Toddler wounds both parents with 1 shot from handgun (updated)

[Divernan]

26. So the couple had a 3 yr. old, a 2 yr. old and were 8 months pregnant, AND

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the family was living in the motel room where the shooting occurred.

This is not a black or white situation - cultural and economic factors intersect here.

Gun culture meets quasi-homelessness meets failure of public education about BIRTH CONTROL.
(Maybe while the docs are patching up Dad's butt they can throw in a free vasectomy.)

According to another news source, the scene of the shooting was:
Americas Best Value Inn Albuquerque Central
2108 Menaul Boulevard NE Albuquerque, NM 87107 United States.

The rate for a room with 2 double beds at the motel was $30.56 a night, with even lower rates available for long term stays & 20% off if booked a week in advance. The motel has a "kids stay free" policy for kids in the same room with parents.

Considering the family was living in a low rent motel in the central part of a city which is ranked in the lowest 4% for safety from crime, I can understand why they parents had a gun, i.e,. for protection.

Yes, the parents were criminally negligent, but on the other hand, if you want to protect your family in the event of a break-in to a one-room lodging, you don't have the gun locked away in a safe, do you. I'm not a gun person - do all hand guns have trigger guards? If not, why not?

As long as guns are so easily available and gun owners do not have to be licensed/tested for knowledge of gun safety, perhaps there should be mandatory gun safety classes starting in kindergarten - age appropriate, grade by grade.

On edit: Just went back and read the other comments, and was disgusted by the snark. This is a young family - Dad stayed in the picture and didn't abandon Mom & kids - people skating on that thin edge separating them from homelessness. What if they were the next level down, i.e, living in their car? Even more vulnerable to street crime and in need of some protection.

I volunteer for United Way in the VITA (volunteer income tax assistance) program, so deal with young parents struggling with poverty like many of us have never experienced. That's all day, every day. I don't see anything remotely funny about this story. Why don't all of you Great Wits step away from your computers and go volunteer at your local food banks?