Posted on 11/11/2012 6:20:50 AM PST by marktwain
BRUNSWICK, GA. | No charges will be filed against the owner of a handgun that an 8-year-old boy brought to C.B. Greer Elementary School last week, said Rodney Ellis, chief of the Glynn County school system’s police force.
School police investigator Ricky Hilburn determined that the .25-caliber pistol belonged to a close friend of the child’s family and that the boy found the gun while visiting the elderly man, Ellis said.
The man was in another part of the house and was unaware the second-grade student was looking around, Ellis said.
The boy found the gun in a shoebox stored on the top shelf of the closet and removed it, likely standing on a chair or some other object, Ellis said.
Ammunition for the gun was stored away from it, and the owner didn’t know the gun was missing until police showed it to him, Ellis said. The child did not bring any ammunition with the gun. The owner also had never shown the gun to the child nor let him handle it, Ellis said.
(Excerpt) Read more at jacksonville.com ...
Yes: He would suffer a sore bottom if he were my kid.
When I was 7 (1st grade) I found a knife that my much older brother had and brought it to school with me.In doing so I was not intending to "steal" it or to do *anyone* any harm with it.I can't recall how I found it...I suppose I might have been "rifiling".I had never seen anything like it and my little 7 year old mind was fascinated by it.There are certain steps that one must take to prevent curious,"clever" kids like myself from doing such things.
I strongly support gun rights but their should be at least dome kind if consequence .
Kids need to be taught early on by gun owners about dangers of guns. And kept hidden.
All families I know with guns the kids have strong respect for gun safety. Especially where’s theres a hunter in family.
Curious as to know why no charges.
The kid needs to be the chief of TSA search operations at a major airport.
Exactly my thought. What is with this kid? I predict an interesting future for the brat.
“By the time I was in 2nd grade, I knew better than to rifle through other people’s things, and I had been taught that stealing was wrong.”
If my grandsons come into the house, they each require an adult escort. Everything here is dangerous. Loaded firearms, razor sharp knives, 'lektrikity projects just laying there with > 1KV voltage, flamable stuff, heavy stuff... whatever. Single geek guy heaven kind of place.
I love my grandsons. #3 in particular. He's a lot like me. I trust him as far as I can throw him. Just like me.
My firearms are safe. My grandbabies... those guys are dangerous.
/johnny
What charges could be brought? The owner of the firearm had it stolen from him.
I suppose that some politically correct charges could be brought, such as child endangerment because he dared to exercise his constitutional rights.
I think some repressive states have instituted "lock up your safety" laws that require firearms to be locked up, but those are being challenged because in the Heller decision, the Supreme Court specifically said that you have a Constitutional right to have a loaded, unlocked handgun in your home.
I hope that you are right. I suspect the knife was in your own home. Did you go searching through other peoples possessions when you were in someone elses home when you were 8?
Little thief is another of hussein’s sons.
Children are very curious creatures, so if they are very young, or just visitors, it’s a really good idea to “raccoon proof” your guns, at least until you give them training or know that they have proper training. The same rule applies to kitchen implements, glassware, electrical, tools, power tools, household and outdoor chemicals and paints, etc.
As one parent put it a long time ago: Unless it is durable plastic or cast iron, watch out.
However, when they are old enough to be trained about all of this stuff, they need a heck of a lot of training and hands on. And the more they do, the better they get.
Omitting guns from this training is not very bright. They need to know this stuff.
Yup,my house...my brother's knife (who's 10 years older than me).
Did you go searching through other peoples possessions when you were in someone else's home when you were 8?
When I was 8 I was about half way between "perfect" and "horrible" for a kid that age.But one must at least suspect that an 8 year old boy would be mischievous enough...curious enough..or badly behaved enough...to do what this kid did.
That child,and all children should have been taught NOT to snoop and steal.lesson re-inforced by swats to the behind.
No darn excuse for the little thief.
No excuses for little thief’s parents.
Stop blaming the owners of stuff for what thieves do.
That can work a little, but there is just too much to the world to try to keep little explorers at bay. One way or another they will learn.
If they don’t do things the hard way, or are two biddable, they are probably somewhat slow in the head or spirit, a tragedy in itself.
It is my right to own a gun. It is my responsibility to keep it away from a child. With rights come responsibities. The adult here should be prosecuted.
I guess people used to not worry about the child being too biddable because in my family getting into things without permission got one’s butt spanked but good! And the same for other families I knew as a child. WE knew better than to even venture into the “forbidden” rooms or whatever .
Spare the rod and spoil the child.
Overuse the rod and end up with a child with serious head problems. There is no easy, catch all way to discipline children that works in all times and all places.
In some circumstances, I agree. If you leave your loaded gun in a changing room in a department store, you may bear some responsibility. Even then, I would say that you are owed by civil society the expectation that your property will not be stolen.
As for your property in your own home, unless you have taken responsibility for the *child*, I do not see any responsibililty for incidents that result from criminal actions.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.