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Accidental Wii Suicide
Paul Taylor noted a story that I would have thought to be an April Fool's Day joke a few weeks from now, which makes it only seem more tragic. A 3-year-old shot herself with a gun after mistaking it for a Wii controller.
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This is manslaughter. Whoever left a gun near a 3-year-old needs locking up.
But the fact that there are no charges being pressed enrages me. The article says:
Law Enforcement: If You're a Gun Owner, You Have to Be Responsible
Or what? Someone will shake their finger at you?
Cheyenne Alexis McKeehan was a victim of either neglect, ignorance or willful intent of her stepfather. Which one, no one can ever be sure of. Regardless of the circumstances he improperly stored a loaded handgun in his home in reach of a three year old.
Saying "terrible lapse of judgment" and "be responsible next time" isn't enough for me. This man should be charged with child endangerment so that people take their Second Amendment Rights seriously and responsibly should they choose to exercise them.
Were I a prosecutor, I would push for the jury to see that going through the trouble to find a toy (not regularly distributed commercially here) for your child identical to the loaded handgun that you "happened" to leave on the table one evening is more than suspicious.
If you have children, invest in a home security system before a handgun, folks.
My work here is dung.
Did a dog pop up from behind the bushes and chuckle afterwards?
Why is the Wii controller even mentioned in this freakin' story? The kid shot themselves with a loaded gun left laying around by the parent. This has nothing to do with the Wii, and everything to do with some dumbfuck leaving a loaded gun laying around with a three year old in the house. I don't care what you child does for fun, leaving a loaded gun all willy-nilly where the child can reach it is the height of responsibility.
We don't need gun control, we need idiot control.
Living With a Nerd
Cheyenne Alexis McKeehan was a girl. Perhaps reading the story, Taco, might have been useful?
WTF is wrong with you submitter? This is negligent homicide by the family. They left a loaded, cocked, pistol on a table where a three year old can get it. A three year old does not have a concept of life and death, and does not commit suicide. By throwing around the S-word you're taking the blame off the people it truly belongs to: the parents. People who cannot treat firearms with the respect they deserve should not have them.
Already the news is making an issue out of the fact that it's a Wii-related death. It's not. It's a loaded gun left out in the open. It doesn't matter if the Wii gun "looked" real, it wasn't. You can have a real, pink, Hello Kitty revolver there. It doesn't matter. A loaded and cocked gun was left where a curious child can get it.
It's good to see that the /. editorial bias is still very much well and truly alive. What's the point of this story (especially posted under games?) if it isn't to exploit one family's tragedy to promote the political ideology of the /. gatekeepers? I guess common decency and good taste are not among their core competencies.
First of all, this wasn't an "accidental suicide", it was an accidental death.
Second of all, putting "wii" in the title is highly misleading and is typical of today's media which is more interested in tabloid journalism, trying to grab everyones attention by assuming all your readers are more responsitive to these kind of headlines.
My respect for Slashdot just went down a few.
it was a .380 automatic handgun, not a shotgun. Stupid plastic guns these days do look toy-ish, so its not entirely unreasonable (mine are all wood/steel -- no one is confusing a 1911 .45ACP for a "toy" any time soon, for instance). Not that the media isn't going to get all hysterical over this, but on the other hand, its not that the parents weren't being completely irresponsible with regards to: A) leaving a loaded gun around, and B) letting the kid play so many video games.
However, I do believe the model in question is double-action only, which means requiring a very long trigger pull that ought to be beyond the finger strength limits of a 3-year-old girl, so who knows just how "accidental" this really is.
Really? A toddler pulling the trigger of a .380? A toddler?
I smell bullshit.
... But you have to read the article to see "Smith and Wesson". Unreal.
I can see where the conversation gets muddy when someone commits a violent act after playing violent video games. Not saying anything about that beyond that its at least an interesting topic. But when a TODDLER finds a LOADED GUN ON A COFFEE TABLE and SHOOTS HERSELF WITH IT are we really going to try to blame it on VIDEO GAMES?!?!?!
Why stick up for big business?
Something doesn't make sense.
Firstly, they have a Wii controller that looks like a very realistic imitation of a real gun.
Secondly, this is a controller that you have to actively make an effort to go out, find, and buy, because you would never find it through regular channels.
Thirdly, the father is claming that he had no idea that they owned such a controller, or even any knowledge of what games the child is playing. What the hell kind of game does a 3 year old play that requires a realistic gun controller? Grand Theft Stroller?
Either the parents are grossly incompetent and stupid, or they're incompetent and stupid AND they're trying to mollify their guilty conscience by putting some of the blame on a video game accessory that they should never have owned to begin with.
