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Chris J. Karr's avatar

"James and Jennifer are in the same jail, each charged with four counts of involuntary homicide, with $500,000 bail."

The prosecutor is doing 100% the right thing here by charging the parents as accessories to this tragedy. I hope it sends a message to parents and guardians that if they are going to allow guns in their households and in the hands of their charges, THEY will also be held responsible for what's done with those weapons that they could have controlled.

I don't know if I've posted here on this, but it's my opinion that gun owners should be required to know where their weapons are at every moment. If you own a weapon (or have a child that owns a weapon), and you can't state with full certainty where that weapon is, then you should have if confiscated. And if you're not keeping track of your guns well enough to know when it's been stolen or is missing, you should be on the hook as well for any crimes it was used in IF you have not alerted law enforcement prior to the crimes that the weapon is no longer in your control.

Gun safes exist for a reason. Too many people think that something like this couldn't happen to them, and this only guarantees that it will keep happening.

Let's hope others follow this prosecutor's lead and send a message that ignorant stupidity won't be sufficient to keep you out of jail when it comes to firearms.

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Steve Berman's avatar

I do think too much effort and political capital is devoted to who can/can’t purchase a gun and where they can be carried versus how guns can be kept safe and secure. The latter is a much better problem to solve and would prevent so many stolen guns and tragedies. I think the state is fully able to regulate how guns are stored at home and in transit when the owner is not physically in control of them but it’s a much ignored issue. Charging people when their uncontrolled guns are used to commit a crime is one way to deal with this.

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Scott C.'s avatar

The gun fetishism in this country is really a sickness at this point. You're heart just breaks I'm sure but you won't lift a finger to help prevent it from ever happening again. Those children were sacrifices on the alter of the 2nd amendment. Just 4 more to add to the hundreds already there. More will be added shortly.

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Scott C.'s avatar

Sigh, your not you're. I really type too fast.

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Nick Gibbs's avatar

Parents buy teen age son a hand gun designed to kill people. Teenager kills four people with gun. What was he supposed to do with it?

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Steve Berman's avatar

Unhelpful.

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Scott C.'s avatar

Yet true.

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