Gun Control Reform Activism

real criminal penalties for failing to secure the gun when kids are in the vicinity. But LEOs always just handwave these incidents away as nothing but tragic accidents rather than criminal negligence

Unless the uncle who owned the handgun has a record or had the gun illegally, he would have been, by current definition, a "responsible" gun owner--right up until the moment when his nephew's death magically transformed him into an irresponsible gun owner.

And even if the uncle does have a record or owned the gun illegally, a lot of these kinds of incidents do occur with the guns belonging to the kind of gun owner who is supposedly responsible, right up until his irresponsibilty causes the accidental death of an innocent.

Maybe the risk of criminal penalties would help careless, forgetful gun owners remember that they need to secure their weapons away from children.