Three Charged in Massachusetts Gun Death

by Matt Kelley · 2008-12-05 06:23:00 UTC
Topics:

A police chief and two others have been charged in the death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentually shot himself with a Uzi at a Massachusetts gun show in October.

The boy's father had chosen the Micro Uzi for the boy to fire, and the boy was supervised by a 15-year-old. He attempted to fire at a pumpkin and lost control of the gun (which fires 1,700 bullets a minute) and shot himself in the head.

Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the boy's death because he organized the gun show and apparently advised dealers that it was legal to allow children to shoot automatic weapons with parental consent. It is not.

(Fleury) organized it through a business he ran, COP Firearms & Training, and marketed it in advertisements that said that the $5 entry fee was waived for children under age 16 and that there was "no age limit or licenses required to shoot machine guns."

"It's all legal & fun," the online advertisement read. "You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control - 'FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL.' "

Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, and allowing this boy to fire an automatic weapon was illegal. But shooting a handgun at any age is legal in Massachusetts with parental consent and an instructor. And giving free entry to a gun show to kids under 16 is legal.

I have advocated for stricter gun control on this blog. I don't think we should ban guns, but I think we should closely control their use, and this boy's death should be a wake-up call. Here's my proposal:

No one under age 16 should be allowed to own or fire a gun, or attend a gun show. Gun rights advocates often compare guns and cars because both can cause death when in irresponsible hands. So let's make the minimum age the same.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Stopping Crime or Celebrating It?
NEXT STORY:
Make the Call! Stop the Torture of Special Needs Children in Massachusetts

COMMENTS (0)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.