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[Madness]

This isn't good reason to ban guns. Kids kill themselves with any number of household objects with stupid parents like this.

The very purpose of a gun is to kill/destroy/obliterate whatever is in front when the trigger is pulled. A jar of bleach is used to clean white clothes or as disinfectant, an electrical outlet is meant to provide electricity to products that require it.

This is one of the best reasons to ban guns, because there is a finality inherent to them. Such devastating power in such a small device. The power to completely take life away. How many innocent kids walking home from 7/11, how many elementary kids studying, how many 3-4 year olds at home, how many people in movie theatres need to die before people realize guns are dangerous? I have a cousin in the states who now owns 12+ guns in his house. He has a gun cabinet, and they're loaded. What happens the day someone breaks in when he's out and take his stash? What happens if he too, accidentally without thinking leaves his gun on the table.

 

[Timedog]

All gun owners think they are responsible gun owners.

Just like all drivers think they're good drivers.

Exactly. And all "Leaving loaded guns around toddlers defense force" members think they're good arguers.

 

[daizydoesit]

I have to wonder if you even have a child if you haven't seen toy guns (squirt guns, nerf guns, etc) utilized by 4 year olds.

It says a lot if a parent buys their toddler toy guns. Then you are setting them up to get hurt because then they can't differentiate between the toy gun and a real gun. Stick to teddy bears and blocks and parent better. End of story.

 

[Devolution]

It says a lot if a parent buys their toddler toy guns. Then you are setting them up to get hurt because then they can't differentiate between the toy gun and a real gun. Stick to teddy bears and blocks and parent better. End of story.

No, leaving out loaded guns is setting them up to get hurt not buying them nerf guns.

 

[massoluk]

Such bullshit. Saftey should have been on but teach your kid not to touch stuff. He feels guilty enough. Don't imprison him.

No, jail him. He's not being a responsible gun owner despite various safety warnings screamed at him at various points before he could own a gun.

 

[Madness]

It says a lot if a parent buys their toddler toy guns. Then you are setting them up to get hurt because then they can't differentiate between the toy gun and a real gun. Stick to teddy bears and blocks and parent better. End of story.

So what's the solution then? Ban the toy gun that powers imaginations, is relatively harmless in the sense it doesn't cause anyone pain or damage, and provides some form of play ie. Cops and robbers, army etc. Or ban the loaded handgun from the house? That way, kids aren't confused, they won't accidentally grab your real gun, and you are parenting better, because you don't have an item in the house that blows their brains to smithereens in a second.

 

[mclem]

He said his brother was a responsible gun owner.

In the face of that evidence?

 

[slit]

I'm actually surprised he was charged, TBH. Sometimes these things tend to go unpunished.

 

[lightus]

It says a lot if a parent buys their toddler toy guns. Then you are setting them up to get hurt because then they can't differentiate between the toy gun and a real gun. Stick to teddy bears and blocks and parent better. End of story.

I disagree with this. Kids mess with anything laying around. I don't care how firmly you tell your child to do something, they will disobey at some point. The only way they can accidentally shoot someone is if they have access to a gun.

Letting them play with harmless foam shooters isn't bad parenting. Leaving a lethal weapon out within reach is.

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

A responsible gun owner leaves a fully loaded gun lying around?

 

[MarkMclovin]

It says a lot if a parent buys their toddler toy guns. Then you are setting them up to get hurt because then they can't differentiate between the toy gun and a real gun. Stick to teddy bears and blocks and parent better. End of story.

Oh fuck off. I know some people on Gaf can be arseholes sometimes and with it being Friday, people can be a little more excited than normal, but are you fucking kidding me?

Hey, I have a 4 year old daughter and I'm am amazing father to her, but should I not buy her a doll in a pram just incase she gets confused with a real baby and try to play with her instead? Or maybe I shouldn't get her a toy kitchen that comes with kitchen utensils incase she gets confused with real knifes? Or maybe I shouldn't get her a toy hoover/ironing board/washing machine/toy dog, you know, just incase? I've just bought my friends little boy a Spiderman outfit for his birthday, have I just fucked up? Because he might think he's really Spiderman and try to jump of a building.

How about this. How about you be a responsible person and not leave guns around for kids to get at? Or how about not have guns at all? Even better, if you're going to have kids, you don't leave ANYTHING around that kids can really hurt themselves on.

 

[-KRS-]

By Florida law, guns in the home are to be secured in a locked box or otherwise kept readily at hand.

Uhm, what? So he did the right thing then? It was definitely kept readily at hand..

 

[Dead Man]

Uhm, what? So he did the right thing then? It was definitely kept readily at hand..

I would say they mean more like holstered on your person or right next to you.

 

[-KRS-]

I would say they mean more like holstered on your person or right next to you.

Oh! Of course. Sorry, I'm tired today.

 

[family_guy]

Don't feel bad that he is going to prison. Society is better off with less stupid people on the streets.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Don't feel bad that he is going to prison. Society is better off with less stupid people on the streets.

Yup as he should. You don't leave a loaded gun where a child can get it. You lock that son of a bitch up. The reasoning is beyond stupid too. I laid it on the table so I wouldn't forget it in the morning. I mean seriously that's not a good reason to lay it out. There isn't one. Then you combine this with that fact that this little girl had played with the gun before and that makes this even more stupid. And oh don't get me started on the oh I didn't think she was strong enough to pull the trigger. That takes stupid to a new level not seen before in the history of man.

So yea this moron deserves to rot in prison just for his stupidity.

 

[neorej]

It's great how every gun-owner is a responsible one when you debate with them.

 

[highrider]

You need heat at a frozen yogurt shop? Guy is a moron and deserves jail time.

 

[linsivvi]

He made a series of mistakes that caused his daughter to die. He is (was?) a bad father, irresponsible, and certainly not the smartest person around. There's no evidence to suggest that outside of his mishandling of a gun that he was anything less than decent. I'm not downplaying the severity of what happened, just saying this repeated, fatal mistake will have killed a child and ruined an adult (that we otherwise have no reason to think wasn't an OK guy) life.

Before GAF gets the wrong idea, I'm not DefenseForcing for leaving guns laying around. I'm pretty strongly against firearms in general, but I still feel bad for this guy. Not as much as I feel bad for his daughter, but still.

That alone makes him a terrible person.

 

[gutter_trash]

an accident is when you trip over a cable and fall down.

this here is an incident. Calling something an accident implies that there was no wrong doing.

Being an irresponsible gun owner is not an accident, it's negligence.

If the US decides to remain a gun culture nation, then they must enforce responsibility

 

[KHarvey16]

I don't know that the fact he has training is being used as a formal legal justification for charging him, but more of a pre-emptive attempt by police to remove ignorance as an excuse someone might use to feel bad for this guy. They're saying they're charging him and also that he definitely knew better.

 

[PS3GamerKyle]

Chambers, who has a concealed carry permit and no prior criminal record, was arrested Saturday and released by a judge on his own recognizance.

Damn. When I first read the first few lines, I assumed the father was an a father with a huge criminal record, the gun was obtained illegally, etc etc. Reading that he seemed like an OK guy makes it more shocking. Too bad he didn't understand the true power of a handgun

 

[gutter_trash]

Uhm, what? So he did the right thing then? It was definitely kept readily at hand..

lol, their laws and their loose definitions

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Good. How many times did the mistake need to be made before he learned the lesson?

Sad though.

Agreed. You know your child had their hands on the gun twice, he literally saw this coming and did nothing. It wasn't an accident it was absolute negligence.

 

[Vyroxis]

The man's an idiot, always secure your firearms so little hands can't touch them.

This this this this so much fucking this. I dont even have kids, my firearms are locked up amd ammo is kept locked up seperately. Idiots like this do nothing but make gun owners look bad.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Hahaha, it's cute that you think telling a three year old not to touch something is good enough.

I'm more humored at how he was able to shift responsibility to kids in the first place.

 

[liger05]

No excuses when he could of put the safety on or even better leave it out of the reach of children.

 

[RionaaM]

"No parent intentionally leaves things exposed for children," he told the Sun Sentinel in February. He said his brother was a responsible gun owner.

A responsible gun owner wouldn't leave a gun in a place where his 3 year old daughter could grab it.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

A responsible gun owner wouldn't leave a gun in a place where his 3 year old daughter could grab it.

This. You don't just leave that shit on a table.

He could have tossed a 5$ trigger lock on the gun, dump the mag, empty chamber and toss both in a small lockbox and keep it in his car if it was just for work. Or keep it in a safe at home.

No excuse for such idiocy and RIP to the little girl

 

[ComputerMKII]

So what's the age where you're old enough to die?

Life expectancy in Florida is 79.4 years.

 

[n00bsauce87]

Good. How many times did the mistake need to be made before he learned the lesson?

Sad though.

That's how I see it. I think if this happens more often, parents will care more about the well being of their children as much as their care about their 2nd amendment rights. When you have a tool that can kill a human being, you should take great pains to make sure that it can only held in responsible hands at all times.

 

[DEO3]

A well regulated Militia, indeed.

 

[Omegasquash]

I hope the family and others close to this girl find peace. Damn shame and a tragedy with a young one gets taken.

I sincerely hope that this serves as a wake up call to gun owners to lock their weapons up in a safe, extremely secure place to keep them out of the hands of children.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

I hope the family and others close to this girl find peace. Damn shame and a tragedy with a young one gets taken.

I sincerely hope that this serves as a wake up call to gun owners to lock their weapons up in a safe, extremely secure place to keep them out of the hands of children.

Start prosecuting parents of children that hurt themselves with their unsecured firearms. I have no issue with that. You have a child in your house then secure your firearms.

 

[Camwi]

Fuck him. Prison time for shit like this should be a federal law.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Fuck him. Prison time for shit like this should be a federal law.

Agreed.

