It would be nice to say that children shooting themselves and others with unsecured guns was uncommon in the US, but it isn't at all. In fact, 400 happened in 2023 alone. In some states, this is not considered the fault of the gun owner, but Michigan disagrees.
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Some states do not punish people for leaving firearms unattended and loaded around children. This has resulted in many cases of children shooting themselves or others with nobody held accountable. However, in Michigan, the law states that gun owners must keep unattended weapons unloaded and locked in a box or container if a minor is present.
Jessie Gean, 25, and Jacob Zachary Gean, 27, had left a loaded gun in the pocket of one of their jackets. Their son, a nine-year-old boy, found the gun and began to play with it. Without his parent's supervision, he successfully discharged the weapon, shooting himself in the hand.
He was rushed to the hospital, where he received medical treatment. However, his parents have faced charges for being irresponsible parents and gun owners.
Parents Will Face Probation For Irresponsible Gun Ownership
Despite endangering not only their own lives but also that of their child with the unattended gun, they both only spent three days in jail. They were released on a $50,000 personal bond and given a safe storage firearms violation.
Their probation forbids them from having a firearm or any other deadly weapon in the house. Why anyone would have a loaded weapon in a house with a child baffles me anyway.
In the US, more than one child every day gains access to a loaded gun and shoots themselves or another. Nine of every ten people injured by children are other children. The other person is, more often than not, a friend or a sibling.
Safe storage laws are in place for a reason. The number of children causing injury and death by guns is 34 percent lower in states with laws that hold gun owners accountable. Even if the law in your state doesn't insist on it, it's important to keep deadly weapons locked away.