I'm with the crew that says this doesn't add up.
1) Stepfather goes out of his way to buy obscure Wii controller that looks like the handgun he owns
2) Stepfather leaves loaded gun on coffee table in the living room, presumably where the Wii controllers sit. (Not in the bedroom, not on a shelf, etc. Even if he's lazy, you would probably leave a loaded gun somewhere other than your living room.)
3) Stepfather leaves the gun on the coffee table with a round in the chamber and the hammer cocked. (This is important because a 3 year old probably wouldn't have the strength to overcome the hammer action and pull the trigger otherwise.)
Too many "coincidences" here. That's all I'm saying.
Let's get this out of our systems: The parents were horribly irresponsible and deserve to be charged with some kind of crime. In most states (including mine) it is a felony to leave a weapon where a minor can gain access to it.
That being said, as a responsible gun owner, I don't like my son to have guns as toys. Toy guns are safe. Toy guns never hurt anybody. Toy guns teach every bad habit that gun safety teaches you not to do. Kids literally think guns are toys and can be handled cavalierly.
From the time he could talk I have drilled my son that when he sees a gun, what does he do? "Run away and tell a grown up." What if your friend wants to pick it up? "Run away and tell a grown up." What if your friend has it first and wants to show you? "Run away and tell a grown up."
You're gonna die from a hearth attack or a stroke. Possibly cancer.
Stress does that to ya.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
1. A felony gun charge means this man won't ever be able to legally own a gun again. That's a good thing as far as I can tell.
2. More news coverage, which means more reminders to gun owners to be responsible.
3. More news coverage, which reminds society of the dangers of firearms, and helps us continue the debate about "a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
4. Remember, it wasn't his child. He was the stepfather. Nearly all parents love their own children with everything they've got. Stepparents -- not so much.
Lots of parents are criminally negligent to children they love. It doesn't change the state's responsibility to society as a whole, as well as to the children in the home. This man will still live with at least one other child (a 1 year old). He's clearly not fit to live in a home with children. Yes Martha, any responsible gun owner will tell you that this situation is absolutely impossible for a responsible gun owner. Left it on a table? Forgot about it? Nonsense. As soon as the threat is mitigated, you return that firearm to a holster, and then to a locked cabinet. No exceptions, not ever.
Support a few technologists in Washington.
It took me a few seconds to figure out which was the controller. A picture of the controller, and the model pistol the father owns Granted I'm from the UK and have never seen a gun like that up close, but the realism of that unit is scary.
The dad was an idiot, though. I don't see him recovering. As for it being accidental? I couldn't speculate, but to all of the people saying that a kid couldn't pull the trigger... Kids have two hands, remember?
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Divorced guys know ALL about this scenario. The ex's new boyfriend doesn't have the fact that they are his kids programmed into him 24/7
In my experience, ex's new boyfriend has the fact that they are *Not* his kids programmed into him 24/7, by either the kids (tween-teen), or by the mother (if they're single-digit age).
This man makes a horrible mistake that will likely haunt him and his family forever, and all some of the people here can say is "I'm upset that he hasn't been charged," or "he should be locked up."
Because that's the solution here...For the state to lock the guy up. Yeah, because incarceration has worked so well to fix all of the problems in our utopia called America.
As if jail time going to bring the girl back, or undo what happened.
It was a horrible accident, and yeah, as a gun owner the man should have known better - but accidents happen. People forget to follow proper procedure on occasion, and on this occasion that error led to this accident.
Trust me, if there was anything fishy about this situation or about this guy they would have him locked up.
The parents should be left alone. The LAST thing they need is for the state lock them up after something like this happens - there is no worse punishment than what they are already going through.
Then I am sure we'll have the usual crowd ready to throw all of our rights under the bus with the tired, old, ridiculous "let's ban guns" argument - you know, because criminals that are ready to kill or rob or break every law inm the book will definitely decide to obey a new gun law because.......because why?
The only thing that I would hope for out of all of this is that it serves as a sobering reminder how very important safety and following procedure is when you are dealing with any tool that has the capacity to kill or maim (firearms, vehicles, power tools, electricity, etc)...
In addition to firearms safety, this is as much about home safety and "childproofing" as it is anything else.
apparently it wasnt in this case. This is something that could be taught in a gun safety and licensing class. Even when you have a reason to want to handle a weapon, when the potential threat is clear, dont just put the damn thing down and walk away.
What about the situations where a kid is shot but not killed , or the situation where the gun discharges and misses completely? To me, these situations are the same, with a different result. The actions should end with some punishment, not dependent upon the results of the actions.
If you leave a gun where a child can access it, and manages to discharge it, you dont become not guilty of something heinous because you got lucky.