Toddler Killed After Playing With Pink Handgun


Once more, gun control finds itself front and center: Friday, a 3-year-old South Carolina boy, Tmorej Smith, was shot in the head and killed after mistaking a pink handgun for a toy. He and his seven-year-old sister had been playing with the gun in a bedroom when it went off. The children’s grandparents were in the living room and their parents were not home when it happened.

The shooting was ruled an accidental homicide by Deputy Coroner Jeff Fowler. At this time, police have not revealed whether it was the boy or his sister who fired the weapon. This is just one more strike against personal gun ownership and the current laws that surround it. Following the Sandy Hook shooting, many have spoken out for tougher gun control laws, which could include required background checks, training, or other components.

“If you have guns, if you own guns mostly we would prefer you have them in a lock box,” said Jonathan Bragg, the Greenville Police Media Relations Officer. “At least have them out of the reach of children.”

Certainly that’s part of the issue here, but the recent pink handgun and Hello Kitty assault rifles trend begs another question: Is it okay for guns to look “cute” and like toys? Several years ago, laws were passed stating that all fake guns must have an orange tip on the end so that they could easily be identified as such. Shouldn’t that law go the other way around? No matter the color or the design, a gun is still a gun—it’s a deadly weapon.

This certainly isn’t the first controversy to arise surrounding pink guns. In 2011, Arizona State Senator Lori Klein (R) pointed her pink handgun at a reporter, exclaiming, “Oh, it’s so cute,” while aiming the laser pointer at the reporter’s chest. She also commented that the gun didn’t have a trigger safety, but added later, “I just didn’t have my hand on the trigger.”

Whether or not gun laws change, the treatment and view of guns as something cute and toy-like is upsetting and dangerous. If we don’t stop to consider the consequences of our actions, our children will reap the consequences.

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