5-year-old girl playing with gun fatally shoots herself in Louisiana

Keep the gun in a locked box.

If not keep gun and bullets separate.

If kept loaded and you don't want to put into a locked box, hide it well up high where a small kid guaranteed won't find it.

Simple solution my dad followed. Poor kid - no second chances here.

The 'responsible' gun owner's dilemma - keep the gun locked up with the ammo separate, so that your kids can't hurt themselves, or keep the gun loaded, so that if an intruder gets in the house, they can be summarily executed.

I put responsible in quotes, because having a gun in the house when you have young children is irresponsible no matter which way you cut it.

Enough, people, enough!

20 April: A two-year-old boy in Indiana died after shooting himself in the chest. His mother had left the gun in her purse on the kitchen counter.

21 April: In Missouri, a two-year-old girl died after shooting herself with her father’s gun. Police have charged her 24-year-old father with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, among other charges.

22 April: In Louisiana, a three-year-old fatally shot himself in the head. Natchitoches police detective John Greely told the Guardian the boy’s mother and a companion were in bed, while the boy sat at the end of the bed watching television. He somehow found a pistol and shot himself; police arrested the companion, 22-year-old Alverious Demars, and have charged him with negligent homicide and obstruction of justice.

26 April: In Georgia, a three-year-old boy died after finding a gun at home and shooting himself in the chest. No charges have been filed.

27 April: In Wisconsin, a two-year-old boy shot and killed his mother. She was driving down the highway when the gun slid from under the driver’s seat. In the back seat, the toddler, who was not in a child-restraint seat, picked up the gun and fired it through the front seat.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/02/toddler-shooting-gun-control-children

The NYT notes that there were 278 unintentional juvenile shootings last year, though the parent-owners of the mishandled guns are seldom prosecuted, the idea being that they have already suffered enough. Right. Taken to its logical conclusion, most all child neglect cases would be dropped

Those gun owners in charge of minors who do not properly secure their weapons should be prosecuted with at least the same vehemence as those who keep their kids unattended in cars while shopping.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/us/guns-children-deaths.html

Oh well.

If kept loaded and you don't want to put into a locked box, hide it well up high where a small kid guaranteed won't find it.

Yes, exactly.

Simple solution my dad followed. Poor kid - no second chances here.

I was told the same thing.

Yes, it's so simple. Just store the gun safely. It's just a shame irresponsible idiots are also allowed to purchase firearms. Never mind. Irresponsible idiots have their rights too.

I wonder if Bass or Speed have any ideas on how to stop irresponsible idiots purchasing firearms. Maybe they can let us know before the next child drills a hole in its own body or somebody else's. Be quick, though - this happens about once a day.

I don't think the 2nd amendmenters see a solution to this problem, they just see it as an acceptable price to pay for the 'right' to own guns.

Aren't parents supposed to provide their kids with a safe environment? Imo thats a failure to protect their children. The owner of the gun should be prosecuted.

I wonder if Bass or Speed have any ideas on how to stop irresponsible idiots purchasing firearms.

I always have been for the building and reopening of mental asylums. People that are deemed to be volatile or have a propensity to commit violence should evaluated and if perceived to be a possible threat, lock them up and give them the proper care they need.

Touche@Strangerland. It seems that gun rights proponents are good at chanting the mantras they have memorized on cue, but don't always consider whether a particular mantra fits the argument.

This is just useless, the looney left will never get their way to take guns away and even if they try to come up with some stupid legislation to go around the already strict gun laws that are in place, there would be a serious revelation.

the already strict gun laws that are in place

What?! The US has ridiculously loose gun laws.

The US has ridiculously loose gun laws.

But they vary from state to state. I used to drive 5 hours into AZ from CA to go to the "Gun Shows."

There I would buy accessories ; 20-round magazines for my handuns or high velocity ammo (which are illegal and unavailable to purchase in CA) and then return to CA.

When I'm at the range shooting, nobody bothers to say, "excuse me but those max-capacity mags are illegal pal." Or "Your flash-suppressor on that semi-automatic rifle isn't within the state's standards."

Strangerland is right, there are loopholes.

I bet the parents are stupid enough to wonder how this could have happened. Great thing they had the gun, eh? Clearly it was necessary to defend the house and home. Hope they suffer in jail for a very long time as they think of their little girl and know her death is 100% their fault.

