I have seen on TV several times the home video of the husband and wife leaving the trunk of their car open while shooting and their 3 year old son handling a pistol. I really have mixed emotions about this. I understand that they have been charged with child endangerment, kids removed, etc.
On one side I have little sympathy. They were not watching the kids while shooting (which the dangers of the range have been discussed extensively in another thread). They leave guns where they are easily accessible to kids (not only the pistol in the trunk but the rifle leaning up against the car next to it). They are out there drinking beer (they claim one but then again everyone does claim just one). When people are this reckless it makes all of us look bad...encourages politians to make more laws that effect us all to combat people like this...
On the other side, It could have been the case of several bad lapses in judgement that when put together make this easy to stretch beyond proportion. They are adamant that the guns were unloaded. They also claim the video shows them teaching the kid(s) to shoot, safe handling of guns, etc. that is not being showed by the media. They also claim that they are being charged far more severely than they should be because of zealots who hate guns.
Normally I have an opinion on everything. This one has been tough. They made a lot of mistakes. So many to be in the legal straights they now face, I just don't know. How do others feel? Serves them right for making all of safe gun owners look bad? Or they are being railroaded by the gun grabbers?
Tipiguy
