Since 1999, 145 school shootings were committed by minors, according to the Washington Post. Eighty-four took a gun from home, a friend’s house or the house of another family member. Only four adults were prosecuted, leaving 80 unpunished.
A Utah woman left a loaded gun on a restroom changing table. She was not prosecuted nor was her gun taken away. Reckless behavior that could have been lethal should be punished.
Gun-related suicide is the major cause of death for Utah males ages 10-17 even while minors are forbidden to have guns in the absence of an adult. So where is the prosecution for adults who fail to secure their weapons?
The same failure often results in an innocent child shooting another.
A law is needed to make the gun owner completely responsible for the use of their weapon, and this can only be accomplished if the gun is fully secured in their absence. Failure to do so should be subject to a fine, time in jail and gun confiscation; if a death results, there should be a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Responsible gun owners would never have let that happen because they know that a locked gun can’t kill!
Ron Molen, Salt Lake City