 

[Water]

No excuses when he could of put the safety on or even better leave it out of the reach of children.

Gotta comment because this is already the second time I see this mistake on the thread. "Put the safety on" is not an answer to any gun safety issue and doesn't make a gun "safe". Safeties are easy to disengage, and many guns don't even have an external safety the user can manipulate. The use of safeties has very little bearing on how you should handle a gun, and never excuses it being available to a small child.

(There are opposite misconceptions which say that not having the safety engaged is unsafe gunhandling, or that a gun is fundamentally unsafe if it is not equipped with an external safety. These are false as well. In some conditions, presence and use of safeties decreases actual safety.)

 

[Omegasquash]

Start prosecuting parents of children that hurt themselves with their unsecured firearms. I have no issue with that. You have a child in your house then secure your firearms.

I absolutely agree. At the least this is reckless endangerment and child neglect, both of which directly resulted in his daughters death. I'm a supporter of gun ownership to a degree, but I'd seriously support legislation that required households to have a gun cabinet with some kind of technology that kept records of when the guns were in locked storage vs. when they weren't.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Such bullshit. Saftey should have been on but teach your kid not to touch stuff. He feels guilty enough. Don't imprison him.

Yeah, I mean now that the kid shot herself in the head and died she'll think twice about playing with guns, right? Oh wait, that makes no sense. Just like your post.

 

[Gordon Shumway]

Start prosecuting parents of children that hurt themselves with their unsecured firearms. I have no issue with that. You have a child in your house then secure your firearms.

Agreed. Poor kid. She's had access to the gun more than once? Father of the year..

 

[Josh7289]

A person takes on a huge responsibility when they own a gun. This man totally failed to keep it safe, and so he failed that responsibility. I mean, in other words, he's responsible.

Tragic case.

 

[BattleMonkey]

So it's possible to own a firearm in Florida without firearms training?

If he hadn't had training, apparently this would merely be a terrible tragic accident that he couldn't have been expected to see coming.

If the law can't hold people liable for failing to properly secure their firearms if they lack training, shouldn't firearms training be mandatory before someone is allowed to own a gun?

You can own a gun in most states without any training. The only safety training you get is if you get a concealed permit.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

This is so sad. I have a four year old daughter and this is making me a bit teary. Fucking gun culture in America. How many kids need to get killed before you realise guns are fucking bad news?!

He took a gun to work because he made bank payments - so it's legal to take a loaded gun into a bank?! What the fuck is wrong with a society when this shit is acceptable?

 

[adamsappel]

My daughter was never interested in what was under the sink, or in bottles of pills, etc. That doesn't mean I didn't keep that stuff locked away. Father needs jail time just so the next dumbass might hear a little voice in the back of his head when he wants to lay his gun anywhere so he doesn't forget it.

 

[Shao Kahn on the Lawn]

This is why we need rigid gun safety and responsibility courses with tests that need to be passed before a person is even allowed to own a gun.

But it's not happening because freedom or some bullshit.

I'm not certain that increased training would help anyways. Think about all the asinine things you likely see on any given commute and reconcile that against the knowledge that the overwhelming majority of those people were licensed by the state to drive, having passed both a written and practical test demonstrating competence behind the wheel.

You can own a gun in most states without any training. The only safety training you get is if you get a concealed permit.

That's not necessarily true either. The state I reside in required that I fill out some paperwork and get approval from local authorities: the private training I attended was of my own volition and was in no way required.

 

[Mr_Antimatter]

I admit that currently, mine are not locked up, but then again, I don't yet have children. the second I do, they will be properly secured, somehow. Ditto for any knives or other sharp things.

Leaving it laying on a table with a toddler around, fully loaded, is just criminal neglect.

 

[Rockandrollclown]

I'm not certain that increased training would help anyways. Think about all the asinine things you likely see on any given commute and reconcile that against the knowledge that the overwhelming majority of those people were licensed by the state to drive, having passed both a written and practical test demonstrating competence behind the wheel.

Exactly, a lot of people are just beyond being reached. "Horrifying accident will never happen to me, that shit only happens to other people" This guy not only had training, tragedy almost occurred two times prior. Once his daughter about blew his wife's head off with the gun, the other she took it from a laundry basket. If the first incident wasn't a wake up call to not leave loaded guns in reach of a three year old, clearly nothing short of actual tragedy happening was going to reach this dumb fuck. Yes he needs to go to jail for a long time.

 

[Twio]

Stories like this make me fucking sick. Leaving a gun around a child... How can you be so fucking irresponsible?

 

[Vyroxis]

He took a gun to work because he made bank payments - so it's legal to take a loaded gun into a bank?! What the fuck is wrong with a society when this shit is acceptable?

Whn you carry what may be upwards of 100g in cash in the open, you make yourself a target. He may also have been an armored car driver, and they are generally all armed as well.

 

[Shiina]

Good. Terrible tragedy but parents should finally take responsibility for their fuck ups instead of everybody else but them getting the blame.