Even the slightest measures

Parents who give their children guns may find themselves in hot water if those children use the guns to shoot their classmates.

The father of a Michigan school shooter who killed four students has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The trial heard James Crumbley, 47, ignored his 15-year-old son Ethan’s mental health needs, buying him the gun he used in the November 2021 attack. He and his wife – who was convicted on the same charges – now both face a maximum of 15 years in prison.

Here’s a thought – don’t give guns to children.

Earlier this week in her closing arguments to the jury of six men and six women, prosecutor Karen McDonald called the attack “preventable and foreseeable”. She added that James Crumbley’s actions had been “rare and egregious”.

He did not take even the slightest measures to ensure his son was not a threat after giving him a semi-automatic pistol as a gift just days before the shooting, said the prosecutor.

Why do that? Why give a kid a semi-automatic pistol? Why not a bike or a leather jacket or even – dare I say it? – a book?

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