Re: Kids and guns – “a taboo subject” Editor: There are over 400,000 gun safety Web sites originating in the United States. What an incredible indication that something is wrong, really wrong. Most of these Web sites were founded just like our family, because of the loss of a loved one or child.
The tragic stories I have researched and post every week in ourgun casualty section are just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more, most of which I cannot bring to this Web site and others that cannot be told.
Under statistics for the latest reports on child firearm deaths, the most recent is for the year 2003. In Florida alone, we lost 110 children to guns. My son, Seanne was one of the 110. His death was an accidental shooting, but under the category of unintentional (meaning accidental deaths), the statistics show zero.
I have researched hundreds of children who have lost their lives in the same manner, and they also do not show up properly. Either they are placed in a different category, or maybe not counted at all. I have e-mailed, called, written about this for some explanations; no response.
This is what I did find out.
When children accidentally shoot themselves, it is considered unintentional. When a child shoots another and causes injury or death, that child can/will be either charged as a minor or adult. When charged as a minor the juvenile offenders are given adjudication withheld and all records are sealed. This protects the child/minor, which is understandable.
But in turn, I believe this misleads the public and our elected officials on how many children we truly lose to accidental shootings. I also feel that parents will assume that their children are not at risk since the firearm deaths are low. We teach our children of dangers we fear to keep them safe from harm. If parents do not know, how can they teach?
Some parents feel that taking children to the gun range and teaching their children gun safety will keep them safe. Yes, it is the first step for some kids, depending on the maturity and the personality of that child. But I feel that this works for a handful, not a nation. Unless that parent teaches every single child with whom their children will come into contact, those children are still in danger.
Years ago, the state of Florida passed a law to prevent children from accessing a firearm, the Child Access Prevention Law. This law prohibits a gun owner to leave firearms within the reach or easy access of a child.
My son died when his friend got easy access to a loaded, unlocked .357 magnum under his couch on Sept. 5, 2003, and used it to take the life of my 12-year-old child.
This law was written as a prevention tool, but most people/parents do not even know that this law exists. Because of the way it is written, it is vague and ambiguous. Many violators are not charged or cannot be prosecuted under these statutes. Even if they can, the state attorneys across the state of Florida do not enforce the CAP law. I think it is an indication that our existing law is in dire need to be strengthened.
Seannes Wish Foundation has written a proposal with several suggestions and guidelines to strengthen this law. We feel that this will keep the kids safer and prosecute those who endanger our children. I hope that there is at least one elected official in the state of Florida who is interested or concerned about guns and children and will take notice on how the foundation has rewritten this law which has some “teeth.”
Jeanne Caroline Largo President/Founder Seannes Wish Foundation
