A Fatal Lapse in Judgement

Local to me. A father gets drunk and decides that it is a good time to clean the gun. He sends his six year old daughter upstairs to retrieve the loaded Colt .45 so he can clean it (while drunk). He then breaks Rules One, Two, and Three and kills his daughter.

The article says more, like how his kids all handle guns, and how he handled guns at a young age. I don't care how much your kids handle loaded firearms, six is a bit young to allow any child to handle a firearm without direct adult supervision. However, the age of the child and the child retrieving the gun unsupervised is not relevant here, as the child did everything right (although the father implies that she may have racked the slide and loaded a round, which was not a good thing for her to do, but it too is not relevant.

It also says he cleared the magazine and pulled the trigger, discharging a round. That is the relevant part right there. Dad pulled the trigger.

The responsible adult pulled the trigger while pointing a firearm at his own child.

This tragedy is not a case for more gun control, it is, however, a tragedy that should teach us all that just like driving, and many other activities, drinking and handling firearms is never a good idea.

If you've had a drink, keep the guns in the safe unless it's an emergency. They'll still be there when you sober up.

UPDATE: Dad is facing charges. Good. I don't care how familiar you are with guns, or how familiar your kids are with guns. You know the four rules and you keep them Holy.

The link also shows just how rare it is for a child under 15 to die by accidental gunfire. From 2002 to 2006, only TWO children under 15 have died from an AD/UD/ND. That says something good about the quality of the families in WA who own firearms.