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2-year-old accidentally shoots his mother dead in Idaho Wal-Mart

92 Comments
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS

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92 Comments
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Somehow I find this hard to believe. Two points, the trigger pull( force) exceeds a child's strength in normal cases. And the grip size on a real gun is way to large for a two year old. Suspicious story.

0 ( +10 / -10 )

WTH? More needs to be done about gun safety.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Seems to be very strange but if the pistol was cocked and locked and the safety was knocked off a 2 y/o might be able to bump the trigger in single action.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

I hope he never learns how his mother died.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

not an unusual event in America ,,,,, and with their obsession with guns it will happen again

21 ( +31 / -10 )

they said it was small caliber gun so it could have lighter triger... but article dos not say much about people so we can only make gues what happened... but firearms edukation would make them safer... i just wonder what went on kids mothers mind when she left purse with probobly loded gun to kid??? well i gues we will never find out...

3 ( +5 / -2 )

What on Earth was this woman doing with a gun in her handbag anyway?

There is something very, very wrong with the U.S.A.

19 ( +30 / -11 )

"but firearms edukation would make them safer"

But some people don't do too well with education. Perhaps just ban people with an IQ of less than 100 from keeping a gun. It would be a start.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Ive little sympathy for a woman who lets a 2 year old into her handbag when she knows she is carrying a concealed loaded weapon. Im not anti-gun but I am anti-stupidity. I pray this poor little boy finds peace in his life.

10 ( +14 / -4 )

What on Earth was this woman doing with a gun in her handbag anyway?

Well, it was in Idaho! - one of the most dangerous states in America.

-2 ( +10 / -13 )

America. Why am I not surprised?

4 ( +16 / -12 )

What kind of society is it where a woman with a young family feels she needs to take a loaded and ready-to-fire-in-an-instant gun with her when she takes the kids shopping?

(Hint - begins with S, ends in K, with ic in the middle)

5 ( +15 / -10 )

FREEDOM! The Second Amendment wins Again! Sick.

10 ( +18 / -8 )

Tragic-but you allow everyone to carry guns in the USA_hence so many unnecessary gun deaths and massacres

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Suspicious story

Because it's not the narrative of the white hatted cowboy saving the day with his steel phallus?

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Blame the gun, not the baby? That baby is the NRA's poster child: The America the NRA whore wants as their model citizen. Shoot first, ask questions, some day. sick

5 ( +11 / -6 )

No gun problem here. Carry on.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Well, the gun certainly can't be blamed. It performed the function for which it was designed. I can't help wonder though, why the woman felt she would be more secure by carrying it around with her. Did she expect to assume the role of a female Wyatt Earp and blow away bad guys at the OK Corral?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

How exactly do we know it was an accident?

3 ( +6 / -3 )

"What kind of society is it where a woman with a young family feels she needs to take a loaded and ready-to-fire-in-an-instant gun with her when she takes the kids shopping?

(Hint - begins with S, ends in K, with ic in the middle)"

Yes, cleo, the entire American society is sick because a nutcase mother let her 2-year-old reach into her bag containing a loaded gun off the safety.

-4 ( +12 / -15 )

Well, it was in Idaho! - one of the most dangerous states in America.

16th most dangerous when taking all crime into consideration. Top 5 in U.S. for bullying. Pretty sure though however that being inside a Wal-mart with a 2 year old however is a safe environment. This woman must have had some issues we don't know about or some husband that forced her to take a gun.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

If the reort are true she was a very careless mother. Poor child will live guilt.

However I do suspect the story is not quite accurate yet.

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

Yes, cleo, the entire American society is sick because a nutcase mother let her 2-year-old reach into her bag containing a loaded gun off the safety.

no, the society is sick because it allows people to carry concealed handguns in their bag when going to Walmart.

8 ( +12 / -4 )

I don't have a problems with guns in the hands of responsible people.

-8 ( +10 / -18 )

I don't have a problems with guns in the hands of responsible people.

