Parents FINALLY held accountable.

I have mentioned before that I have rarely seen what happens to the parents of children who have access to firearms and bad things happen. I finally ran across one of these rare occurences in the news.

wrong on so many levels....If the kid stole a kitchen knife and slashed or stabbed someone to death would the parents be responsible for that too?

The father bought the gun as a Christmas gift for the kid, Ethan. No theft of the weapon was involved. The kid was even present during the purchase.

There are many state laws that require adults to prevent unauthorized access to firearms by a minor. None that I'm aware of that require that for kitchen knives.

But there is a lot more evidence that the parents were lax about a lot of things with this kid.

And if a minor child breaks the law, then often the parents ARE legally responsible. Of course it depends upon which laws may be broken.

This is local to me.

Mom also got manslaughter last week.

There are SO MANY people that screwed up in the weeks prior and that day. Many should get something more than what they did.

The parents deserved some type of big judicial hammer, not sure I like this one just because of what it could lead to, but they definitely have a lot of the responsibility in this.

Multiple school officials dropped the ball on that day. The kid and parents were called in about an obvious issue pointing towards the outcome. The school wanted to send the kid home. Parents balked, jobs, time, blah, blah, the principal relented. Mistake #1. It's not the school's problem the parents don't want to man up.
Then they let the kid back in school and no one bothered to check his backpack. Mistake #2. Drawings and comments about shooting and no one checks his bag?!? There are more but these are the big ones.

I'm glad the parents are being held accountable. The school officials should also be held accountable.

Kevin said:

I'm glad the parents are being held accountable. The school officials should also be held accountable.

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I disagree. im not responsible for other peoples actions, not yours, not my wife's, not my the guy next store! we are country of individualism. and should be held accountable for your actions, and yours alone. where will it stop? the guy the robbed the bank and uses a get away car, so the guy that sold him the cars also responsible? I think not.

Friend of mine is a psychological therapist. He firmly believes guns need more control.
So I ask him if he is ready to help. He asks "how so"
I ask if he has a patient displaying aggressive behavior, making threats of violence or revenge , is HE ready to red flag that person to the authorities?
Look of bewilderment!!!! O MY NO that would undermine his relationship which is confidential.
I point out some of the culpability lies with the professionals cloistered in a bubble that refuse to take that step preferring and expecting laws to control crazy by controls placed on everyone.
Yeah , the discussion got heated but I'd do it again.
Did it sink in ? Probably not

Bad precedent. The parents should have been sued maybe by the victims families. No way they should be criminally charged. I bought my kids multiple guns by the time they were grade schoolers. Next kids parents charged will be the hunters safety instructor who bought a kid a gun!

And if the parents had physically restricted the boy from free movement they would be charged with child abuse.
Having raising a boy that was uncontrollable I feel sorry for the parents.
The parents were over charged.

Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm sure everyone here has done something that your parent or guardian told you NOT to do at some point in your life, should your parent or guardian been held liable for it?

protoolman said:

Bad precedent. The parents should have been sued maybe by the victims families. No way they should be criminally charged. I bought my kids multiple guns by the time they were grade schoolers. Next kids parents charged will be the hunters safety instructor who bought a kid a gun!

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The parents were aware of the kids erratic behavior and the school also brought it to their attention. He had displayed actions that would and should have told the parents to seek some help. They ignored the information presented them. They should and were held accountable.

As FM said .... and I will paraphrase with less compassion, the parents knew their kid was NUTS; yet, they actually BOUGHT HIM A GUN.

Anybody here on our Forum who would do the same?

J.

In my simple and unlearned opinion, it is the breakdown of the home that is responsible for our soaring crime rate.

Here in Memphis, most of the ones who break the law have no home life. Many don't even know who their father is, and where their mother might be at any given time. There is no gathering around the breakfast table, no stting down as a family at suppertime. The young child is rushed off to school, or day care, where they are given some form of breakfast from a box. Day care workers have little authority in disciplining children in their care, nor do teachers at school level. A child's role model is more often than not some basket ball star who never even sees the child in person.

Re-establish home life, corny as it may sound, to the "Leave It to Beaver" era. Teach moral and ethic behavior to children. Let Mom see then off to school, well dressed and well fed.

And let Dad have a secure, well paying job, and be the breadwinner, head of the household man again!

Them's my thoughts.

Bob Wright

Bob, I think you just spoke what MANY will agree with and would like to see happen. Sadly, it probably will never see fruition until it is too late (or at all) and mankind has to start over.

I and my brother were brought up in a church going, sit down to meals home. Both our parents worked. During WW II dad worked military construction (runways at Pac River then Barracks at Fort George G. Meade). Mom was credit manager for Montgomery Ward then went into insurance and became an agent. We were home most weekdays long before they arrived yet we didn't become the neighborhood rowdies. We were never a "Leave it to Beaver" family. Mom didn't also dress to the nines and wear pearls while cleaning the toilet. Somehow we both turned out OK. I, since I attended a Catholic Elementary and High school was the one most often seen wearing a tie. The School Sisters of Notre Dame and my brother never seemed to get along. He attended public school. I might add that guns were always readily available at home and neither of us took them without permission. We were taught gun safety early on.

My 10 year old has a 22 rifle. I bought it for him. When I filled out the paperwork, waiting for MY record check, I signed a document that said I will keep it out of the hands irresponsible people.
He has fired some of my hand guns.
All guns are in a safe, all ammo is in another safe. Only I know how to open the safes.
If my son, who is a very responsible young man shoots someone, I AM responsible. Period.

my parents would have beat the cr-p out of me if i touched ANYTHING they said not to.
times have changed.
if i killed someone? dad would have asked to throw the switch to put me out of my misery as a defective unit.

I remember walking down the shoulder of a US highway in Pennsylvania, 12 years old, with a single shot 12 gauge over my shoulder and a sack full of shells. Nobody blinked an eye in 1970. We still said the Lord's prayer every day in school. We pledged allegiance to our national flag, too.

because we could relax knowing we had parents who cared about us and guided us with what we did.