Girl's Death Linked to Realistic Gun-Shaped Wii Controller

[Inmate13]

Excuse me for being a heartless basterd, but how do these stories keep ending in "and shot herself" instead of "fired it once into the wall and realized that they'd made a horrible mistake." I don't know about you, but the average home probably isn't blessed with an abundance of surfaces off of which a bullet could ricochet. To me this seems as if the first instinct of these people is to try and be clever (or act out a scene from Persona 3) by putting the damn gun to their head. I ask you, when was the last time you did that with a toy gun ever? Precisely

This is the same knee-jerk reaction we see from politicians after a school shooting that somone blames on Modern Warfare 2 or the newest FPS flavor of the month.

Oh please, they blame those shootings on violent song lyrics written by the evil rappers and you know it... or to paraphrase Chris Rock: "White kid kills a bunch of his schoolmates with a gun, they deal with him, nobody worries... Black man says gun: CONGRESSIONAL HEARING"

I swear to God, sometimes I feel like these problems just wouldn't exist if you just sat down every white middle-class yuppie in this country and explained to them exactly what guns are and exactly what they aren't

 

[Robert0288]

Guns are tools nothing more, nothing less. Guns are fundamentally safe, infact safer than knives. You can accidently cut yourself with a knife and a knife is always 'loaded'. You can't accidently shoot yourself in the face IF you follow common sense and firearms laws and you can render a gun safe.

When I go shooting, I enjoy going out with my friends and the friendly competition, and it is perfectly safe. Yes I can stay at home and play HALO, MW2, or some sort of game at an arcade, but that is point click and twitch reflexes. Actual shooting is much harder, you have to control heart beat, breathing, arm movement and there are many elements to it, which makes it a sport and not a game. Unfortunatly a point that seems to go over your head.

Lets ban cars, it stops idiots from legally purchasing it... Therefore we wont have any more drunk driving deaths, its Brilliant! Sorry to burst your bubble but blanket bans never work, and there are numerous historical examples.

Your right a real criminal will acquire or use weapons legally or otherwise to committ a crime, which proves that bans don't work

Legalizing weed, would in effect stop illegal drug trafficking... because it wouldn't be illigal. But that is not the point of this arguement and your derailment is made of fail.

I'm not an american, but suspending rights and freedoms, is typically frowned upon and is usually the responce of totalitarian governments, rather than democracies.

 

[Kojiro ftt]

It's amazing how many people don't lock up their guns. Despite all the thefts and accidental deaths with children, they still leave guns lying around.

 

[The Austin]

Spoiler

I still don't buy it.

I think that maybe, just maybe, this whole "Wii gun" thing is just a mask to hide what really happened. What if the parents purposely left the gun out, because they knew that the little girl would think it looked like the Wii toy? It could be like a Kaylee Anthony thing, where the parents just got sick of the kid.

I don't know...... Ever since I did my Freshman thesis on the JFK assassination conspiracy, I have been extremely paranoid about everything. So I am probably just over-thinking it.

[sub] No, this was not meant as some sick joke, I am just really paranoid about everything. [/sub]

Perhaps, but there was just as much of a chance (if not much, much more) of her shooting the tv or one of her family members.

The only fact that seems off to me is the fact that she shot herself with it. As a kid I never pretended to shoot myself with toy guns...

Yea, I just think its a bit strange that the girl would point the gun at her head, and I also think that it is strange that the girl had the strength to pull the trigger. The first time I fired a gun, I was 15, and I could barely pull the damn thing.

I still don't buy it.

Spoiler

I think that maybe, just maybe, this whole "Wii gun" thing is just a mask to hide what really happened. What if the parents purposely left the gun out, because they knew that the little girl would think it looked like the Wii toy? It could be like a Kaylee Anthony thing, where the parents just got sick of the kid.

I don't know...... Ever since I did my Freshman thesis on the JFK assassination conspiracy, I have been extremely paranoid about everything. So I am probably just over-thinking it.

[sub] No, this was not meant as some sick joke, I am just really paranoid about everything. [/sub]

As much as I would be open minded to any theory I respectfully disagree. I think the guy was just stupid. Any guy with sense would not have a gun out when a family member was in the home and just leave it around. I think that it could be quite possible that they shot her by accident considering the logistics involved with a girl shooting herself with the first bullet. I would bet the police have already examined these and when you think about the stupid risks people take with their kids this makes sense. It's a terrible shame and a senseless waste.

I totally agree with you. I know my paranoia is ill-placed, I just kinda sketch out sometimes.