The problem is that gun ownership is by definition irresponsible, so "guns in the hands of responsible people" is an oxymoron. The person is either responsible, or has a gun, it can't be both.

6 ( +14 / -8 )

Look, if an infant is intent on killing and doesn't have access to a gun, it would undoubtedly use other means such as a tippy cup or a teether.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

It's true that we only have the kid's word for it that it was an accident. and also true that if the kid was bent on mischief, the gun was not entirely at fault. Saying a prayer for the poor victim seems odd given that god allowed her to be so randomly killed in the first place.......

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

setting aside even auto pistols require a decent amount of force to fire...As a gun owner myself--i am wondering why she left it anywhere near where a child could get to it easily.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

“She was not the least bit irresponsible,”

Yeah, obviously! She was CLEARLY responsible taking a loaded gun to a Wallmart and putting it within reach of a toddler who could make it go off! I mean, only an IRRESPONSIBLE mother would have done otherwise and still be alive, right?

Laguna: "Look, if an infant is intent on killing and doesn't have access to a gun, it would undoubtedly use other means such as a tippy cup or a teether."

Exactly! The kid could easily have done the same thing with a bib or his favourite blanket! There is no way the gun is a factor in this.

Well, I have little sympathy. This is what comes of allowing guns so easily and to be held by literally anyone (including infants!). It's horrible that a woman lost her life at the hands of her toddler, but this kind of thing is commonplace only in a nation that allows it -- and it IS becoming commonplace; as stated in the article, only in April a two year old killed his eleven-year-old sister, and we know about the kindergarten kids who bring mama's or papa's gun to school and kill classmates, etc. Shame on the US, and shame on this woman for being so stupid.

10 ( +14 / -4 )

Love it. And you still have NRA nuts to defend gun access, it's getting seriously funny.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Well since we aren't going to get rid of guns we just have to accept the fact that sometimes infants will accidentally kill their parents. Then we move on with our lives.

Right?

6 ( +10 / -4 )

no, the society is sick because it allows people to carry concealed handguns in their bag when going to Walmart.

So now you want to label every American as sick? I think unless we have lived in some of these peoples shoes, to judge them is highly irresponsible. We don't know what or the reason why someone would be carrying a concealed weapon on them. I am not saying I agree or disagree, but if someone has a permit, then it must be for a good sound reason.

Having said that, THIS particular woman was a nut job to carry a gun where the kid could reach it. Something was very, very wrong here.

I don't have a problems with guns in the hands of responsible people.

Couldn't agree with you more.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Yes, cleo, the entire American society is sick because a nutcase mother let her 2-year-old reach into her bag containing a loaded gun off the safety.

That entire American society could stand up and say No More! - Scrap the Second Amendment that makes it OK for a nutcase mother to carry a loaded gun off the safety in a bag within reach of a toddler. But it doesn't. So yes sarge, the entire American society is responsible for the death of this stupid woman and for turning a 2-year-old (not the first one by a long chalk) into a killer.

3 ( +10 / -7 )

I'm not arguing about her right to carry her gun. It's America's complicated story. But at the very least, she should not have it LOADED and ready to let go at a touch on the trigger like that. The chance of the trigger being pulled accidentally by just anything was so high. She died unjustly. RIP.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

So now you want to label every American as sick?

No, just the ones who think guns in the hands of the general public is a Good Idea.

4 ( +11 / -8 )

That entire American society could stand up and say No More!

They could but that's NOT going to change the second Amendment, nor should it ever.

Scrap the Second Amendment that makes it OK for a nutcase mother to carry a loaded gun off the safety in a bag within reach of a toddler.

She was a nut case, NO doubt about that! The system is not perfect and the woman was certifiable.

But it doesn't. So yes sarge, the entire American society is responsible for the death of this stupid woman and for turning a 2-year-old (not the first one by a long chalk) into a killer.

Ludicrous, NO one bears the responsibility for this apparently insane woman, she and she alone bears the burden, not the child nor I or anyone else in America. The woman made a conscious decision to carry a firearm which I wouldn't do even if I had a concealed permit and with a child at least NOT near where the child could reach it.

