Lots of blame for the Mother. Apparently Dad's off the hook , though,

[xmas74]

90. In a gun case I'd usually place the blame on the father

since that's who usually takes the kids out to hunt or is usually the one who is more involved in the gun culture. (At least that's the case where I live. Yes, women here hunt and yes, they collect but the majority are white lower-middle and "middle-middle" class males.) In this case, the child had some sort of mental issues and yet the mother kept dangerous weapons around. She should have thought about her own safety and the safety of her child.

I have a friend-big gun enthusiast/gun rights/NRA-type. He made the statement that if any of his children ever show any signs of any kind of mental health issues he'll move the guns immediately out of his house. (He has a friend who will keep them for him.) A coworker from years back did just that-her son showed signs of depression and she moved their guns out of their house (and got him the treatment he needed.) I remember her asking coworkers if they had room in their gun cabinets for her rifles and explaining exactly why. In her case, even though her hunting rifles were kept in a locked cabinet she didn't trust it and knew that, if push came to shove, there might be a chance he could get access. (She made mention of him getting the keys while she slept.)

It's not a mother/father issue here. It's not a gun issue. It's about responsible gun ownership and this woman was irresponsible. If the father still lived in the home and this had happened he too would also be partly responsible for what happened. Responsible gun owners do not keep weapons of that caliber in a home with someone who has diagnosed illnesses.