U.K. (Wales) "Gun laws will save other mums' sons "

[cuchulainn]

from the IC North Wales site

http://icnorthwales.icnetwork.co.uk...fm?objectid=12784188&method=full&siteid=50142

Gun laws will save other mums' sons

Mar 28 2003

By David Price, Daily Post

THE death of her teenage son has driven a North Wales nurse to demand greater curbs on deadly air weapons.

Jane Atkinson has backed the call from the Campaign for Airgun Control to restrict the sale of air powered guns.

Mrs Atkinson, of Pontblyddyn, near Mold, also wants to see compulsory gun certificates introduced and legislation to ensure airguns are locked in a secure cabinet.

Her demands come just days before a North Wales Police firearms amnesty.

And last night she revealed for the first time that she had been on duty the night her 13-year-old son George was brought unconscious into her hospital's casualty department - having been accidentally shot.

"If these restrictions had been in place my son would never have died," she said.

George had been play-ing with his cousin James at the back of his home in Abermorddu, firing a .22 air rifle at empty cans for target practice.

The gun, bought by 11-year-old James's father to keep vermin under control, was kept in the adult's bedroom. James had loaded the weapon and they took it in turn to fire.

But as George, the son of a retired North Wales police officer, was handed the gun for about his tenth shot, it suddenly went off. He collapsed, bleeding from the head.

Last night Mrs Atkinson, 42, talked about her nightmare three years ago when she had received an unexpected phone call on her ward.

"It was about 8.10pm," she said. "An ambulanceman rang and asked to speak to a senior nurse. I thought that was funny - I usually took the calls. So a nurse spoke to him and then she turned to me and said George had had an accident and was being taken to casualty.

"I thought he had fallen out of a tree or something. Then I realised it was a lot more serious. I ran down the corridor to casualty and saw the ambulance arrive with a police escort. George was unconscious and was put on a ventilator.

"The wound in his head was so tiny. No bigger than the end of a pen. I couldn't believe it. Just a few hours earlier I had dropped him at my sister's. He was laughing and gave me a kiss."

The inquest heard that James's mother knew they were firing the gun, and she said the boys had been "very sensible" - with one standing behind the one who was firing.

When the gun went off accidentally, the slug had entered a part of the skull where the bone was thin. George never regained consciousness.

Mrs Atkinson said: "Airguns become more and more powerful and should be treated as a firearm. Tighter controls should be enforced to restrict their sale. I don't want anything like this to happen to anyone else's children."

Trading Standards officers have also called for tougher laws. At their annual conference they said there had been 10,000 offences involving airguns in a year. It is estimated that there are nearly 4m airguns in circulation throughout the UK. n The firearms amnesty is next Monday, March 31.

© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2003

 

[LostOneToo]

While I am sorry her son died from such a tragic accident, it might not have happened at all had they been raised around guns and taught proper gun safety. Do not blame the gun for the gunner's lack of safety.

 

[Zander]

"But as George, the son of a retired North Wales police officer, was handed the gun for about his tenth shot, it suddenly went off."

When someone pulled the trigger...

A shame, really. Perhaps if the mum can convince her common subjects to get rid of paring knives, cricket bats, rooftops, ponds, bicycles, motor vehicles, tall trees, snow, infectious diseases, terrorist-bombings, airplane glue, mad cows, et cetera, ad nauseum, she'll feel that she has accomplished something.

How does one measure the stupidity/ignorance of such a mindset?

 

[agricola]

This tragedy happened about four minutes drive from where I grew up; its a mainly sheep farming area (although Mold is quite a big market town) and many people around here do have shotguns and air weapons. Thirteen year old lads do do enough stupid things anyway, lord knows I did at that age, and the mothers grief is understandable given that her sons life was wasted - although any legislation here would probably not have prevented the death, given that the weapon was already in the parents bedroom, presumably secured away.

Its a pity that Zander feels the need to weigh in on this tragedy with more of his BS, yet I guess someone who can weigh in on the "bloodied uniforms thread" with his own sexist nonsense is more than likely to do it here:

"How does one measure the stupidity/ignorance of such a mindset?"

quite simply i ask "what would Zander have written" and see what the difference is...

 

[CZ-75]

It doesn't sound like nonsense to me.

The gun didn't "suddenly go off"; his cousin handed it to him, muzzle first, with his finger still on the trigger and the safety off.

Her son could've also been killed by a lorry, crossing the street.

Or die in a car crash a few years from now.

Would she be calling for "car control" or "truck control" legislation?

The only "control" that's going to have a chance of working is "people control." Outlaw stupidity and see if it stops.