 

[Wolfram23]

I see nothing wrong with "realistic" peripherals however all things considered it's probably best that if they are very realistic (like this one) to have them rated M so no minors (like a young girl) can play with them. It's just begging for trouble as in a young mind they probably don't know the difference too well. I think something more like the old Zapper is more apropriate for children, but for myself I wouldn't mind playing Dead Space: Extraction or RE: Umbrella Corp with that aweseme looking piston.

As to having a real gun laying about... Well, here in Canada that's almost never gonna happen. But since the states have their whole right to bare bear arms, I would hope at least people have to smarts to a) remove the friggin ammo and b) put the safety on. Here in Canada you also need gun locks over the trigger. I think these parents should be charged with negligence causing death - tho I'm sure they're in a bad state since their daughter just shot herself.

 

[DiD_NDSthemes]

Another proof if the famous words: "Guns don't kill, but people with guns do."

When do people learn not to be careless with guns. With them around the house accidents are bound to happen. So leave them out of your house, especially with children around.

 

[Artina89]

I said it once, i'll say it again, the parents should still be charged for negligence. I don't care how realistic the wii mote gun looks like (even though that thing should be banned), you shouldn't leave a loaded gun in the reach of a child. Stupidity is not an excuse.

 

[Robert0288]

I said it once, i'll say it again, the parents should still be charged for negligence. I don't care how realistic the wii mote gun looks like (even though that thing should be banned), you shouldn't leave a loaded gun in the reach of a child. Stupidity is not an excuse.

I completly agree, they should be charged. Through their own fault they caused the tragic death of their own daughter. Although this is a tragic event, they are responsible and as such should be charged.

 

[Lim3]

Its America's fault for giving the public easy access to firearms.

I'm an American and a gun enthusiast, and I partially agree with this statement. What training was this shithead gun owner given before being allowed to purchase the weapon? Tennessee's gun laws do not require any form of training, or a permit, before purchasing a handgun- only a background check. While I'm fairly freedom-oriented when it comes to firearm ownership, this does not at all sit well with me.

Were it up to me, every prospective gun owner, before being given their first weapon, would undergo education and testing to ensure that they know how to handle a firearm responsibly. And for shock value, that person would have to watch a training video showing an autopsy photograph of a child who died like this young girl did. If that doesn't drive home the absolute importance of firearm safety, whether or not the person has a child themselves, then I quite honestly wouldn't trust the person to own one.

I don't believe in the whole "it takes a village to raise a child" line, but this sort of thing MUST be prevented at the base level. With power comes responsibility, and with the power to freely own a firearm comes the responsibility to treat that firearm like the always-potentially-deadly object that it is. Treat a loaded handgun that is not in your hand like it is an angry beast that wants to kill everyone you care about and is just waiting for that moment you turn your back to do so.

Alright so i got a lot of hate quotes from my statement. Notice i said EASY ACCESS. In most other developed countries civilans have to jump through a lot of hoops and do mental evaluations before being given a gun license, as well as go through education program.

Now most of my knowledge of American gun policies comes from watching movies, but there is just a back ground check and a waiting period isnt there? By giving tests, loads of paper work and asking the purpose of keeping a firearm mentally deficient people like these parents wouldn't have a gun in a first place.

By giving easy access to guns (compared to other developed countries) of course America is going to have a high death count from guns, and of course STUPID people are going to leave guns around for children to shoot themselves.

 

[JWAN]

That little switch can make a shit ton of difference especially if a kid gets a hold of it.

Not really, the safety on most rifles are as easy to click to on as it is to work a twisty top pen. It is important to understand, that guns are intended to be handled by people who know how to use a gun safely, like for instance, people who know enough not to point it at themselves.

The best way to keep a child from hurting themselves is to not leave loaded, ready to fire guns around to begin with, regardless of the presence of a safety, and to monitor and educate children as to what to do with guns. Keeping a realistic looking toy around for the purposes of gaming may be funny and cool for a teenager, but it is not a good educational object to have with children who are then programed to lack respect for dangerous items in the future.

Yea i know there supposed to be used for people who know how to use them, Im saying the safety is always good to have on and if your not intending on using it you should make an attempt to use the nifty locking feature that's built into most gun safeties.

 

[Canid117]

Its America's fault for giving the public easy access to firearms.

No it is the stepfathers fault for not being responsible.

 

[Aura Guardian]

Have to admit that I haven't read all the comments, but i'm curious how many people here had a toy gun as a kid.
My place when I was growing up had half a dozen plastic weapons around, all of which were more realistic then any peripheral that I've managed to find.
The Wiiauto gun in this case is pretty close, but still the problem is with the parents and nothing to do with a computer system at all.