-8 ( +4 / -12 )

So now you want to label every American as sick?

Nobody is saying that.

I got sick last week. I had a runny nose and a cough. It was a cold.

Not every cell in my body was sick AND I got over it.

There is nothing wrong with the U.S.A. that the U.S.A. couldn't put right if it a) recognised the problem and b) set about to resolve it.

If the government and public services in the country you are living in did their job, there would be no reason to carry a gun.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

@ Mr.Noidall

Your concern with the opinions of Europeans suggests you're a bit of a wannabe.

Come on over! Five years residence and a local bride and you' ll have that EU passport you obviously covet.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Ludicrous, NO one bears the responsibility for this apparently insane woman, she and she alone bears the burden, not the child nor I or anyone else in America. The woman made a conscious decision to carry a firearm which I wouldn't do even if I had a concealed permit and with a child at least NOT near where the child could reach it.

Lucky the kid didn't shoot the guy behind in the queue...

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

If the government and public services in the country you are living in did their job, there would be no reason to carry a gun.

That has nothing to do with it and you are conflating the issue. We have guns, we have the Second Amendment and other countries don't have it, but they have other problems that affect their societies, knives, racial attacks, muggings, it's all to a degree relative for that particular countries environment.

-10 ( +6 / -16 )

So very sad. I did a bit of online research on this, and took a look at Veronica Rutledge's Facebook profile. She has a photo prominently posted of herself and her son. Beautiful woman, beautiful son.

Apparently, she was a nuclear scientist, an employee of the Idaho National Laboratory, and was the valedictorian of her high school graduating class. It just goes to show that even very intelligent and normally responsible people are not safe from their own weapons.

She came from a family that seems well-educated, and is staunchly pro-NRA/unfettered gun ownership. For instance, her brother's Facebook feed has numerous posts in support of 2nd amendment rights, These sorts of all-too-frequent tragedies always make me wonder if this might cause some of those family members to rethink their position. Maybe not. Tragic. RIP Ms. Rutledge.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

It just goes to show that even very intelligent and normally responsible people are not safe from their own weapons.

Common sense is a rare commodity.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Just another day in the life of a country who loves guns too much.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

bass4funk,

We have guns, we have the Second Amendment and other countries don't have it, but they have other problems that affect their societies

Now that you've accepted guns and the 2nd Amendment as problems, how should America recover and thrive?

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Mr Noidal, the UK has its own gun laws and we also have the ***** amendment allowing us to carry arm, but they are strictly controlled buy central government on what or when we can use them, and if we fail or fall foul of the law the consequences are tought, (Minimum of 5 years Imprisonment) where as in the USA the restrictions are so thin, possibly with out punishment its a joke. I know that some politicians have tried to alter or toughen up the laws but they were beaten down buy the gun lobby, so why, If the citizens of the USA fell that strongly, why don't they back there local senator and bring about tighter laws on gun control? Ive never met any one in the uk or abroad who can understand why you are the Americans allowed fully automatic assault rifles in the public, they only have one use, and thats armed combat/war areas, not for hunting, pest control or I just want one. as for the TV programs we see here that originate from the USA are based on guns and violence, who's fault is this? possibly the TV bosses, its good viewing, but not for me its portrays people in the wrong manner, Iam sure there are plenty of nice people in the USA, but as normal its spoiled buy the press and TV who sentionalisation of bad events. as for changing the laws, yes you can change them, but it takes a long time, and especially if there is a big demand for change in that law.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

What worries me the most about this story (apart from the children who'll be growing up without a mother) is why a gun was within a child's reach, loaded, and ready to be shot. It's kind of like having an unsheathed knife in your bag. Every time you reached in could be disaster. There seems to be have been a huge lapse of personal safety here by the mother, and the result was terrible. Very sad.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Guns are big business, Politicians get paid a lot to lobby for more guns being allowed to be sold to the public. Money talks louder than bodies in the ground. No matter how big the outrage, money will triumph over all. Money..... money... money....... money. Life is cheap.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

