Originally Posted by NorCal DC4
So here's the issue / question:
For a fraction of the cost of 1 box of ammunition, a child-safety latch could have prevented the .38 from coming into that 1st grader's hands...and the fatal shooting could have been averted.
How should we - as a nation - both defend the 2nd Amendment and at the same time, stress the need for responsible gun ownership?
How do we secure our right to bear arms, yet prevent these tragic [elementary-school] shootings?
Oh, if it was only that simple. Some questions though...(I don't want to get into a MM debate)...How was the obtaining of the gun portrayed? Was it mentioned that it was stolen? Was it mentioned there was at least one other stolen gun in the house? Was it mentioned the shooter's family was living in a flop house where narcotics were found? Was it mentioned that one of the gun "owners" had a felony arrest warrant? I'm not asking, simply to be an ass, but those issues complicate your relatively innocuous questions.
In this particular instance, with all of the known facts, I don't believe that any piece of anti-gun legislation could have prevented this particular shooting. The gun was stolen, and the owner was a criminal. The last thought on his mind was "where is the gun lock?"
Gun ownership is a huge responsibility- just like owning a swimming pool, making sure your kids are wearing seatbelts, and keeping medications and poisons out of reach. Responsible gun owners will always be...well, responsible. But, there is no law that will keep the idiots in check.