Sadly, in this month of 29 days, we reported on gun accidents that killed 12 children. Serious injuries to at least one child were described in another 9 reports. Children frequently found guns and shot themselves or other children. They were accidentally shot by parents, caregivers, siblings, partners and friends.
In connection with many of these accidental shootings, someone was charged with a crime. In several cases, this was not the person who pulled the trigger, but rather an adult who failed to secure the firearm, making it accessible to a child. In other cases, a child was charged with criminal conduct, even in incidents that were found, under any common definition of the term, to be accidents.
The criminal charges described in February’s entries (and throughout this journal) raise difficult questions:
- What does society achieve by arresting a grieving parent after a traumatic accident?
- Should we ever charge children as adults when they are responsible for accidents?
Is the trauma visited on those responsible for gun accidents punishment enough? More on this question in a separate post. But since we are trying ourselves to work out our views on these questions, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.