'that's not going to change the second amendment, nor should it ever'

I've heard people describe the rightwing attachment to the second amendment as close to religious fundamentalist attachment to scripture. They are certainly prepared to sacrifice lives in its name.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

These sorts of all-too-frequent tragedies always make me wonder if this might cause some of those family members to rethink their position

Indeed - and what effect it will have on her son when he's older. Will he too be an NRA supporter?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

When US was founded in 1776, Guns were necessary for protecting farms and animals from natives. Back then there was no second amendments. No shooting instructor was killed by nine years old girl. No Mum was killed by two years old son. No kindergarten kids was shot and killed by blood thirsty lunatic. No Gun means no blood and more peaceful the land of brave, proud and free.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

"That entire American society could stand up and say No More! - Scrap the Second Amendment that makes it OK for a nutcase mother to carry a loaded gun off the safety in a bag within reach of a toddler. But it doesn't."

Exacty, cleo, IT DOESN'T! The mother went against the law. So you can retract your American society is sick accusation.

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

Yes, cleo, the entire American society is sick because a nutcase mother let her 2-year-old reach into her bag containing a loaded gun off the safety.

15,000 deaths a year due to handguns in the USA. That is sick and totally unnecessary. The fact is that owning a gun is more likely to get you shot than not owning a gun. Most handgun deaths are committed by family, as in this case sadly.

How anyone with any sense at all can read this story and defend the NRA guns all the time policy is sick. Sick to the core. Japan has sane gun laws, there are no stories of two year olds shooting their mothers here. No guns, no gun deaths. It is that simple sarge.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

I like yanks BUT am SO SO SO SO glad I was born north of the 49th parallel!

The US clearly has a MASSIVE problem with its love of hand guns & assault rifles etc............so little common sense so many tragedies..............

I wish the yanks who realize gun culture there is bad news make more headway, but its a tough battle & sadly many more WILL be killed!!

5 ( +6 / -1 )

If the gun laws and all other laws on the books were strictly enforced there wouldn't be so many gun deaths.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Idaho has some of the lowest crime rates in the US. Yet this lady still felt that she couldn't leave the house without the ability to instantly kill someone. Makes me wonder what paranoia these people live with.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Now that you've accepted guns and the 2nd Amendment as problems, how should America recover and thrive?

No, I have not accepted it as a problem at all, do I think there are individuals who have problems socially, I do and these people should be evaluated before allowing them to own a gun if they are mentally challenged.

15,000 deaths a year due to handguns in the USA. That is sick and totally unnecessary.

You have more people of dying from car crashes than gun fights.

The fact is that owning a gun is more likely to get you shot than not owning a gun.

More people are dying in car accidents than guns.

Neither me, nor anyone in my family were ever shot or worried about being shot from owning a gun.

Most handgun deaths are committed by family, as in this case sadly.

That's too bad, the people involved and didn't follow the law had no busy owning a gun.

How anyone with any sense at all can read this story and defend the NRA guns all the time policy is sick.

Because we can and should.

Sick to the core. Japan has sane gun laws,

That's your opinion, what's sane to you, might seem laughable and a joke to others when it comes to the law.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

@hidingout

Do you seriously think having a respectable job precludes someone from being an idiot?

Look at George W, or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (believed firmly in the existence of fairies).

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Well since we aren't going to get rid of guns we just have to accept the fact that sometimes infants will accidentally kill their parents. Then we move on with our lives. Right?

I take it that this was meant to be facetious, but I think that is is essentially correct. Modern America has made the decision to retain the right to defend one's person with a firearm, rather than surrender that right to the state monopoly on violence. If we are to accept that, then we must also accept that there will be, each year, a certain amount of 1) accidental gun deaths, 2) suicides via firearm, 3) incidences of domestic violence involving firearms, and 4) incidences of guns being stolen/turned against their owners by criminals.

