As an advocate of the 2nd amendment who thinks gun regulations need to be more strict assessing theental health of anyone purchasing a gun, I find it very hard to believe parents who leave a child in a hot car with a loaded gun to both go into a store to shop could pass any test of their fucking mental stability. This had to be premeditated whether they can prove it legally. Someone else in the thread said it was 90F when this happened so when you add it all up, a toddler was left out if their carseat, with a loaded gun, in either a running vehicle the kid could've kicked into gear accidently or in a vehicle that wasn't running on a fucking 90 degree day. Way too many cognizant decisions were made to not charge them with 1st degree murder.
As a non-American, it's crazy to me that there (apparently) aren't any safe storage laws enforced. Would it really infringe people's gun rights to require that all firearms may only be in a safe, in your hands, or on your person (in a holster, sling, etc.)?
About half of US states have safe storage laws. You can probably guess which ones. Surprisingly, both Texas and Florida are both on this list, though, so credit where it's due.
The enforcement of those laws is another story, though. And to be fair, enforcement can be difficult. You can always charge them with a safe storage violation after an incident happens and police/EMS/etc enter the home legally, but otherwise, nobody is coming into your home to ensure that you're locking up your guns properly. It's illegal without a warrant, and surprise safety checks aren't something you can issue a warrant for.
Of course, charging them after the fact means they'll regret it... but it won't prevent anyone from doing the same. After all, such bad accidents only ever happen to other people.
As an advocate of the 2nd amendment who thinks gun regulations need to be more strict assessing theental health of anyone purchasing a gun, I find it very hard to believe parents who leave a child in a hot car with a loaded gun to both go into a store to shop could pass any test of their fucking mental stability. This had to be premeditated whether they can prove it legally. Someone else in the thread said it was 90F when this happened so when you add it all up, a toddler was left out if their carseat, with a loaded gun, in either a running vehicle the kid could've kicked into gear accidently or in a vehicle that wasn't running on a fucking 90 degree day. Way too many cognizant decisions were made to not charge them with 1st degree murder.
As a non-American, it's crazy to me that there (apparently) aren't any safe storage laws enforced. Would it really infringe people's gun rights to require that all firearms may only be in a safe, in your hands, or on your person (in a holster, sling, etc.)?
About half of US states have safe storage laws. You can probably guess which ones. Surprisingly, both Texas and Florida are both on this list, though, so credit where it's due.
The enforcement of those laws is another story, though. And to be fair, enforcement can be difficult. You can always charge them with a safe storage violation after an incident happens and police/EMS/etc enter the home legally, but otherwise, nobody is coming into your home to ensure that you're locking up your guns properly. It's illegal without a warrant, and surprise safety checks aren't something you can issue a warrant for.
Of course, charging them after the fact means they'll regret it... but it won't prevent anyone from doing the same. After all, such bad accidents only ever happen to other people.