The conversation surrounding gun violence and gun control is complex and heated, but statistics do not lie:

1.69 million children below the age of 18 live in homes where firearms are unsecured.
In youth suicides, 75% of the guns used were obtained through a relative or friend who kept the weapon at home.
65% of weapons used in school shootings were guns got from their own homes or that of a relative.
90% of accidental shootings take place at home.
Across the country, nearly 10,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each year for injuries cause by unintentional shootings involving guns of all varieties. These include play guns such as bb guns and dart guns.

Gun owners have a 2nd Amendment protection to bear arms, but they also have a responsibility to ensure that their firearms are stored securely so that they cannot be accessed by children. Some preventative suggestions:

Keep guns locked in a safe
Store ammunition and guns in separate places; never store a loaded gun
Use trigger locks to prevent accidentally firing the weapon

To Children, Weapons Look Like Toys
Children, because of their naturally inquisitive nature, are particularly at risk for gun-related deaths or injuries. Because many children are accustomed to playing with toy guns they sometimes find it difficult to distinguish between a toy and the real thing.

Who is At Fault in a Tragedy?
In many states child access protection (CAP) laws are in place which levies criminal liability on a gun owner who fails to store his/her firearm securely. Nonetheless accidental shootings do take place because of carelessly stored weapons, for which a victim can seek redress against the owner of the gun involved in the shooting through a civil lawsuit.

Culpability
Accidental shootings sometimes result in a lifetime of pain and medical care. If your child has been involved in an unintentional shooting consult a personal injury attorney at Taylor King. You might be entitled to a civil claim against the negligent owner of the gun which will mitigate some or more than the total amount of the financial encumbrance which accompanies such an injury.