pretty spiderman gun is under the roof of a family with a 5 year old boy..
He finds the gun and they was irresponsible. he dies..Wouldn't you feel a little guilty for making a spiderman gun ?
link to spiderman gun.
Not saying you personally..dont take that wrong i am from a rural part in kentucky..i can go down to the trading post gas station and buy a handgun in 15 minute's. rifle shotgun you name it..no one keeps a gun forever is my point those guns go to alot of wetards lol

I think pink should be banned.

How can anyone take pink anything seriously ?
Pink guns, pink hardhats, pink hammers, pink workboots... some things are just sacrilegious.

Ugh... quick someone shoot me with their Hello Kitty AR15, please.

Originally posted by Kentucky75
reply to post by Golf66

 

So you think a kid will grab this gun....



before they grab this gun of exact same model?



if you that there i no use in further discussion.

Your question is one that is moot for no one who is responsible with firearms will leave any firearm (loaded and unlocked BTW) within reach of a toddler. Kids might grab something shinny and metallic over matte black too but the problem isn't what color kids would grab first it’s that the weapons is there to grab in the first place.

The problem is not the color or style of the firearm it is the action or more specifically the inaction of the parents.

Unless we are going to outlaw stupid parents there is nothing that will prevent this scenario. The gun was left out, the child at 3 has no ability to reason or associate color with harmlessness or harm.

This is just being spun to make all firearms and firearms owners seem irresponsible - period. This is just a new chapter in the "gunz are bad" - media frenzy we have going on right now. You want to buy into that it's your right to do so.

I am all for banning stupid and lazy people from procreation BTW, I think that would be better for society than restricting gun color and or ownership.

This thread is sad, and it is sad for a couple reasons...

#1. Such a senseless and easily avoidable death for which there is absolutely no excuse. We have seen this type of situation time and time and time again for decades. Children and guns do not and have not ever mixed and with the amount of options available to gun owners with children, there is simply no excuse to not have a weapon secured in some way. Gun Cabinets, lock boxes, even a cheap trigger lock would have prevented this death. If you can afford a gun- you can afford to secure it.

#2. What is even more saddening to me is that this thread has literally degenerated to an argument about the color of the gun. Are you freakin serious? Well let me end this stupid debate now with a very simple fact.....

Kids playing with guns and dying as a result has been occurring in our society before gun manufacturers ever started making pink guns, spider man guns, my little pony guns or hello kitty guns. If you truly believe that if the gun was not pink this would not have happened, I hope you never breed and if you do, do not own a gun. That type of silly thinking is why we still have people who own guns, who do not secure them. The idea that some how the color of the gun would have made a difference here, is why there will another story about another idiot who failed to secure a weapon and a child played with it and died as a result. I can just hear the interview now, "Well it was not pink so I didnt think he would want to play with it".

What this thread has turned in to is why I firmly believe ATS should change it';s motto from "Deny Ignorance" to "We dont deny ignorance, we embrace it".

reply to post by Kentucky75


Where's the stats showing that most gun owners just sell their guns to "whoever"?

Maybe I watch too many sci-fi movies, but I wonder how long it will be before gun manufacturers get the bright idea of implementing fingerprint identification on their weapons ?

This way, only the person who's fingerprint ID is encoded can activate the gun to fire.

Accidental shootings would become a thing of the past.

Originally posted by CranialSponge
Maybe I watch too many sci-fi movies, but I wonder how long it will be before gun manufacturers get the bright idea of implementing fingerprint identification on their weapons ?

This way, only the person who's fingerprint ID is encoded can activate the gun to fire.

Accidental shootings would become a thing of the past.

That has already been suggested by the Obama administration. Inventing a feature on all weapons that detect if the person that's using it is the person that bought it. I don't have time to find the source, but I heard it on the news.

I can't imagine what that would do to the cost of guns, and since guns last for upwards of 100 years if taken care of, what happens to all of the old ones? It will be forever until they're phased out

reply to post by chiefsmom


If you think a moment about it it seem to be a pretty good idea to make guns as flashy as possible. Pink is also know to affect aggressiveness and is a in the way to magenta (red wave color is good for close range and blue is for long range). Kids love guns because of the culture around them, especially the visual media.

Now the problem seems clear, the issue is not guns in flashy colors but toy guns and unnecessary violence in media programming available to kids under 8-10 (or a good age to be properly introduced to real gun handling and its responsibility).

reply to post by Kentucky75


Oh I missed a letter, a mistake . Unlike you atleast my logic is not flawed

Originally posted by jessejamesxx

Originally posted by CranialSponge
Maybe I watch too many sci-fi movies, but I wonder how long it will be before gun manufacturers get the bright idea of implementing fingerprint identification on their weapons ?

This way, only the person who's fingerprint ID is encoded can activate the gun to fire.

Accidental shootings would become a thing of the past.

That has already been suggested by the Obama administration. Inventing a feature on all weapons that detect if the person that's using it is the person that bought it. I don't have time to find the source, but I heard it on the news.

I can't imagine what that would do to the cost of guns, and since guns last for upwards of 100 years if taken care of, what happens to all of the old ones? It will be forever until they're phased out

It would be like any new technology... At first, it would cost a fortune and eventually prices would drop to the point that it's affordable to everyone. Remember when flatscreen tv's first came out ? Or VCR's ? The same idea. Mass production eventually reduces costs.

Old things eventually get phased out and become rare commodities like anything else.
It would be the same for guns.

There would be a lot less of them eventually on the streets, and at some point most legal gun owners would have the new fingerprint ID style guns in their possession... Hence less and less kids accidentally killing themselves or others at home.

Since we can't get rid of idiot parents, we need to figure out a work around.

Nothing can change overnight, but we need to start somewhere, no ?

My opinion is that it does not matter what the gun looks like, could have spongebob or spiderman paint all over it, The kids should not have access to it if properly secured. The safes today (good ones) do not have a key lock but rather a combination lock, so that the would be thief or child or whomever, cannot get access to the contents..

On another point:
Its real simple too... Automobiles can be deadly weapons, as adults and parents, we secure a car or truck or SUV from a minor. We don't give them access to a few thousand pound deadly weapon... Yet I'm sure that there are stories and news concerning a car that a youngster got hold of and did some damage to others, to property and or to themselves.

The answer is to secure the dangerous 'things' Same with kitchen knives and the household food processor lol

reply to post by CranialSponge


They in a way already do it's called a "magna trigger" it's an internal lock that can only be disengaged via a coded ring. It's not perfect they don't have them for all types of guns yet but they are working on it.

The only problem I see here is that the pistol had a round chambered and left in that way.
The amount of force and grip strength required to chamber a round is beyond any child let alone most weak adults... My wife can only chamber a round in my pistol half the time.
By chamber I mean to pull the slide to the rear, stripping a round off the magazine and seating it in the barrel ready for firing.
I see no reason for a weapon sitting in a house to have a round chambered!

Originally posted by zonetripper2065
reply to post by CranialSponge

 

They in a way already do it's called a "magna trigger" it's an internal lock that can only be disengaged via a coded ring. It's not perfect I guess someone can take your special ring.

Yeah, I heard of those... definitely not foolproof. It's no different than someone finding the key to your safe.

I like the fingerprint ID thing though. Just think, if someone were to break into your home and you hold a gun to them and they somehow manage to get it out of your hands, there's not a damn thing they can do with it at that moment other than whack you over the head with it because they can't fire it.

Monkey proofing against idiot gun owners who wouldn't know the meaning of responsibility if it slapped them upside the head.