Securing Guns Safely Away From Kids Must Be a Priority

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Following the shooting deaths of four people at Oxford High School in Michigan, prosecutors have charged the 15-year-old accused gunman’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, with involuntary manslaughter. However egregious the couple’s actions, there’s little legal precedent for punishing parents for gun crimes committed by their children. Strengthening laws that require firearms to be securely stored is a more practical and effective way to prevent such tragedies in the future.   

In the case of the Crumbleys, prosecutors say that the couple had bought the gun used in the shooting as a present for their son, Ethan, and taught him how to handle it. They minimized warnings from the school about Ethan’s increasingly threatening behavior. After Ethan was found searching for ammunition on his phone during class, Jennifer Crumbley allegedly told him to “learn not to get caught”; when news of the shooting broke, she texted, “Ethan, don’t do it.” After warrants were issued for their arrests, the parents fled before eventually being apprehended.  

It’s impossible to condone such conduct. Even so, convincing a jury that the Crumbleys bear criminal responsibility for those killed may prove difficult. As with cars, young people are prone to behave recklessly with guns, with or without their parents’ knowledge. The Crumbleys, who have pleaded not guilty, might plausibly claim that even if they knew their son was troubled, they had no indication he was planning to commit murder.

A more straightforward case could be made that the couple bears responsibility for leaving the firearm accessible and unsecured. Unfortunately, Michigan, along with 16 other states, lacks any law that explicitly holds gun owners accountable when children can or do access an unsecured gun.

Closing this loophole is a matter of national urgency. It would reduce the likelihood not just of school shootings, but also of accidental gun-related deaths, which are far more common. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2020, there were at least 2,070 unintentional shootings by people younger than 18, resulting in 765 deaths and 1,366 injuries — a yearly average of 127 deaths and 227 injuries. The trend accelerated in the latter half of 2020 and first half of this year.

More than half of gun owners acknowledge they do not properly store their guns at home. Although 23 states and Washington, D.C., require some form of safe gun storage, stricter and more consistent regulations are needed. Gun owners should be required to keep their firearms locked and emptied of ammunition whenever the weapons are out of their immediate control. They should be held liable if children gain access to inadequately secured guns, as is the case in 15 states. (Indeed, Michigan state Senator Rosemary Bayer, who represents the district that includes Oxford High School, has introduced legislation requiring gun owners to store disabled firearms in locked containers in reasonably secure locations.) At the same time, states and cities should expand programs that educate gun owners on safe storage, particularly those conducted by law-enforcement bodies, which are viewed by gun owners as the most credible messengers. 

The Michigan tragedy is a troubling indication that school shootings, which dipped in 2020 due to Covid, are rising again. Though the U.S. remains divided on gun laws, the senseless deaths of young people should be intolerable on all sides. Keeping firearms safely secured from children — and encouraging parental responsibility — is simply common sense.

Editorials are written by the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board.

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