Should Parents Be Prosecuted If Their Kids Break Laws?

Today, I found that I was compelled to call into a radio talk show. There was a guest host on Carl Brizzi's Crime beat. I normally don't listen to this show, but was out meeting a client and was driving quite a while today. The topic was the shooting at the Middle School in Martinsville, IN yesterday, and if the shooter's parents should be criminally charged for the kid having access to a gun. The overt stupidity of most of the callers enraged me.

Even the so called supporters of gun rights, and personal accountability of the kid, were easily led to a point of prosecuting his parents by the host. It was as if even as a voice over the radio they were terrified of not being politically correct.

First of all, I want to be clear that I do not know the details of this shooting. From what I have heard on the news clips I have heard that a 15 year old boy shot a schoolmate over an ongoing argument. From what I have heard is we don't know for sure where the gun came from. We have heard that another student went to the principle of the school a few days ago warning of talk of this action by the shooter, but was ignored. We have heard that Martinsville School System was made aware of the threat on Facebook, but took steps to protect the High School but not the Jr. High. Who knows which, or if any of this is accurate.

This shooting, just like any, is tragic and frightening to anyone who has kids in school. This blog is in no way diminishing this act of violence. However, the questions being asked and fingers of blame are being directed in the wrong direction.
When I called in my comment was to even discuss charges against the parents is absurd, unless his parents gave him the gun and a pep-talk on attacking another student, they had nothing to do with a willful act by this 15 year old kid.

If you are to hold them accountable for his actions with a gun taken from his parents without permission or their knowledge, then what would we have to do if the weapon of choice was a steak knife out of the kitchen drawer, or a hammer, an awl, or a hand axe out of the garage tool box? The gun is a tool, no different that the above it is the use there of that makes all the difference.

Of course those who want to strip Americans of their 2nd Amendment Rights always parasite onto sad stories like this to try to move their agenda forward. They see these children, both shooter and victim, as pawns to be played to get their way.

Wouldn't it make more sense to look to why the kid devalued human life so that he thought he could resolve their teen issues by killing his rival? Shouldn't we ask the principle if in fact she was warned of this a few days ago and just thought it was kids being kids saying silly stuff? Granted how many of us haven't used the words, "I'm going to kill" so and so? However, in her job of leading a school, it would make sense to call the child who was accused of making such statements and asking some questions at least to find out if he seemed fine and in control of his emotions and thoughts and was just spouting off.

Maybe we should look at our society's constant erosion on the sanctity of human life. Roe v Wade started a slippery slope were human life becomes expendable to convenience. There was another caller who spoke of Mike Pence running for governor of Indiana, but disqualified him by making fun of Mike's belief in a God Created world. Once again, there is a difference when we believe that everyone we look at is one of God's children created in His image, or just an accident of nature of slime morphing into monkeys into your classmate.

John Adams said that our system of government is designed for a religious and moral people, it is completely inadequate for any other kind.