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Daughter’s death drives Seguin man's fight
By Bryan Kirk
The Gazette-Enterprise
Published February 27, 2005
SEGUIN — A Seguin man is taking his concerns about firearm safety to state lawmakers.
Jack Braham is the father of 13-year-old Tianna Braham, a San Antonio girl fatally shot in the head by a friend with a loaded gun.
Braham has a proposal that involves changes to the Texas Penal Code, as well as broadcasting public service announcements to educate the public about firearm safety.
Braham was in Austin last week and met with State Rep. Edmund Kuempel to talk about filing legislation that could hold parents more accountable for storing firearms safely.
“The whole purpose of this is similar to the MADD program and the Click it or Ticket program,†Braham said.
Braham said where organizations such as the National Rifle Association and the Texas Hunter’s Association have available information, it is usually reserved for exclusively for their membership.
“If you are a hunter or a sportsman, you are going to have all that information, but are you going to tell me that a 28-year-old woman who has a child and is worried about her psychopathic ex-husband coming around to do harm to her will not want to pick up a gun?†Braham said.
Braham said he hopes the ad campaign will remind parents gun locks can be obtained free from any law enforcement agency.
The second part of Braham’s proposal involves changing Texas Penal Code Section 46.13 — the only state statute that holds a parent accountable for proper firearm storage. However, the statute only pertains to loaded weapons.
Andre Gibson, the boy who shot Braham’s daughter, retrieved an unloaded gun from an unlocked closet and loaded it with bullets he found in another area of his home.
Gibson is serving a nine-month sentence in the Texas Youth Commission for manslaughter.
Braham said preventing similar tragedies begins with strengthening the law and requiring all firearms where children are in the home be locked up.
Several years ago, the Florida Legislature passed a law credited with significantly reducing the number of teen shootings in the state. Braham has asked Kuempel and his staff to compare the Florida statute with Texas law.
A third step Braham proposes would require potential gun owners to take an on-the-spot safety test.
If the potential gun owner failed the test, they would not be able to purchase a firearm.
Braham said that part of his proposal was not considered by Kuempel.
Kuempel said he and his staff have been researching the Florida statute and are in contact with other state agencies.
“We are checking with the Attorney General to find out if we just need to enforce the law we have on the books more vigorously,†Kuempel said.
Kuempel said he liked the idea of creating more public awareness through public service announcements as a safety mechanism.
“Everything is going fine, we are just waiting on opinions to see if this has a chance and what the possibilities are of passing this,†Kuempel said. “We are on this vigorously. Hopefully, we will have some answers from the AG’s office on what can be done sometime next week.â€
http://www.seguingazette.com/story.lasso?ewcd=c83f0a4e0d1d0569&page=all
By Bryan Kirk
The Gazette-Enterprise
Published February 27, 2005
SEGUIN — A Seguin man is taking his concerns about firearm safety to state lawmakers.
Jack Braham is the father of 13-year-old Tianna Braham, a San Antonio girl fatally shot in the head by a friend with a loaded gun.
Braham has a proposal that involves changes to the Texas Penal Code, as well as broadcasting public service announcements to educate the public about firearm safety.
Braham was in Austin last week and met with State Rep. Edmund Kuempel to talk about filing legislation that could hold parents more accountable for storing firearms safely.
“The whole purpose of this is similar to the MADD program and the Click it or Ticket program,†Braham said.
Braham said where organizations such as the National Rifle Association and the Texas Hunter’s Association have available information, it is usually reserved for exclusively for their membership.
“If you are a hunter or a sportsman, you are going to have all that information, but are you going to tell me that a 28-year-old woman who has a child and is worried about her psychopathic ex-husband coming around to do harm to her will not want to pick up a gun?†Braham said.
Braham said he hopes the ad campaign will remind parents gun locks can be obtained free from any law enforcement agency.
The second part of Braham’s proposal involves changing Texas Penal Code Section 46.13 — the only state statute that holds a parent accountable for proper firearm storage. However, the statute only pertains to loaded weapons.
Andre Gibson, the boy who shot Braham’s daughter, retrieved an unloaded gun from an unlocked closet and loaded it with bullets he found in another area of his home.
Gibson is serving a nine-month sentence in the Texas Youth Commission for manslaughter.
Braham said preventing similar tragedies begins with strengthening the law and requiring all firearms where children are in the home be locked up.
Several years ago, the Florida Legislature passed a law credited with significantly reducing the number of teen shootings in the state. Braham has asked Kuempel and his staff to compare the Florida statute with Texas law.
A third step Braham proposes would require potential gun owners to take an on-the-spot safety test.
If the potential gun owner failed the test, they would not be able to purchase a firearm.
Braham said that part of his proposal was not considered by Kuempel.
Kuempel said he and his staff have been researching the Florida statute and are in contact with other state agencies.
“We are checking with the Attorney General to find out if we just need to enforce the law we have on the books more vigorously,†Kuempel said.
Kuempel said he liked the idea of creating more public awareness through public service announcements as a safety mechanism.
“Everything is going fine, we are just waiting on opinions to see if this has a chance and what the possibilities are of passing this,†Kuempel said. “We are on this vigorously. Hopefully, we will have some answers from the AG’s office on what can be done sometime next week.â€
http://www.seguingazette.com/story.lasso?ewcd=c83f0a4e0d1d0569&page=all