(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Gun insanity in the USA: 10-year-old boy hit with murder charge for shooting another 10-year-old boy [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-01-01 The pointless death of Keith ‘KJ’ Frierson (10) On the afternoon of December 30, in Sacramento, CA, Arkete Davis, 53, sent his 10-year-old son to his car to retrieve a pack of cigarettes. The boy found his father’s gun. He took it. And he showed it to another 10-year-old boy, Keith ‘KJ’ Frierson — while bragging that his father had a gun. In doing so, he shot KJ in the head . EMTs treated the grievously injured boy. It was to no avail. KJ later died in the hospital. Sheriff’s deputies arrested Davis and his son. They remanded the 10-year-old suspected shooter to the Sacramento County Youth Detention Facility, where officials charged him with murder. (Note: while what the boy did is unequivocally wrong, and the consequences should be meaningful, I have no idea how his juvenile irresponsibility warrants a murder charge.) The boy’s father, who had thrown the gun away, was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on several gun-related charges, as well as child endangerment and for being an accessory after the fact. The gun lobby will dismiss gun laws The gun had been reported stolen in 2017. Gun apologists will find solace in the fact that Davis is a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history of theft, fraud, and felony drug charges dating back to 2011, with offenses in California and Texas. They will deflect accusations that America’s promiscuous gun laws had something to do with KJ’s death by pointing out that the law forbade Davis from owning a gun. And argue this proves that legislation does nothing to reduce gun fatalities. On one level, we can dismiss that nonsense by asking if these anti-gun legislation activists would support repealing laws against drunk driving because drunk drivers still kill over 13,000 Americans every year. Further, would they lobby to get rid of laws requiring driving tests, driving licenses, and driver’s insurance because some people drive drunk? The gun marketers’ fatal fantasy On another level, we can blame the Marlboro Man approach to gun ownership. This mythologizing of a tool is a cynical marketing strategy that sells the image of the gun owner as a self-sufficient Rambo, instead of educating the public that weapon possession should come with a significant burden of responsibility and care. The NRA, other gun rights organizations, and conservative politicians consume ink and oxygen extolling the ‘rights’ granted by the Second Amendment. But any demand that Americans own guns responsibly is buried deep in the fine print. The shooting of a landscaper This pro-profit, pro-vote, pro-death madness leads to reckless gun ownership. Take the case of Claudio Arrendell, 52. This legal gun owner is the proprietor of P&P Auto Tire Shop in Gladeview, FL. Officials have charged him with one count of attempted premeditated first-degree murder after he shot a landscaper. The landscaper’s offense was blowing leaves onto Arrendell’s property while tending to a business across the road. An argument ensued. It culminated with Arrendell shooting twice and hitting the victim at least once in the leg. The landscaper is still alive. You have to wonder if Arrendell still thinks his decision to own a gun was such a good idea. He thought it would protect the cash register. It ended up opening a jail cell. Although, this being “stand your ground” Florida, pro-gun groups may furnish some high-priced shyster to give Arrendell the George Zimmerman defense . And he may soon be walking the streets again. Was this dispute resolution by firearm the original intent of the Founders? Did they anticipate and accept that gun violence zealots would use the Second Amendment as justification for gun insanity? When writing 2A, were they thinking that one day it would be used as a “what are you going to do” defense of the c.19,000 gun homicides each year? I doubt it. America’s exceptional gun violence In the developed world, citizens gunned down during petty arguments is exclusively an American pastime. It must be what the mindless patriots mean when they talk about the US being an “exceptional” country. And even in countries with higher murder rates — such as Mexico — gunplay is mainly a feature of drug trafficking. One Mexican murdering another, because someone was inconsiderate or showing off a gun, is relatively rare. Regular citizens have little opportunity to buy guns — there is only one legal gun store in the entire country. Prospective customers must undergo months of background checks even to enter its location on a military base. And the most powerful weapon they can buy is a .38 caliber sidearm. The people who supply the drugs that kill so many Americans can only do so because they are armed with all manner of high-powered weaponry sold legally in American gun stores and smuggled into Mexico. This fatal gun trafficking means the Second Amendment also contributes to the 100,000+ annual drug overdose deaths in the US. And for that, we can thank law-and-order Republicans. 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