Securing Guns Safely Away From Kids Must Be a Priority

Following the shooting deaths of four people at Oxford High School in Michigan, prosecutors have charged the 15-year-old accused gunman’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, with involuntary manslaughter. However egregious the couple’s actions, there’s little legal precedent for punishing parents for gun crimes committed by their children. Strengthening laws that require firearms to be securely stored is a more practical and effective way to prevent such tragedies in the future.

In the case of the Crumbleys, prosecutors say that the couple had bought the gun used in the shooting as a present for their son, Ethan, and taught him how to handle it. They minimized warnings from the school about Ethan’s increasingly threatening behavior. After Ethan was found searching for ammunition on his phone during class, Jennifer Crumbley allegedly told him to “learn not to get caught”; when news of the shooting broke, she texted, “Ethan, don’t do it.” After warrants were issued for their arrests, the parents fled before eventually being apprehended.