US Toddlers Involved In Shootings On a Weekly Basis (washingtonpost.com)

New submitter fremsley471 writes with this story by Christopher Ingraham about shooting accidents involving children 3 and under in The United States. There were at least 43 cases this year of shootings involving a toddler. The Washington Post reports: "This week a 2-year-old in South Carolina found a gun in the back seat of the car he was riding in and accidentally shot his grandmother, who was sitting in the passenger seat. This type of thing happens from time to time: a little kid finds a gun, fires it, and hurts or kills himself or someone else. These cases rarely bubble up to the national level except when someone, like a parent, ends up dead. But cases like this happen a lot more frequently than you might think. Briefly sifting through news reports found at least 43 instances this year of somebody being shot by a toddler 3 or younger. In 31 of those 43 cases, a toddler found a gun and shot himself or herself."

Comments

Re:NRA is the premier firearms safety organization

[Anonymous Coward]

"Actually the NRA is the premier organization for firearms safety instruction" You means was.
They Lobby against and law requiring training. You must be thinking of their original mission.

Try reading past the first sentence. That is still their primary mission. They lobby against a government controlled system because such systems could be used to deny ownership. It has been done in the past. Require stamps, permits, etc ... but don't issue any. The NRA merely wants a privately operated instructional system. The NRA believes all firearms owners should be instructed in safety. My father was in the Army, my uncle a police officer, they properly instructed me. In the scouts they had an NRA certified instructor run a class the first night of camp for anyone wishing to use the rifle or skeet range that week. Most guns stores I've seen provide info on where to find safety classes, nearly all run by NRA certified instructors.

Re:Laws

[xevioso]

If you folks wish to repeal Obamacare, by all means try to do so.

Oh wait...you did already. 54 times.
https://www.washingtonpost.com...

Fail.

Re:We need to be harder on them

[UnderCoverPenguin]

I understand that the US constitution makes it so, but I don't think this is really a sane thing to do.

The Second Amendment to the US Constitution was put there because the original 13 states had recently won their independence from Briton by an armed uprising against Briton. The founders intended the Second Amendment as a "last resort" of the people to keep the government in check.

Yes, over the past 200+ years, many have argued that the states would protect the people against a too powerful national government. So far, that argument has been successfully countered. It might only be a matter of time before that argument ultimately prevails.

Also, the vast power of the national government effectively moots the Second Amendment.

How come gun ownership is a right but ... access to public health care and decent education in your country are not?

The Ninth Amendment not withstanding, because the US Constitution doesn't mention them. At least not in language today's politicians would recognize. This is exemplified by the debate over whether the Fourth Amendment confers a right to privacy. While the words "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, ...." do not include the word "privacy", the words used do describe privacy. Still, a significant faction argues that the absence of the word "privacy" infers the right is not granted. Except the Ninth Amendment says otherwise. Indeed, the US Constitution was intended to limit the government's power, not grant rights that the founders believed to be inherent and inalienable.

I agree, good health care and education are basic human rights. I would even argue that the Declaration of Independence supports that. Again, not specifically, so the politicians feel free to ignore it as is convenient for them. Indeed, the Declaration of Independence is largely ignored, just as the Ninth Amendment is largely ignored. True the Declaration of Independence is not part of the Constitution, but it is the preeminent founding document of the US. What it says is no less important than the Constitution.