While reading the paper earlier this week I came across a story about a family in norther Utah that had the unimaginable happen. However, this tragedy could have been avoided. This is the link to the original story about this family:
I feel that I need to explain why I would want to write about this one story when there are so many other things going on in the world. It is because I grew up in a home with guns and not just little BB guns. I was also taught to respect the guns and how to handle them properly and that they are not toys. I know we have all heard it before and even read it on bumper stickers that guns aren't bad, the people who use them are. Some of those people are not necessarily bad but would definitely fit into some form of stupid.
My home now is much safer than the one I grew up in and the few guns we have are locked in a safe. I am such a safety freak that I even have my oldest son's air soft riffle in the safe. Yes, even an air soft riffle is a gun. Just like BB guns are guns and should never be treated like they are toys, as they were in this case.
In this story I am baffled how a mom can be home (and most likely aware) that her children are shooting poofs of air at their little sister with their BB guns. Aside from our Nerf guns, you never point a gun at anyone unless you truly intend to shoot that person. I know, the same old song just being repeated by someone new. But when there are so many children shooting other children, whether that be because of gangs or because they were left alone and found a gun, this is just happening way to often.
As a mother I don't understand how this mother could allow this behavior and then not call 911 but drive her child to the hospital. I feel sick that this mother couldn't be with her daughter when she passed away. I am sure that this whole family is hurting right now and I can't even imagine how the brother that fired that deadly shot is feeling right now. I hurt for this family and for the little life that will never find its way to adulthood.
In the article it says that the hospital reported the shooting to the police and in the update that was in today's paper reports that the police have investigated and have turned their findings over to the County Prosecutors office for possible charges. My overly protective mother side wants this mother to be held responsible for letting her children play with guns. My other overly protective side just wishes that this family can teach others what not to do and that they learned their lesson and let them grieve for their daughter/sister.
With similar situations happening within other families all over the Country, how do we punish or change what is happening so that no more innocent people or children have to die? I'm glad that I'm not the one who has to decide anyone's fate. The larger question is how do the people who do decide people's fate proceed with these situations? Do we hurt an already grieving family by tearing it further apart and sending one of the family members to jail? We can not look the other way and ignore that an innocent life was lost.
This is not a new problem and those are not new questions but this is a new family that is dealing with the loss of a family member due to negligence.
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