At this point, I feel like it would be more productive to move beyond arguing over whether or not a personal right to bear arms makes us safer or less safe as a society and as individuals, and focus more on establishing a reasonable gun control regime and an accompanying culture of understanding and respect of proper firearms usage. In other words, the guns aren't going to go away; time to put our effort into living with them in a manner that minimizes their negative effects on society.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

The problem is that gun ownership is by definition irresponsible, so "guns in the hands of responsible people" is an oxymoron. The person is either responsible, or has a gun, it can't be both.

I disagree and here is why.

You do realize that there ARE gun owners even in Japan right? Unlike the United States it's hard (much harder in the case of Japan and that is commendable) to own a gun however it's not impossible. Also in countries like Switzerland it's MANDATORY to own a gun for every adult in your home. In Austria Shotguns only require you register ownership where you purchase it and other guns require a permit as long as they are not automatic. In Israel almost everyone in some form or another are considered part of the countries defense and encouraged to own weapons. In Mexico it is legal to own non military firearms. In Canada rifles and shotguns are easily obtained. Also many countries in the EU and South America can purchase guns for "Hunting" and gun clubs so they aren't as nonexistent as most people would think.

I'm not saying that there is not a problem here, in fact the problem is that while the gun ownership has stayed the same, the intellect and common sense of the average American has declined drastically in recent decades. But I would still say that's not the fault of guns, guns are just a tool. With proper control and the proper mindset and respect for guns I don't see the problem. (look at Switzerland.) are you saying all of these countries are irresponsible?

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

Brandon,

Sorry dude your dead wrong in this! What makes the US different than other countries you mention is the ease & proliferation of hand guns & rifles that only the military should have! THAT IS THE PROBLEM, if it was just hunting rifles primarily in the US there would be far less death & carnage, simple as that!

Yes in Japan some have guns, I live in the inaka a bit & come fall see hunters out with their dogs etc no big deal, but Japan is smart they don't let us go out & buy all these handy little hand guns you see, where as in the US you even have housewives walking around with LOADED hand guns in their hand bags etc

Sorry man but that's &^%&ed up! And people are dying again &again & again. The NRA in the USA should be labeled as a terrorist organization & people need to better learn what their 2nd amendment rights REALLY mean, clue it isn't for any idiot to buy hand guns, but sadly that's what its been changed into & people will be dying for this non-sense!

I am not anti guns but I am against the lunacy of the way the US & its hand guns & assault weapons are so easily owned, its nuts.

And when the US economy really tanks( you wont be "" #1"" forever) the US is going to be the scariest place humanity has ever seen when you start pulling your pieces on each other & don't think it wont happen, only question is when!

3 ( +5 / -2 )

look at Switzerland

Rate of gun deaths per 100,000 population (Switzerland, 2011): 3.04

Let's contrast that with the UK, where most police remain unarmed, political and public opinion are firmly anti-gun, and the arms industry doesn't lobby to arm civilians:

Rate of gun deaths per 100,000 population (UK, 2011): 0.23

The proper control, proper mindset and respect for guns is to treat them as exactly what they are: single function killing devices grossly anomalous and repugnant to civil society.

http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/switzerland http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-kingdom

3 ( +5 / -2 )

The proper control, proper mindset and respect for guns is to treat them as exactly what they are: single function killing devices grossly anomalous and repugnant to civil society.

I wouldn't call guns repugnant, but I would call the people that abuse the law, criminals and twisted people that want to cause mayhem and destruction, these kind of people I would call repugnant and reprehensible.

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

Guns are repugnant.

Some more info on the story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/31/the-inside-story-of-how-an-idaho-toddler-shot-his-mom-at-wal-mart/

From the story:

Rutledge isn’t just sad — he’s angry. Not at his grandson. Nor at his dead daughter-in-law, “who didn’t have a malicious fiber in her body,” he said. He’s angry at the observers already using the accident as an excuse to grandstand on gun rights.

“They are painting Veronica as irresponsible, and that is not the case,”

Um, yes it is, or she wouldn't be dead, and someone wouldn't have to be explaining in a few years to her son that he shot her in the head due to her irresponsibility. This is essentially the purest definition of irresponsibility that there is.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Well, bass, much as you seem to love guns, there isn't much you can do with them except kill, maim or threaten to kill or maim.

