How Many More 'Accidents' Before Gun Regulations are Tightened?
In a tragic episode on Friday June 11th, a 9-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the chest while riding in the car with his father. The gun went off as the father tried to replace it in its holster - he had drawn it after an alleged road-rage incident, believing they were being followed during a journey late in the evening. It's yet another example of such tragic incidents that are an unfortunately common occurrence in the city, the state and across the USA.
Following the shooting, both the father and the son were taken to hospital and while the boy is currently reported to be in critical condition, it's likely he will recover. He is currently being cared for at Texas Children's Hospital.
Accidents happen - but are they avoidable?
Police have been unable to verify the father's claim that there had been a road-rage incident that prompted him to draw his weapon. Even if there were such an episode, his actions could well have led to someone else being shot - would that have been a proportionate outcome?
It begs the question whether such an episode could be considered justification for him resorting to his gun in the first place. The tragic and accidental shooting of his son was completely avoidable too - had he not drawn the weapon then it wouldn't have happened - road-rage or not.
The shooting follows a number of other recent accidental shootings - all of which could have been easily avoided too, had the instigators not had weapons in their possession or within easy access when they clearly don't have the capacity to be safely in charge of a gun.
- It was reported in the Houston Chronicle on June 6th that a man was being charged for manslaughter after it was suspected that he had accidentally and fatally shot his friend in the stomach while playing with his gun in his home. At first he had alleged that the friend had accidentally shot himself while handling the weapon.
- In south west Houston in late May, a 9-year-old child shot a 7-year-old in their home after finding a loaded gun on the bed in the home. The bullet went through the 7-year-old's cheeks and fortunately the child is expected to rcover although at the time, local police were trying to apprehend an adult who had fled the scene.
The problems of accidental shootings aren't confined to Houston either of course
- In Woburn, Massachusetts on 12th June, a 22-year-old man was being charged by police after accidentally shooting his friend in the neck while showing him a newly-purchased .40 caliber Smith and Wesson pistol. He had only recently received his firearms permit and bought the gun
- Most tragic perhaps amongst all recent cases of accidental shootings, is that which occurred in Canton, Mississippi on June 2nd. A 9-year-old boy was fatally shot by his 2-year-old sister after she discovered a gun in the car where they'd been left by their mother while she visited a friend. She is now facing neglect charges.
The scale of accidental shootings in the USA
Organisation Aftermath - specialists in trauma cleaning - highlight that in 2018, accidental gun deaths accounted for 1% (458) of total gun-related deaths (39,740) in the United States. Within the first ten months of 2020 there had been unintentional shootings by over 220 children, resulting in 92 deaths and 135 injuries.
Aftermath further point out that around 77% of accidental gun deaths occur in the home, and mainly involve those under 25-years of age.
How to reduce the number of accidents
Many will point to renewed need for gun control and tighter restrictions on the sale and ownership of guns in response to such events.
And yet, in Texas Governor Greg Abbott has stated that he will sign new legislation allowing Texans the unlicensed carrying of handguns. The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure on Monday 24th May and Abbott has said he will sign it despite the objections of law enforcement groups who say it would endanger the public and police.
Texas already has some of the loosest gun-control laws in the USA, with around 1.6 million handguns in private ownership. The effects of such legislation, whilst giving Texans greater freedoms than ever before may well be an increase in the number of accidental shootings as a result.
If the small sample of recent examples above is anything to go by, then it would seem that in addition to greater freedoms, many gun owners need a great deal more education on how to safely own and handle firearms.
Considering the number of accidental shootings, not to mention the numerous recent examples of mass-shootings in the state including those at an El Paso Walmart, a church in Sutherland Springs, and a high school outside Houston as well as in the entertainment district of Austin on Saturday June 12th - it seems like looser regulations may only make the problem worse.