This story comes out of Miami. Two children, 13 and 6, were left home alone. Justin Latourrette had seen them outside earlier in the day and thought it was strange that he didn't see any adults around. Later on, he heard a loud boom and police confirmed that it was a gunshot that he heard.
The 13-year-old had found the handgun and shot his sister in the chest, just above the heart. Latourrette watched as paramedics carried her out. He had this to say:
"Her shirt was bloody, and you could see through a piece of gauze that she had a hole in her chest above the heart. Her eyes were wide open in a blank stare, like she was in shock. I'll never forget that look."
She is currently in critical but stable condition.
Again, in Florida, a 3-year-old boy fatally shot himself after finding a loaded handgun in the backpack of his uncle. The uncle, Jeffrey D. Walker, held a concealed carry permit. Walker has been arrested and charged with culpable negligence. The boy's parents were in their bedroom at the time of the shooting.
How many stories like this must there be before something is done? What percentage of Americans need to support gun legislation before Congress will pass it? Apparently, 90% is not enough.
According to the Children's Defense Fund, one-third of all households with children younger than 18 have a gun, and more than 40 percent of gun-owning households with children store their guns unlocked.
The fund also reported that 22 percent of children with gun-owning parents handled guns in their homes without their parents' knowledge.These types of statistics cannot be ignored forever.
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