I owned one. It was an orange cap gun.

 

[Yuxiema]

Okay, so the father left the gun just sitting out, safety off, and the mother doesn't notice a gun, apparently just sitting there, out in the open when she walks in the room?

Nobody's perfect, but that's flat-out irresponsible and careless.

 

[Canid117]

So... who approved the production of a Wii peripheral that actually looks like a gun? And who the hell would be dumb enough to buy one?

 

[Robert0288]

The chinese, and I would buy one and so would many other people, they look pretty awsome for a light gun tbh.

 

[CloggedDonkey]

well, there goes my "mother shot daughter and blamed it on dem vedia games" theory, now I just am thinking about what the girl could have been, but that one gun took away.

 

[HuntrRose]

A weapon shall always be stored with the slide/firing mechanism removed from the weapon proper, and also stored in a different place.

A weapon shall always be stored without any amunition in it.

A weapon shall always be stored securely, out of the reach of others. In a safe, bank box or other place where unauthorized people can't reach it, children or adults alike.

If these rules were followed, alot of accidents, rage shootings and other unfortunate and devastating events would not occur.

Add that all gun owners must be of sound and stable mind (read no loonies) and not have a violent criminal record (preferrably with an expiration date. People can change), and we would all live in a much safer world.

just ban them..

even safer world then.

Woah, don't be screwing with my hobby. Maybe we should ban hot coffee, as neglegent parents have often left drinks lying un-attended giving 3rd degree burns to children who knock stuff over.

Banning serves no purpose, what is needed is enforcement of current laws, and awareness of them and just general fire arms safety knowledge. This is the same knee-jerk reaction we see from politicians after a school shooting that somone blames on Modern Warfare 2 or the newest FPS flavor of the month.

There is a middle ground between the gun wielding maniac laws of the US and a total ban. *points to other countries around the world* Say like scandinavia england or such.

Put simply, to be allowed to purchase a gun, you need to obtain a permit. To obtain a permit for it you need a documented reason for it. That reason can be sport (pistol, rifle) where you also need to be a member of your local pistol and/or rifle club and have completed a basic marksmanship/weapon safety course. To store a weapon at home, you also need a gun cabinet installed. Both the cabinet and the installation of the cabinet needs to be approved by the police before you're allowed to store the weapon at home. Also, you have to store the weapon unloaded and with the firing mechanism removed from the weapon itself, preferably somewhere else in the house. Same goes for ammunition.

Basically, weapons are not needed in todays society, and as such, owning a weapon is not a right, but a privilege you need to earn.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

What a IDIOT! Who leaves a hand gun on an end table? He should be charged with being a fuckwit!

I don't have an issue with what controllers look like, I do have an issue with brain dead idiots who leave loaded guns lying around the house where kids can play with em.

Well said, there. Though if they do have to make a Wii remote shaped like a gun, the least they could do would to put labels on it or something...

 

[experiment0789]

guys, i just had a great idea. you know that console where you point at stuff and it does stuff?
well....
how about if the controller was a replica of a real GUN. HOW COOL WOULD THAT LO-

this is where the dude should've been slapped in the face and sent packing. Terrible idea, gents.

Also, why wasnt the safety on?

It's not just a terrible idea, it's a stupid idea. I?m all for some things to be some-what realistic, but there is a reason why toy guns are made to look different from a real gun (if not just a different color). I'm sure everyone here can distinguish between a real gun and a toy(in this case Wii-remote), but a three year old! I have a couple questions that come to mind.

The article states ?the mother was actually in the room when the incident occurred? and
Austin MacKenzie?s post mentions that the girl was playing in the living room a few feet away from her mother, who was on the computer.
1.Since the mother was so close, why wasn?t she wartching the three years old?


In both the article and Austin MacKenzie?s post it states that ?The night before, her step-father had left the gun on an end-table, safety off?,

2. Didn?t the mom notice the gun shaped object as she entered the room?
I mean your suppose to lock away your Cleaning supplies, but it?s ok to keep a gun looking object out. (The reason I?m referring to the gun as a gun looking object is because of the chance of the mom not knowing what it was)

3. Just like TommyDizzle, I also wonder why the safety wasn?t on. After the step-father found out there was nothing there, why did he not go back and put the safety on. Having out a loaded gun is bad enough, but a loaded gun that is in easy reach of a three year old without the safety on?.sounds like this isn?t just an accident.

4. If the child is old enough to understand that it is a remote for the Wii, then you would think she would understand how it works and, if she shot herself, she was holding it back words.

If it was up to me, they would be at least charged with child endangerment.

 

[Hussmann54]

Bad parenting.... nuff said....