I suppose you could use the butt of the gun to club someone, but that's more or less the same thing.

In the 21st century, NO ONE, in a developed country should have to carry a gun.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Guns are repugnant.

And that is your personal right to think so, I think differently.

Um, yes it is, or she wouldn't be dead, and someone wouldn't have to be explaining in a few years to her son that he shot her in the head due to her irresponsibility. This is essentially the purest definition of irresponsibility that there is.

So the entire responsibility falls on the mother NOT the gun.

Well, bass, much as you seem to love guns, there isn't much you can do with them except kill, maim or threaten to kill or maim.

I hunt, so yes, I do enjoy hunting and I do have them for my own personal safety for my family.

In the 21st century, NO ONE, in a developed country should have to carry a gun.

In the 21st century, NO ONE in ANY country should be a victim of ANY crime, especially when you don't have enough police around to protect you or can come to your aid fast enough.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

Again, that is your opinion, but not everyone will agree with you and there is nothing wrong with that, everyone has the right to feel the way they want about firearms. There is absolutely nothing wrong with hunting. I think this woman was clearly out of her mind to take a firearm and putting it where the kid could reach it. Unless it's for hunting or shooting range, I keep my guns locked up and away, so NO ONE other than myself can get to it.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

So the entire responsibility falls on the mother NOT the gun

Another example of shoot first, think later?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

There is absolutely nothing wrong with hunting.

Killing furry things for the fun of it? There is a LOT wrong with that.

From Strangerland's link - [Veronica] wasn't carrying a gun because she felt unsafe. She was carrying a gun because she was raised around guns. In other words, if she hadn't lived in a society mindlessly awash with firearms jes becaz we cahn, she would still be alive today and a little boy would still have his Mummy.

It gobsmacks me that anyone can look at this situation and still spout nonsense about the 'right' to walk around carrying a loaded gun.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

"And when the US economy really tanks( you wont be "" #1"" forever) the US is going to be the scariest place humanity has ever seen when you start pulling your pieces on each other & don't think it wont happen, only question is when!"

Dream on, GW, lol.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

The second amendment reads like a script out of a religious cult. A quote from an ancient bible, whatever the religion. Although it is now the 21st century, it fits the purposes and twisted ideologies of a frightening large segment of a nation. Let's wait for the next tragic incident.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Bass,

There is absolutely nothing wrong with hunting, if it is necessary for survival.

Killing for the sake of killing is sick.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I wish the US could set up a stricter system of personal responsibility of gun ownership with greater liability for carelessness and better training like in Switzerland. Read about how it is there or ask someone from Switzerland.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Much ado about nothing isn't it?

For those offended by the above statement consider this:

This will have no effect on anyone or anything outside of the immediate family and friends and her employer. Aside from angering pro gun control folks it won't change anyone's views on guns, or gun control. The pros will still be pro and the cons still con. And in a month the whole thing will be forgotten.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Much ado about nothing isn't it?

Predictably, utter contempt for life as always.

What is it about normal human relations that threatens the pro-gun lobby so much?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

IN RE: The US is Sick

The NRA is cancer. It poisons America. And there is no cure for it.

Only cutting it out will work.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Predictably, utter contempt for life as always. What is it about normal human relations that threatens the pro-gun lobby so much?

Call it whatever you want to but I don't see you disproving what I said. The truth of the matter is that no one's views on guns, or gun control is changing correct?

