There are several risks linked to having guns in private households, including theft of firearms and household guns harming family members through incidents ranging from mistaken identity to childhood mishaps.
On Tuesday, a 5-year-old Kentucky boy playing with his .22 caliber "Cricket" rifle shot his little sister in the chest. The 2-year-old died before the family could get her to the hospital.
Here are some of the more stunning passages from an AP story on the incident:
- The rifle was made by a company that sells guns specifically for children - "My first rifle" is the slogan - in colors ranging from plain brown to hot pink to royal blue to multi-color swirls.
- The company that makes the rifle, Milton, Pa.-based Keystone Sporting Arms, has a "Kids Corner" on its website with pictures of young boys and girls at shooting ranges and on bird and deer hunts. It says the company produced 60,000 Crickett and Chipmunk rifles for kids in 2008.
- Sharon Rengers, a longtime child advocate at Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, said it is is "mind-boggling" to make and market weapons specifically for children: "We're having a big national debate whether we want to check somebody's background, but we're going to offer a 4-year-old a gun and expect something good from that?"
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