“UNPRECEDENTED”

Police are seeking answers as they investigate the events leading up to the January 6 shooting at Richneck Elementary school, wounding a 25-year-old elementary school teacher identified by officials as Abigail Zwerner. Police have repeatedly stated that the shooting was intentional, a fact that raises a myriad of questions and issues regarding the mental and behavioral health of the six year old. But perhaps a more fundamental question exists: how did a six year old have access to a loaded firearm and get it into school?

The gun allegedly used in the shooting was legally purchased by the child’s mother, who could face charges at the end of the investigation. It was the first shooting at a US school in 2023 and highlights what some gun policy experts believe is a dire need for stronger, more consistent laws nationwide, requiring adults to safely secure their guns out of the reach of children and others unauthorized to use them. It also reveals a lack of public education on the responsibility of gun owners to store their guns unloaded, locked and away from ammunition. Research shows child access prevention and safe storage laws are effective in reducing shootings among youth, according to a report released on Tuesday by the RAND Corporation, a public policy research organization. The report recommends states without such laws consider adopting them to reduce gun-related suicides, homicides and unintentional injuries and death among youth.

SAFE STORAGE AND CHILD ACCESS PREVENTION LAWS

Every year, hundreds of children in the US gain access to firearms and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else, according to research by Everytown for Gun Safety, a leading non-profit organization focusing on gun violence prevention. In 2022, there were 301 unintentional shootings by children, resulting in 133 deaths and 180 injuries nationally, Everytown data shows. Research shows the most restrictive laws regarding secure storage or child access prevention are also the most effective, said Lois Kaye Lee, a pediatrician and the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention.

States holding gun owners criminally liable for any violation are associated with decreased rates of firearm deaths in children under the age of 14, said Lee, who is one of the authors of the 2019 study.  the Be SMART program, a framework to help normalize conversations and educate adults about secure firearm storage, was launched in 2015 by Moms Demand Action, and has been fighting for gun safety measures since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

GEORGIA’S EFFORTS

Georgia law generally makes it unlawful for any person to intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly furnish a handgun to a minor under age 18, subject to multiple exceptions discussed below.1 A minor’s parent or legal guardian may also be held criminally liable for “permit[ting]” their minor child to possess a handgun in circumstances where they know the minor is engaging in conduct that constitutes illegal possession of a handgun and the parent or guardian failed to take reasonable efforts to prevent them from doing so. A separate provision of Georgia law prohibits any parent or legal guardian from intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly furnishing, or permitting a minor to possess a handgun, if the parent or legal guardian is aware of a substantial risk that the minor will use the handgun to commit a felony. This criminal liability also attaches if the parent or legal guardian, who is aware of a substantial risk that the minor will use the handgun to commit a felony, fails to make reasonable efforts to prevent commission of the offense by the minor.  A parent or legal guardian may also criminally liable if they furnish a handgun to, or permit possession of a handgun by, any minor who has been convicted of a forcible felony or forcible misdemeanor, or who has been adjudicated delinquent for an offense which would constitute a forcible felony or forcible misdemeanor if such minor were an adult.

Georgia law does not otherwise expressly make it unlawful for an adult to negligently or recklessly leave unsecured firearms, including handguns and long guns, accessible to unsupervised minors. Georgia does not require a locking device to accompany the sale of a firearm, although federal law applies, and generally does not require firearm owners to affirmatively lock their weapons. State administrative regulations may govern the secure control of firearms in certain locations.

A TODDLER AND A GUN

On January 16, 2023, a toddler—wearing only his diaper—is waiving a loaded firearm around the landing of an apartment complex. At one point he puts the gun under his chin. No adult or supervisor of any sort is around. An observant neighbor calls the police, who arrest the father, retrieve the weapon, and take the toddler to his mother.  

Picturing a diaper-clad toddler brandishing a loaded semi-automatic gun would be difficult but for the fact that the whole horrifying incident was caught on security camera video. The video will be Exhibit A in the child custody case sure to come, as well as the perfect example of why safe storage and child access laws are so important.  

CONTACT YOUR ATTORNEY

If you or someone you know has been injured by the accidental discharge of a firearm, contact Dave Thomas of The Thomas Law Firm for a free evaluation of your legal claim.