New investigation confirms dark facts about youngest victims of gun violence

[billh58]

DALLAS, Ga. -- People buy guns to protect what’s most precious to them. At a rate of every other day, however, these weapons do the very opposite, maiming or even killing a child, like 3-year-old Holston Cole of Dallas, Georgia.

In a country with more than 30,000 gun deaths a year, the number of minors who die in an accidental shooting is relatively small, just 320 between 2014 and June of this year, according to a new investigation by the Associated Press and USA Today.

But these figures expose an under-count in federal data. And they confirm some dark facts about our youngest and littlest victims. Most die at home, with a legally owned handgun.

- Snip -

Another surprise finding was geographic. Big cities like New York are often discussed as hotbeds of gun violence, but the deep South actually leads the way when it comes to kids and accidental death.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-investigation-confirms-dark-facts-about-youngest-victims-of-gun-violence/

"Responsible" gun owners? These are NOT accidental deaths, they are manslaughter at the least, and outright murder in some cases. What kind of a weapon do 3-year olds need for self-protection against their "protectors?"

[deathrind]

1. No, they are not.

It is a disservice to all when LE and the media frame this as a "tragic accident" when a child gets a hold of a firearm and kills/injures themselves or others.

At minimum this is negligent homicide.