Two Year Old Shoots And Kills His Mother in Idaho Walmart

Police are reporting that a two-year-old boy fatally shot his mother in an Idaho Walmart today. The tragedy unfolded in the small town of Hayden, Idaho. The Kootenai County Sheriff says the boy was sitting in a shopping cart and reached into his mother’s purse and pulled the trigger. Three other children were with the mother and her son when the shooting occurred.

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The woman was a concealed weapons permit holder. Idaho permits concealed handguns with a carry permit. A permit is not required to openly carry a rifle or shotgun. The state of Idaho also forbids any county, city, or government agency from passing gun restrictions stricter than the state’s law. State law does stipulate that it is unlawful to use a gun in a ?careless, reckless, or negligent manner or without due caution and circumspection? if it results in discharge or injury to a person.

The shooting raises more of a safety concern than a legal issue however. Open carry activists and conceal and carry supporters have long argued that firearms make citizens safer. Carrying a loaded gun every time you go out to shop for toys, grab a cup of coffee, or order lunch, does increase the risk of accidental shooting. Furthermore, a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study found that people with a gun were 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not possessing a gun. So not only does carrying a gun increase the risk of accidental shooting, but it also ironically puts the gun carrier at greater risk of being shot.

The NRA has done an outstanding job of marketing fear. Many people believe they are safer if they are packing heat everywhere they go. However, too often that decision results in tragedy as it did in Hayden, Idaho. While people should do whatever they feel they need to do to protect themselves, they should do so with a realistic assessment of the risk involved. Violent muggings at big box stores and coffee shops are exceedingly rare. For everyday activities like shopping at Walmart or buying a latte at Starbucks, the best way to protect yourself might be to leave the loaded firearm at home.

Keith Brekhus

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Keith Brekhus is a longtime political activist who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He has a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He was a Green Party candidate for Congress in 2002. His most recent political job was working as a Field Organizer in Arizona’s White Mountains, in support of Democratic Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful 2014 re-election campaign.

 

Keith Brekhus is a progressive sociologist who resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. Keith is a former Green Party candidate for US Congress (2002 in Missouri's 9th District). He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus.