These are the stories that break my heart.

A 3-year-old boy is dead and, as brutal as it is for me to write it and you to read it, this child is dead because of his parents’ negligence.

His parents were too lazy, too stupid or too ignorant to store their gun where a kid couldn’t find it.

This toddler found a loaded handgun in a kitchen drawer and, being a curious kid, he pulled the gun from the drawer and stared down the barrel.

Then he pulled the trigger.

The rest is nothing but tears, grief and sorrow for all involved. Every Christmas from here on will bring a suffocating cloud of grief, not the happiness and joy the season ought to deliver.

It didn’t have to be this way.

In fact, it’s so easy for it to never end this way…

Port Royal Police Capt. J.H. Griffith said Thursday they do not anticipate any charges being filed in the case, and the weapon involved was in a kitchen drawer.

Police received a phone call about a “negligent discharge” of a gun that resulted in a death at an apartment on Dec. 3.
When an officer arrived, he found a “visibly distraught” man, later identified as the father, in the living room along with the victim who was suffering from a gunshot wound and lying next to a couch.

The boy was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.

Note to Gun-Owning Parents Everywhere

FACT: small children and loaded firearms don’t mix.

The 2nd Amendment is your gun permit, I get that, but firearm ownership comes with certain responsibilities, like ensuring your children can’t access your firearms.

If you own firearms and have small children, please store your firearms safely.

Firearm ownership comes with responsibilities. Yes, even in America.