Father and Gun

“Georgia officials charged the father of the suspected Apalachee High gunman with two counts of second-degree murder Thursday — the most severe charges ever filed against the parent of an alleged school shooter. The arrest came less than 36 hours after two students and a pair of teachers were gunned down with an AR-15-style rifle that, investigators allege, the man allowed his 14-year-old son to posses.” WaPo (Gift Article): In historic case, father of 14-year-old school shooting suspect charged with murder. This follows a very new prosecutorial trend of holding parents accountable in these cases. That might make sense, especially in cases like this one where a parent gives a kid an AR-15 as a gift after being aware of the kid’s mental issues and school shooting fantasies. But does holding parents accountable go high enough up the chain? What about gunmakers who lobby for fewer regulations? What about lawmakers who are willing to trade children’s lives for a few bucks and votes? In making a point about the now-arrested father, it seems to me that the shooter’s grandfather makes a point about the broader problem. “If he didn’t have a damn gun, he wouldn’t have gone and killed anybody.”

+ MoJo: A New Reckoning for Parents of School Shooters.

+ JD Vance on the latest school shooting: “I don’t like that this is a fact of life.” (It’s not a fact of life, it’s a policy decision.)