Milwaukee Alderman: Increase Penalties For Careless Gun Storage Near Children

A Milwaukee alderman is calling for increased penalties for people who leave loaded guns unattended where children can find them.

Alderman Robert Puente says under current law it’s a misdemeanor to leave a loaded gun unsecured where children have access to it. He’d like to make it a felony. The proposal comes in the wake of two recent Milwaukee incidents. In March, a 4-year-old boy shot himself while playing with a gun his mother had left under the bed, and on Saturday a 3-year-old left alone in a car found his mother’s gun and accidentally shot himself. Both children survived, with serious injuries.

Madison state Rep. and gun control advocate Terese Berceau (D) says the law change is unlikely to win support.

“Even something as simple, however, as a bill that would give a tax credit for buying a gun safe was not considered and won’t be considered by this Legislature as it stands right now,” Berceau said.

If new laws won’t help prevent accidents with loaded guns, technology might. Dr. Stephen Hargarten heads the Injury Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He sees promise in a new German-made smart gun that will only fire when the owner is wearing a watch that electronically disables a trigger lock. Hargarten says if the new gun becomes popular, it could prove as effective as child safe caps on pill bottles.

“We’ve seen a remarkable decrease in aspirin overdoses and Tylenol overdose with children because it’s in a container that is not amenable to a curious three-year-old,” Hargarten said. “So I think it’s an important public health approach.”

Hargarten says even such new technology will have limited effects, however, if gun owners don’t do a good job of teaching their children not to play with guns.