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SecularMotion

(7,981 posts)
Mon May 2, 2016, 06:51 AM May 2016

Toddlers have shot at least 23 people in US this year

This past week, a Milwaukee toddler fatally shot his mother after finding a handgun in the back seat of the car they were riding in. The case drew a lot of national attention given the unusual circumstances: Little kids rarely kill people, intentionally or not.

But this type of thing happens more often than you might think. Since April 20, there have been at least seven instances in which a 1- , 2- or 3-year-old shot themselves or somebody else in the United States:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/01/toddlers-have-shot-at-least-23-people-this-year/
8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Duckhunter935

(16,974 posts)
1. Project childsafe
Mon May 2, 2016, 07:00 AM
May 2016

You and the bloomberg "gun safety" groups should be out there pushing this great cause and putting some money to it like the major gun manufacturers, correct?

For some readon, I bet you will be afraid to answer this simple question.

 

peace13

(11,076 posts)
3. Why is the person who posts about the problem the one responsible for fixing it?
Mon May 2, 2016, 07:14 AM
May 2016

If parents can't keep guns out of their children's hands, bad things will happen. If you add the accidental toddler killings to the school shootings done by kids with a parent's gun the picture becomes clear. How about mandatory jail time for the gun owner involved in a child killing? I'm for codes on guns, it makes sense but if I had to push every sensible idea that I have, I would be broke and hungry. No more wars, give women back their abortion rights, paper ballot voting, stupid kid shootings....the list of things gone backwards is out of control.

 

Duckhunter935

(16,974 posts)
4. I think parents should indeed be held responsible
Mon May 2, 2016, 07:20 AM
May 2016

That poster in the OP has around a thousand Google cut and paste posts in this group complaining about a problem. That in my opinion is spamming as he disrespects the SOP here and refuses to discuss his posts. He says he is for common sense measures. I think project childsafe is a great thing and you would think he would at least be able to praise that effort.

 

peace13

(11,076 posts)
2. This is such a shame.
Mon May 2, 2016, 07:03 AM
May 2016

The poor kids have to go through life as the one who shot 'mommy'. When my son was young he wasn't allowed to play at a friend's house if they had guns. Good thing he's grown. I doubt there are many homes without them now.

These car shootings are pretty bazaar. I guess it makes sense, confined space and all.

flamin lib

(14,559 posts)
6. According to the General Survey, the only source we have, only about 34% of households have guns.
Mon May 2, 2016, 11:15 AM
May 2016

And the % is trending down.

ileus

(15,396 posts)
5. A gun can't save lives if it's out of your reach/control.
Mon May 2, 2016, 08:42 AM
May 2016

Lock it up if you're not carrying it.


Safety Frist...

 

Eleanors38

(18,318 posts)
8. "...more often than you might think?" Well, here is the comparative data?
Mon May 2, 2016, 05:58 PM
May 2016

What were the numbers five years ago? 10? 20?

Twenty-three (23) instances in a year with a population of 310,000,000+ people is a very small number.

I welcme a little comparison data to show a trend which somehow lights up the radar picking up 23. Going from eighteen (18) to twenty-three (23) doesn't seem to be a sea-change. BTW, in the dodge ball reporting, it is unclear how many of the 23 were fatalities; in any case, it's all thrown into the stew of eighteen-or-younger the news media chooses to use as a marker. (IIRC, the National Safety Council defines "child" as 15 yoa or younger for children killed in gun accidents.)

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