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Actually, this happened in my town which is located in the People's Republic of New Jersey.
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<p>Ugh. The whole "add 'People's Republic'" thing was cute about a year ago. It's dead. Drop it. </p>
<p>:-/</p>
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In the event that I described above, both boys won the "darwin awards". The 11 year old boy won a darwin award because he committed a crime that he will have to live with the rest of his life. The 12 year old boy who got shot won a darwin award because if you see that your friend doesn't know how to handle a firearm safely, it is in your best interest to leave and if you don't, you will suffer the consequences.
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<p>I'd say the parents win the "I shoulda done a better job of keeping a gun out of my children's hands" award. Most 11-year-olds don't know how to properly handle a gun, let alone check to make sure that it's not loaded. The real crime was a parent not teaching their child to respect a firearm as "always loaded."</p>
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None the less, strict gun control does not prevent crime.
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<p>That, and I really wouldn't put the 11-year-old in the category of having deliberately commited a crime. There is a legal difference between an "accident" and a "crime" in many case.</p>