The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - If you want a miniature muzzle loading cannon

arcticap · January 26, 2012, 01:06 AM

By clicking on the "read more' link at the bottom of the page of the original article, it brings up another ABC news video report that's presented more thoroughly below:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headline...by-toy-cannon/

It mentions that replica cannons are not toys and are really just like muzzle loading guns, which is true.
What's not known is who loaded it and what made it fire.
It was probably left on the display where the boy had access to play with it.
Some kids are well trained by his age, and some kids aren't as careful as they should be.
Kids can be negligent.
This death is drawing attention to the fact that the replica cannons are lethal and that the boy was an unsupervised minor.
I can't blame the media for reporting it.
Although the cannon can't have a trigger lock, it could have been kept under lock and key if loaded, or at least the powder could have been kept under lock and key if it wasn't loaded.
And that's probably what led to the boy's death.
Whether it was pre-loaded or not, a loaded weapon shouldn't be left to the devices of a child who isn't 100% trustworthy.
Is it more the boy's fault or the parents?
No charges are being filed because it's being considered as an accident.
But I doubt that the cannon just went off all by itself.
In hindsight the boy shouldn't have been allowed to play with it unsupervised when loaded, which means that it should have been kept under lock and key.
Obviously the parents trusted the boy enough to not keep it locked away, or to not keep the powder locked away.
The boy would have been better off illegally smoking cigarettes than playing with that loaded cannon.
But just look at all of the laws that prevent kids from being able to buy cigarettes.
In my state, kids can only hunt while under the direct supervision of an adult hunter.
They're not allowed to just go out on their own and hunt with a loaded gun simply because they do tend to make mistakes.
How to prevent that it is to keep the ammo and/or the gun under lock and key.
Whether that method of lock and key is called a gun lock by mistake or not is only a matter of semantics.

January 26, 2012, 01:06 AM	#7
arcticap Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2005 Location: Central Connecticut Posts: 3,166	By clicking on the "read more' link at the bottom of the page of the original article, it brings up another ABC news video report that's presented more thoroughly below: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headline...by-toy-cannon/ It mentions that replica cannons are not toys and are really just like muzzle loading guns, which is true. What's not known is who loaded it and what made it fire. It was probably left on the display where the boy had access to play with it. Some kids are well trained by his age, and some kids aren't as careful as they should be. Kids can be negligent. This death is drawing attention to the fact that the replica cannons are lethal and that the boy was an unsupervised minor. I can't blame the media for reporting it. Although the cannon can't have a trigger lock, it could have been kept under lock and key if loaded, or at least the powder could have been kept under lock and key if it wasn't loaded. And that's probably what led to the boy's death. Whether it was pre-loaded or not, a loaded weapon shouldn't be left to the devices of a child who isn't 100% trustworthy. Is it more the boy's fault or the parents? No charges are being filed because it's being considered as an accident. But I doubt that the cannon just went off all by itself. In hindsight the boy shouldn't have been allowed to play with it unsupervised when loaded, which means that it should have been kept under lock and key. Obviously the parents trusted the boy enough to not keep it locked away, or to not keep the powder locked away. The boy would have been better off illegally smoking cigarettes than playing with that loaded cannon. But just look at all of the laws that prevent kids from being able to buy cigarettes. In my state, kids can only hunt while under the direct supervision of an adult hunter. They're not allowed to just go out on their own and hunt with a loaded gun simply because they do tend to make mistakes. How to prevent that it is to keep the ammo and/or the gun under lock and key. Whether that method of lock and key is called a gun lock by mistake or not is only a matter of semantics. Last edited by arcticap; January 26, 2012 at 01:29 AM.