4 year old shoots herself

[Ban Hammer 14,184]

I dunno man - blaming the store seems a little unfair, as quite apart from whether they had signage or not - there's no reasonable way they can enforce those rules.

If anything those things are posted merely as disclaimers to inform people of potential risks - in much the same way that TV ads showing a guy jumping off a cliff have to display "Do Not Attempt", or why a packet of peanuts has to carry the message "Warning: may contain nuts".

I'm not suggesting the store should be sued. Sam's Club can't really be held accountable for this woman's actions. All I'm saying is that if a sign like that had been there (and I see them up practically everywhere here in Texas, so I know they exist), it might have sent a brief signal to her brain suggesting to her that she refrain from entering the store with the firearm.

I suppose I'm just thinking about myself here. One of the reasons I've never applied for a CHL is I wouldn't be allowed to take them inside anywhere. Virtually every single business (government-run or privately-owned) disallows anyone but law enforcement officers to carry guns on them when on or inside the property. So if I have to leave my gun at home or in the car, what good would a CHL do me?

correction - you can't take them inside a standardized list of places along with taking them into a business that displays that sign. if one wal-mart has the sign and another wal-mart does not, you can carry in the wal-mart that does not have the sign.

[Bassi and Zainab 1]

DEAR MAGS:

Please come home soon. Your husband is scaring me.

i'm certain the local and state law enforcement is keeping sharp objects away from him.

I think blame can be divided up between the grandmother and the Sam's Club store. We've already discussed the grandmother and how she should've known better than to keep a loaded firearm that close and easily accessible to a small child; however, it seems we've all missed the part Sam's Club played in this. Most places -- including banks, schools, malls and grocery stores -- have clearly labled signs indicating that "no weapons are allowed" on the premises. The story says that no such warning was posted on this particular Sam's Club, which led the grandmother to believe that she was legally entitled to bring her CHL-approved gun in with her. Had such a sign existed, she would've left her gun either at home or in the car. In either case, her grandchild would've been able to grab and use it.

i really fail to understand your logic in blaming sam's club for any part of this.

It's really quite simple. Had Sam's Club stated that no firearms were allowed (like most businesses do), then the grandmother probably would've thought twice about bringing her gun into the store in the first place. If the gun wasn't in there, the kid couldn't have shot herself.

Yes, it's entirely possible that such a thing could've have happened at home, but it didn't. It took place at a business -- a large discount chain grocery store, so what occurs there is that store's responsibility. What happens in someone's home has nothing to do with Sam's Club and the fault would rest entirely on the grandmother's shoulders.

I know most people on here will say that it was the grandmother's responsibility to "know better" and I tend to agree. However, I'm sorry to say that the "average person" is a complete moron. They'll do something without ever considering the consequences first. This is why they sometimes have to be told what to do -- if not for their own good, for the good of others. I wish that weren't true and that everyone could think their actions through first, but it'll be a very cold day in Hell before that happens.

The grandmother was a law enforcement officer. Whether there was a sign or not, she would have still been able to carry her weapon in the store and allow her grandchild to shoot herself in the chest.

Now who should we blame? Maybe human resources for hiring her into her position? I work in HR, we get blamed for everything. Go ahead.

[Marc and Olga 0]

If anything those things are posted merely as disclaimers to inform people of potential risks - in much the same way that TV ads showing a guy jumping off a cliff have to display "Do Not Attempt", or why a packet of peanuts has to carry the message "Warning: may contain nuts".

WARNING: PEDANT CROSSING

Actually, a peanut is a legume, not a nut. Someone with nut allergies can eat a peanut without issue. The warning comes from the fact that factories where peanuts are packaged may also package nuts, with a risk of cross-contamination. The label seems ridiculous but is actually necessary.

Well discounting the fact that there are peanut allergies (as separate from "nut" allergies)...

Sure. But you gotta be pretty damn stoopid to not know a packet of peanuts may contain peanuts.

the same COULD be said of the "Caution: contents are hot!" printed on the side of a McDonald's coffee cup,

[native2music 0]

"Gun laws should be more strict"...

No... Gun toting grandmothers need to be more diligent. She is 100% at fault.

If the gun laws were more strict, the grandmother wouldn't have a gun in her bag in which the child would still be alive.

Guns don't solve the problem in the USA being a safer place.

And then when grandma gets robbed at the ATM and stabbed, when she could have defended herself with her gun, where's the good side of that?

Guns are inanimate objects. They don't go on murder missions on their own. Guns are not evil. By trying to outlaw guns, you are blaming the gun rather than the person. Because we all know that people are SOOOOO good about Personal Responsibility these days....

#######. What a load of ####### that is. Where you getting the idea that guns ain't evil? Thats the problem with America, they make too much money on guns and don't see the problems they have beyond it.

William, I have to agree with you 110%. I live in TN and trust me, this state is one of the most gun-pro states I know. I absolutely think the gun laws in America are far too loose.

It is sad to me because I am an American, and people just aren't educated enough here to look at statistics of crimes compared to other countries who have very strick gun laws, and those countries don't have half the crime we do... imagine that.