Also get over yourself man and drop the sanctimonious attitude, you don't have anymore regard for human life than gun owners. I mean you yourself condone a recreational activity that kills more people and children on a per capita basis than firearms do and when confronted on that fact you along with, strangerland, cleo, smithinjapan, superlib, yabits, etc. just claim that since it isn't designed to kill means it can't be heavily restricted or prohibited the way you want firearms to be.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Bertie w, your comments are a bit daft you say "NO ONE, in a developed country should have to carry a gun." ok what about farmers that require them for pest control or vets, or genuine sports men and woman that use them in competitions, in the 1980s before dumblaine the UK had some of the top pistol shooters in the world, then the government had a knee jurk reaction and band all hand guns. and let us not forget that the UK has a gold medal in clay pigeon shooting from the olympics, when there is a gun related incident its not from sports men or woman its usually one of the drugs mob or gang related, what Iam trying to say is the gun control laws in the UK are one of the tightest in the world, so it is ok to have guns in the house in the 20th century, but in the UK they are under lock and key 24 hours a day in a strong metal cabinet, not left under attended in a handbag or in the glove box of a car.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

How ironic that this woman who probably bought this gun for self-protection, dies from being shot from the person she would least suspect of doing such a thing. What is it with these gun-nutters? I remember watching an interview once, where a couple lost their daughter because she was accidentally shot by her older brother. All they could say was, "It was God's will and she is now in heaven", with very little remorse. Gun-nutters seem to only grieve and get angry when another person takes the life of one of their own, but have no grief when an accidental death comes from owning a gun.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Brandon, in Japan you cannot (I believe) legally own a handgun except for target shooting for likes of the Olympics. Once you get your gun permit you are only allowed a shotgun for something like 5-7 years & after that only a rifle. You also have a strict ammunition quota per year

The USA (+Israel?) is maybe the only "developed" nation with such a widespread concealed weapon problem. Escalating gun ownership because "criminals have guns" isn't really the way forward but its hard to see outside the box when you're sitting inside it I suppose.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Predictably, utter contempt for life as always. What is it about normal human relations that threatens the pro-gun lobby so much

I'm not hearing you disagreeing with my comment sensenotsocommon. Is my comment wrong that all this "outrage" and snide comments being made is much ado about nothing? If so how? What I have contempt for is hypocrisy, especially those that try to claim a moral high ground.

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Pointed out here already, the 'pro-gun' lobby is not interested in life or hypocrisy or protection or rights. The pro-gun whores at the NRA are interested in only one thing, selling guns.

That is their mission, that is why they are paid by gun manufacturers to threaten legislators and the general public.

Their most primitive sales tactic is the central focus of this assortment of greedy misanthropes. The sales tactic is called "scare and sell".

These horrors serve the goals of the gun manufacturers and their prostitute the NRA.

Don't expect changes soon in America. Drunk with power and shielded by some deranged fear and terror justification of their own making these wealthy manipulators will strangle the life from any source that shows the absurdity of their argument.

They hold a tight leash on their mad dogs of slaughter and it ends in a Wal-Mart department store, a darkened movie theater, on the campus of the local University and in the grade school slaughter of twenty five year old children.

That's the America the gun manufacturers and their prostitute NRA are creating everyday and they will continue to roll a wave of blood through the streets and homes of ordinary Americans. The Founding Fathers must weep in their graves to find truth silenced at the point of a gun as these "brave" Americans follow nothing of the Second Amendment that prevents their obsession with guns and ignores the horror created by their own hands.

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If there is a gun in the purse, this mother should secure the purse from her children. Seriously. this purse shouldn't be in the reach of children. Feel bad but could be avoided....

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At least the culpable person died- a woman moronic enough to have a handgun accessible to chbildren. She caused the entire incident- hard to hear her described as responsible. One of her kids could have died, and someone other mother or child who was not stupid enough to have a weapon where a toddler could get it. If the 2nd amendment must be given such wide range, the consequences should as well. ANY parent who owns a weapon should be legally responsible dor what that weapon does. Your 15 year ilf kills 5 people, with your gun, you go to prison for felonty murder as well, you certainly were the accomplice.

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Pointed out here already, the 'pro-gun' lobby is not interested in life or hypocrisy or protection or rights. The pro-gun whores at the NRA are interested in only one thing, selling guns.

To be fair you yourself are not interested in life, your only interest is to get rid of something you hate/disapprove of not to save lives. You deliberately ignore products or activities that are primarily used for recreation that kill more people and children on a per capita basis than firearms do that many (and nearly definitely you) participate in.

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The basic issue here isn't "all guns are bad" or "all guns are good". The issue here is responsible gun ownership.

A responsible gun owner does not leave a loaded firearm in their handbag, because the jostling could conceivably knock the safety off and a second object, like a nail file, could act as a lever and press against the trigger.

My point is that it is a tragedy that the child happened to be a catalyst for this event, but this would probably have happened even if there was no child. Keeping a loaded gun in a handbag is asking for trouble.

Let me reitterate, I am not anti-gun, I am anti-idiot. And this is my big problem with the US's current gun laws, they don't adequately or consistently screen out the idiots. Loopholes like the "gun show" loophole allow pretty much anyone to buy a gun, regardless of their level of training, their criminal record and their mental health history. Now that's real idiocy.

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It turns out that Ms. Rutledge had her gun 'safely' packed away in a purse designed with a special pocket for a concealed weapon, which she had just received as a Christmas present from her husband. This is just another indication that she was otherwise one of the 'responsible' gun owners — an NRA poster child of gun ownership, until this tragic lapse of judgment. Now, she becomes a poster child for the anti-concealed weapon crowd as yet another name on a long list of once model-citizen gun owners whose possession of guns did not protect them from danger, but instead put innocent people in the line danger.

Ironically, having this specially designed purse may have lulled her into the false sense of security that cost her her life. It also may be one reason she had the gun loaded and ready to fire, under the assumption that this would enable her to take swift action if she encountered a dangerous situation.

I feel great sympathy for her and her loved ones, but that does not mean that the public should refrain from criticizing her. For one, I am sure he and she had often voiced self-righteous pride at her initiative to arm and protect herself from the ubiquitous bad guys. Along those lines, part of the responsibility assumed by those who choose to carry a concealed weapon involves being the subject of criticism if that weapon is used against innocent people.

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The usual solution from the NRA is more guns. I wonder how they will spin this one?

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yawn Who cares ? They want to live by their first admendment, bla bla.... Move on people

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In the end, this horror has one lesson. A two year old can out smart the "responsible" owner and kill them.

Imagine the horror had the baby killed one of the children with this "responsible" owner or innocent child of another customer.

Considering that the regulation of guns can also be bypassed by convicted felons and the mentally ill, how is it possible the prostitute NRA can sing so loudly of their rights in the face of these grotesque failures and then pay legislators to ignore these slaughters? How can the American public forever sit idle and threatened by the NRA robots? How can their Legislators accept the bribes to guarantee slaughter and silence? How can the media feast at every bloody banquet and plead ignorance on responsibility?

American Laws simply cannot control these weapons, their sale or transfer and those laws are the responsibility of every American.

So, it is not about rights at all. It's all about control. The whore NRA and their threats will continue to remove as many controls over these weapons of mass destruction as they can to sell as many as they can to kill as many as possible and that is their idea of patriotism. The noble patriotism of blood for money sold as a "right".

The culture of slaughter claims another life at the hands of a two year old. Why should that be of any concern? It's Freedom that matters in America; and Americans can't have Freedom without guns in their handbags at Wal-Mart. Guns that a two year old can kill with. That's real NRA Freedom and nothing can change that, except more guns.

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Idaho, so I am assuming this was a White woman, and if we had read a similar news but say from the inner ghettos of Chicago, Detroit etc...would the the mainstream US media be all over this?? NO! Would most of the White people reading Japan Today care to comment if this woman was NOT White?? Anyway, I do NOT like guns, and this story does NOT add up. What in the world was this woman thinking by having a fully loaded and UNLOCKED hand gun in her purse where KIDS LOVE to put their little hands in their and play with the car keys etc..the father in law says she was RESPONSIBLE?? Sure dude! She was RESPONSIBLE for her own stupidity ending in her own death! I know, I know it sounds cold but the truth hurts no matter the color, race, nationality, if you are too stupid for your own good, sooner or later you will end up dead. RIP??

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