I'll keep saying it, I've got no compassion for idiots. Louisiana huh? C'mon, at least prove deep South stereotypes wrong! 'Muricans!

Ban there guns, man. Just ban them.

Another useless death for the NRA to add to their incredibly long list, and their idiotic supporters as well. More people shoot themselves at home than use their guns to protect themselves from attack. Having guns in the home is a significant health risk to kids as this article clearly shows. The Gun loons are so far up the hind quarters of the NRA that cannot see the public health risk the NRA guns everywhere strategy creates. They would rather have their five year old daughter shoot herself than see the truth on the NRA death promoting policies.

Most of the gun loons live in Japan are so happy how safe it is here. But for them 1 plus 1 does not equal two. Japan is safe in part due to strict gun laws, like most of the rest of the world. They would want Japan to turn into the USA with 15,000 gun deaths a year. That is freedom for them. I will keep my freedom from being shot by losers who own guns to prove their manhood (as is well know they are lacking in the natural manhood arena).

Zurcronium, "USA with 15,000 gun deaths a year". sorry to correct you, but its over 35,000. its going to be hard to impossible to remove guns or tighten gun laws in the USA because it is ingrained in there culture.

Rest in Peace. What dreadful, irresponsible and abusive gun-nut parents the poor, innocent child had. They SHOULD end up in jail for a very long time - but instead their rights will be defended by the lunatic right.

"This is just useless, the looney left will never get their way to take guns away"

Children killing each other, themselves and their parents and the people wanting to change this are the 'looneys'. That's how twisted this issue is.

bass4funk: "This is just useless, the looney left will never get their way to take guns away and even if they try to come up with some stupid legislation to go around the already strict gun laws that are in place, there would be a serious revelation."

"looney" is thinking that you need a gun, let alone the absolute morons out there who have 24 or so, and teach their kids that it's okay and worse, 'necessary' to have guns around. I notice how you do not express any pity towards the girl killed in your comment, but that's not surprising, really. Must be pretty hard to argue how necessary the gun this little girl shot herself with is, let alone being able to sleep at night after convincing yourself guns are good. The only 'revelation' that occurs in cases such as these are by the family members of the dead children, who realise that having a gun was not a good idea at all -- always too late, of course, but such is the lunacy of the gun-nutter. Hope the parents spend the rest of their lives suffering, and people never let them alone about it -- especially family.

What does the NRA advocate for? Does it promote locked weapons in the home, or does it shy away from this because people want fast and ready protection when at home? I remember going to school in the morning, my father gone before I got up. My mother sleeping. But she wanted me to walk her up every morning when I leftf to say goodbye. Nd every single morning I scared her by waking her up for years. And she kept a loaded derringer in her night stand. I have other stories.

Why campaign for strict gun control? I am sure the NRA and others have a good answer.

'merica

The only 'revelation' that occurs in cases such as these are by the family members of the dead children, who realise that having a gun was not a good idea at all -- always too late, of course, but such is the lunacy of the gun-nutter.

I think he meant "revolution." But it's hard to tell.

Simon Foston: "I think he meant "revolution." But it's hard to tell."

Maybe it was a Freudian slip and his subconscious is finally coming to terms with the fact that the US has a serious gun control problem, and a gun-nutter mentality is not the answer. Now if only the brain would catch up and act on it. Even one less gun would be one less problem, and in this case a life saved. Instead, just another day in the good ol' U-S-A. We'll be reading about the same thing, and the same denials, tomorrow.

Owning or wanting to own a gun is totally irresponsible, period. Gun are for Police and soldiers not for the general population. As this girls death shows. There must be a mental disorder in people who feel the need the arm themselves with killing power

In some cities in some states, toy gun sales or fake plastic colored guns are illegal. But you can buy real guns if you don't mind to wait a few days. Schools in our city prohibited plastic toy guns and of cause some parents protested.

I agree John San.

Gun are for Police and soldiers not for the general population.

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ Her father was a disabled Iraqi veteran so whatever happened it wasn't because he doesn't understand through hard experience the power of weapons. Unfortunately this momentary lapse of reason not only broke the law it resulted in a child’s death. You can never get lax with gun safety when little children are around. RIP