Protect kids and lock up your guns - or face charges, lawmaker says

Kate Talerico | Courier Journal

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A Louisville lawmaker wants to make it a crime to improperly store a weapon around children.

State Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, is pushing his legislation after 2-year-old Montreal Dunn shot himself in the head last week in the Park Duvalle neighborhood. His bill would require guns to be securely locked in a box or container, by a device or carried by an adult. Not doing so in the presence of children would be a misdemeanor.

A three-pack of gun locks goes for around $20 on Amazon.

"What we’re trying to say to gun owners is: Secure your guns from children," Wayne said.

The measure, which Wayne proposed last year, is part of a national debate about holding people accountable for shootings that involve their weapons.

In Kentucky this year, two children have died as a result of accidental shootings, including the one last week, and five have been injured. A 2017 report by the Lexington Herald-Leader said that over the previous five years, at least 36 children were shot by themselves or another child with a gun in Kentucky. Of those, 15 died and 21 were wounded.

Related: No charges expected in death of 2-year-old who shot himself, police say

At a June meeting for the Federal School Safety Group, Gov. Matt Bevin told reporters that parents should be held responsible for keeping guns secure around children.

"Parents should be held accountable in large measure for ensuring their children are safe and are not in a position to harm themselves or others because of the parents' negligence," he said.

He expressed doubt that legislation would help. When asked about possible legislation to prevent children from accessing guns, he responded, "What is that rule going to be? Who's going to write the rule? How's it going to be applied? The responsibility falls on parents to make sure their children are safe and that the environment is safe."

While a law like the one Wayne proposed would make clear the legal consequences of failing to properly store guns, authorities can press charges on a case-by-case basis. In Jefferson County, the Commonwealth Attorney's Office typically charges someone with wanton endangerment for leaving a loaded firearm in a place where it would be accessible to minors, said Jeff Cooke, assistant commonwealth's attorney.

"We have charged persons under similar situations but the specific facts are important in making that determination," he wrote in an email to the Courier Journal.

This year the parents of an 11-year-old Bell County boy who accidentally shot his 6-year-old sister in the head were both charged with wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor.

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An investigation by the USA TODAY Network and the Associated Press found how officials assign place blame in cases of accidental shootings varies widely among states.

It also found that across state legislatures, proposals for bills that would keep guns out of the hands of children have gotten held up in debates over how effective they might be, and pushback from the National Rifle Association criticizing government overreach.

Gun safety advocates see a vast need for laws like these. Guns are present in about a third of all homes with children around the country, according to a 2008 study in the journal Health Education Research. Of those homes, half of guns were kept unlocked and a sixth were kept loaded.

Wayne's proposed bill stalled in the House Judiciary Committee in February. At the time, House Judiciary Chairman Joe Fischer said that he wasn't familiar with the bill.

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In a statement last week, Wayne said he sent a letter to Fischer, asking him to schedule a hearing on the bill in the wake of 2-year-old Montreal's death.

"This is irresponsible on the Republican leadership’s part not to have a hearing on this legislation," Wayne said.

Fischer said he received the request from Wayne for the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary to hear the issue.

"Although our agendas for the monthly Interim Committee meetings were set months in advance, I will discuss Rep. Wayne's request to speak about this incident with staff, committee members and the Senate Co-chairman. I will advise Rep. Wayne accordingly," Fischer said in a statement.

Under the bill, unlawful storage of a firearm in the presence of children would be a Class B misdemeanor and a Class A misdemeanor if use of the firearm resulted in physical injury or death.

Related: 'We'll never waver' to protect freedoms, says NRA president

In Tennessee, a law proposed in 2016 similar to Wayne's would have made it a felony for a gun owner to store his or her weapons within easy access of children. But the bill failed before a Republican-controlled committee, and failed again even after the legislation was amended to allow adults to be charged with reckless endangerment if children used their guns to cause injury.

USA TODAY previously reported that every effort between 2012 and 2016 to create child gun safety laws in 11 states that don't have them — and strengthen laws in 20 others that do — failed.

Kentucky does have one law that makes recklessly providing a handgun to a child a Class D felony.

Wayne said that tragic accidents like what happened to the 2-year-old in Park Duvalle need not take place.

The boy died the evening of Aug. 15, hours after he was shot. Police said last week charges were not expected related to his death.

Last August, another 2-year-old died from a gunshot wound after a 9mm handgun was accidentally discharged.

A 2017 study in the journal Pediatrics found that nearly 1,300 children die and almost 6,000 are treated for gunshot wounds each year, with boys and minorities disproportionately affected.

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While the legislation is pending, the Kentucky chapter for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America have started education programs to teach those who own guns how to secure weapons in the home, and to make sure that non-gun owners ask about guns in the home ahead of play dates.

"It’s important for gun owners and people that visit homes where someone is a gun owner to make sure that it is stored securely," said Connie Coartney, Kentucky chapter lead for the organization.

Reach reporter Kate Talerico at ktalerico@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @k_talerico.