[Magdalen] Prayers for two children

[Roger Stokes]

On 06/10/2015 00:10, Jay Weigel wrote:
> The boy had his first appearance before a judge today and was ordered
> detained until his first hearing, which is scheduled for Oct. 28. That
> hearing is expected to be delayed. DHS is investigating the family
> situation, so this may be one reason.

I am not surprised at that. They will be thoroughly investigated by 
every agency which could be argued to have an interest in this case.

> A local defense attorney (not one I think highly of, although he gets his
> clients off, which is his job) said it would be highly unlikely for the
> state to charge the boy as an adult in view of his age. It has never been
> done in Tennessee and would likely bring on an army of psychiatrists and
> psychologists and be a 3 ring circus mixed with a goat rodeo. It's more
> likely that he will be detained until the age of 19, the maximum in
> Tennessee, with a focus on rehabilitation. That's not going to satisfy a
> lot of people.

I can understand both positions.  The boy is immature and, in my 
opinion, should be offered the chance to have a decent life in the 
future.  My main complaint is against the parents who clearly did not 
have the gun sufficiently secure.  This does bring into question the NRA 
argument of having guns at home "for self-defence".  How do you have a 
gun that us readuly accessible if you need it for self-defence but not 
accessible to children in the house?

I believe that the technology needed to ensure a gun is fired only by 
the owner is available, but not generally used as yet.

> The attorney also said the parents could be charged with
> abuse and neglect if it was found (as it likely will be) that firearms were left where children could easily get to them.
>
> It's reported that the boy is one of 6 children. There's no report of where
> he fits in the family or how many children are in the home. This could
> result in any other children being removed from the home temporarily or
> permanently, depending on findings by DHS. Not a good situation all around.

I don't think anybody could reasonably dissent from that observation.  
There is no good solution, merely an attempt to find the least bad one 
for this particular situation.  That siad, as Mr Trump has observed 
"stuff happens" and such events will happen unless and until there is 
effective legislation that requires gun owners to exercise proper 
control of their weapons.  Obligatory third-party insurance would be a 
start.

Roger