So an 8 year old is killed by a machine-gun and it's no ones fault?

by Simon 165 Replies latest social current

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  Simon

  I think US gun laws are S-T-U-P-I-D ... and the legal system more so. Saw a very good suggestion yesterday though - force people who want to own a gun to require insurance (hey, you have to have it for a vehicle for gods sake). Single-shot hunting rifle? Low insurance ... Glock or UZI ... hando over your checkbook.

  Really, why the hell does any civilian need a machine gun?!?!?!

  US police chief cleared in Bizilj Uzi shooting death

  A Massachusetts jury has acquitted a man who organised a gun fair where a boy accidentally shot himself dead with an Uzi sub-machine gun.

  Prosecutors said Edward Fleury, a former police chief, should have foreseen the risk in providing Christopher Bizilj, 8, with the gun.

  He was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter after showing the boy's father allowed him to fire the weapon.

  The boy lost control of the weapon, which flipped and shot him in the head.

  Mr Fleury was also acquitted on Friday on three charges of furnishing machine guns to minors.

  At the trial in Springfield, in the state of Massachusetts, jurors viewed a gruesome video clip of the accident, filmed by the boy's father, Dr Charles Bizilj.

  Christopher was aiming at pumpkins at the annual Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in October 2008.

  Prosecutors argued Mr Fleury was criminally reckless in allowing the boy to shoot the high-powered weapon, which was developed by the Israeli military. Christopher's 11-year-old brother Colin shot it without incident.

  Dr Bizilj signed a waiver allowing the boys to shoot the guns but was not charged in the accident because prosecutors said that, as a layman, he had reason to trust the fair organisers' word that the activity was safe.

  After the verdict, Mr Fleury said he regretted holding the machine gun event and would never do it again.

  Also charged were two men who brought the weapon to the fair. They have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12197254
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  shamus100

  ** Monkey ducks and hides in the corner over this one ;D **
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  beksbks

  There is certainly some gun love in America. Not a fan. Must be lots of tiny dicks.
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  journey-on

  I read this and was absolutely appalled that this 8-yr. old was allowed to shoot a Uzi. Where is the common sense of this father?! I am not an advocate of strict gun control, but I AM an advocate of parents using common sense. My sons got their first guns at the age of 14 and were taught all the safety rules and to this day have an extremely healthy respect for weapons.
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  Simon

  But the ruling makes no sense - the guy with the guns wasn't at fault because his father signed a waiver but the father isn't at fault because how should he know machine-guns could be dangerous?

  An 8 year old child is dead and he didn't make the gun himself. Someone loaded it. Someone handed it to him.
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  villabolo

  Beks: "Must be lots of tiny dicks."

  Hey girl, you don't want to go there! Mine measures up.

  Villabolo
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  journey-on

  An 8 year old child is dead and he didn't make the gun himself. Someone loaded it. Someone handed it to him.

  Exactly, Simon. I couldn't agree more. That gun even jammed prior to him shooting it from what I understand. 8 yrs. old is too young to shoot this kind of weapon. A .22 or a 20-gauge shotgun at the most for an 8-yr. old, and then with strict supervision.
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  beksbks

  I have no delusions about taking peoples guns away, I just think we tend to ignore the "well regulated" part of the 2nd.
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  villabolo

  Journey-on:

  My sons got their first guns at the age of 14 and were taught all the safety rules and to this day have an extremely healthy respect for weapons.

  When I took my cousins shooting a long time ago, my cousin's girlfriend wanted to shoot my Desert Eagle .44 Magnum. Other than the fact that women have weaker hands than men and cannot handle recoil very well; this particular gal was wee pint size. I strictly forbade it since the fierceness of the recoil could have sent that heavy handgun lurching up hitting her in the forehead.

  If that man had wanted to allow an eight year old to shoot an UZI on full auto he could have done a number of things. First, restrict the number of cartridges to three so the weapon doesn't fly out of control. Second, put an adult hand over the receiver to keep it from lurching up too high.

  By the way, it was a Micro Uzi. The smaller the weapon is, the more difficult it is to control.

  Villabolo
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  journey-on

  First, restrict the number of cartridges to three so the weapon doesn't fly out of control. Second, put an adult hand over the receiver to

  keep it from lurching up too high.

  Good advice, villa. I'm sure he will relive the "should'a could'as" till the day he dies. So so sad.