CHL negligent discharge kills child

[rickt]

Why can't people obey the four rules?

WICKLIFFE, Ohio -- A 2-year-old girl was accidentally shot and killed by her mother at a hotel Friday night, police say.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ss ... lly_s.html

[TSiWRX]

^ Agreed. The Four Rules, ALWAYS.

But also, I think that a lot of times parents - particularly of younger children or more children - can get distracted from their "in-hand tasks" when the (or one of the) child(ren) unexpectedly presents with an urgent/emergent need.

One thing I counsel new gun-owning parents on is the need to realize exactly what MUST take precedence when they are handling their weapon while their child(ren) are present: that they must carry through with their weapon-manipulation task, reaching whatever "safe point" that has been pre-designated (be this that the gun is now inside the holster or inside a locked safe), before they attend to their child(ren), no matter how urgent that second need.

Yes, that child could be pulling down a knife-block from the kitchen just as you're starting to clear out the gun - but it's going to do no-one any good when the child is suffering from a knife wound and you or another loved one is also suffering from a gunshot wound!!!!

Of-course, we do not yet know of the exact circumstances of this tragedy, but this is something that I do point out to new gun-owning parents.