Carrying a gun with kids is hard - Gotta be careful!!!

My son at 2 years old would ask me to put my gun away, if I was wearing one, when he wanted to play. Such an easy way to avoid an issue like this.

This is the saddest ND I've heard of in a while. Absolutely awful.

1) Sometimes condition 3 carry is preferable.
2) Holster should always cover the trigger.
3) A holstered gun should always remain holstered unless it is being shot or cleaned.
4) Who knows if the story told is accurately depicted.

Waveski said:

I re-read the thread ; I do not see where anyone sought to ridicule the dad in the incident.

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Didn't mean anyone here, just a general statement that I said because I'm sure people have been saying this happened cause he's a bad dad or something.
Incidents like this really make me think about things and make me sad for the family.

So we don’t really know what happened. The gun fell out of a crappy holster? A good holster? No holster? Accidental finger in the trigger? Murder?

Is there any actual info other than this article?

most folks would remove a cellphone from their pocket so as not to damage it, before horsing around. thus i cannot imagine not properly securing a handgun before doing the same.

fireside44 said:

There is a brief article and what happened isn't all that clear. Anything could've happened from intent to harm, negligence, a temporary lapse of judgement, or just an accident.

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Unless the gun broke, it's entirely his fault.
I have kids and can't even come close to imagining how he feels.
To prevent what happened to him, my carry gun is DAO and is carried in a tight holster.
It is placed out of reach out my son when I get home.

Stupid, simple people own, carry and shoot firearms all the time. Why does this surprise anyone? This is when I question the interpretation of the Constitution and the 2A - “created” equal is where the equity stops - for some, things deteriorate rapidly after that moment - we see it every day.

Bfh_auto said:

Unless the gun broke, it's entirely his fault.
I have kids and can't even come close to imagining how he feels.
To prevent what happened to him, my carry gun is DAO and is carried in a tight holster.
It is placed out of reach out my son when I get home.

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Or his holster broke or came undone accidentally or it was just foul play isn't enough actual info in the article for anyone to play say anything with certainty. All speculation.

Safely-built, modern handgun, in a proper, securing holster, which is itself secured on the belt, and one should be able to tussle with a child all day long. Do police officers doff their sidearms before going hands-on with a suspect?

Yes, another option would be to remove the gun, but anyone who thinks that parent-child play isn't spontaneous and could have "the moment" ruined by running off to the room where the safe is to get rid of the gun hasn't been involved in it much.

Either option exercised would have avoided this tragic outcome.

george29 said:

1) Sometimes condition 3 carry is preferable.
2) Holster should always cover the trigger.
3) A holstered gun should always remain holstered unless it is being shot or cleaned.
4) Who knows if the story told is accurately depicted.

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There certainly should be a fair and impartial investigation into the circumstances. I suppose we will find out.

My grandkids trump all. When they visit my home I UNLOAD my CC. I separate the ammo and gun where I know they cannot get at either. When I visit their house I lock my CC in a secure place in my car. When I goof around (they are too young yet) keys, wallets, and anything else will be stored away somewhere else for self keeping.

My heart is out to this man and his family. It was a tragic accident and the best we can do is to learn from it.

Hokkmike said:

My grandkids trump all. When they visit my home I UNLOAD my CC. I separate the ammo and gun where I know they cannot get at either. When I visit their house I lock my CC in a secure place in my car. When I goof around (they are too young yet) keys, wallets, and anything else will be stored away somewhere else for self keeping.

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What do you do when you go somewhere outside the home with them? Ever take them to a playground? Do you leave the gun at home?

bearcreek said:

What do you do when you go somewhere outside the home with them? Ever take them to a playground? Do you leave the gun at home?

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Depends where we are going and what we are going to do. I think it is about balance without forging the obvious benefits of CC.

I always carry in Condition 1. Carrying any other way, in my opinion, gives another advantage to the bad guy. Anyone that carries a semi auto without one in the chamber is naive if they think that they will have time and the presence of mind to draw, cock and fire in time to stop the threat. That said, and with the assumption that a responsible person always uses a holster that both secures the firearm and covers the trigger, I don't overly worry when around my grandchildren and armed. When a grand child, or anyone else, goes to hug me, I ALWAYS insert my right arm under theirs, ensuring that the hug is well above my holstered pistol. This is as automatic a response as anything else that I do. In other circumstances I find I automatically use my right elbow to cover the gun and holster, further reducing any risk of a ND. But if I were planning on wrestling, I would excuse myself for a moment and secure the holstered gun in one of the small safes that I have in my bedroom before engaging in that type activity. If I am at the home of one of my grown children, I don't wrestle with the kids, period. You can enjoy lots of activities with your children or grandchildren without having to grapple on the carpet with a loaded gun on your belt. FWIW, I know that none of my grandkids will ever be a victim of the accident that started this thread.

As my first Commanding Officer was fond of saying... "the stupid will be punished"

Unfortunately, in this situation it was the child of the stupid.

And yes... carrying a Glock (no manual safety, no grip safety, relatively light trigger pull and partially cocked striker) tucked into your pants with no holster is stupid. So much for perfection

Tragic and avoidable. A good holster is a must with kids around, a thumb safety probably doesn't hurt either.

Also, as a parent who CCs all the time and does play with my young kids, I'm intensely aware of the location and status of my pistol all the time, but when my boy get bigger and wants to wrestle, the gun will go in the safe for the time being.

SSN Vet said:

And yes... carrying a Glock (no manual safety, no grip safety, relatively light trigger pull and partially cocked striker) tucked into your pants with no holster is stupid. So much for perfection

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Any gun with no holster and a round chambered is colossally stupid to my thinking.

This could’ve easily been avoided. He ended a life, and ruined several others, including his own.

Holster
Holster
Holster
Holster

It absolutely terrified me the time I was raccoon hunting with someone and they fished an unholstered Glock out of their jeans pocket to show me. Get a friggin pocket holster.

I have no fear that my Crossbreed Supertuck IWB carried G19 is going to go off, regardless of what climbing my kids do on me.

commygun said:

I pocket carried a DAO .380 in a pocket holster throughout all the wrestling and horseplay of my son's childhoods and never felt there was the remotest chance of it ADing. The story is awful. Many will scoff, but it's another example of why I won't carry a striker-fired pistol in the pocket or IWB.

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How is this an example of why a striker fired pistol can't be carried IWB, unless you mean without a holster?

The article saying it was "Hidden in his pants" and "tucked in the small of his back" really points to holster-less carry.

The comments of stupidity are a little out of line here given the lack of facts. The father may have been at fault, but nobody here really knows what happened and can say that for certain.

I can say I've changed my carry habits since having kids. IWB didn't work well for me since at any time I could be carrying one or two kids on my hips. Appendix was better, but still not ideal. Pocket works best for me right now, and I prefer the DA trigger of my LCP or a j-frame over a gun with a safety (I've had the safety inexplicably flip off on my SIG P938 once). When I get home the LCP normally goes in the safe and it's replaced by a single action NAA revolver.