On May 22, 2023, tragedy struck in Michigan — two-year-old Kiare McCoy shot and killed himself after finding a loaded gun.
The gun belonged to Markus Nevills Jr., who had placed it between the back of a couch and a cushion. He admitted to being zoned out and high on marijuana at the time. Police arrested Nevills, the mother’s ex-boyfriend.
On May 15, 2024, Cortez Guy, another two-year-old shot and killed himself while under the care of his father. The father, Omar Guy, and his two cousins were smoking pot in the home when the toddler accessed the gun. “According to a search warrant, there was a strong odor of marijuana throughout the house, and investigators determined the three men had been smoking marijuana.” All three were charged on five counts, including involuntary manslaughter, felony gun possession while under the influence and violation of Michigan’s safe storage laws.
While advocates congratulate Michigan for growing a larger marijuana program than California, who is measuring the collateral costs? Is there any such thing as a safe way to legalize pot?
New Gun Laws Went into Effect in February
On February 12, 2024, the new gun storage laws went into effect. The law requires that firearms be locked when it is “reasonably known that a minor is or is likely to be present on the premises.”
After Ethan Crumbley, 15, shot and killed four classmates and wounded seven others at Oxford High School in 2021, the desire to hold parents accountable for underage shootings began. Crumbley admitted to using a gun kept unlocked in his home that had been purchased for him by his father. However, his parents, marijuana smokers who grew pot at home, should have known that Ethan was depressed and could not be trusted with it. James and Jennifer Crumbley, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and individually sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.
Mother in Virginia Shooting Charged
The Crumbley case was similar to a case in Virginia, where a first grader accessed the mother’s gun and shot his teacher. The woman was a marijuana user who lied about her pot use on her gun application. For this reason, the Department of Justice filed charges against her. “Investigators later found nearly an ounce of marijuana in Taylor’s bedroom when they searched her home less than two weeks after the shooting as well as evidence of frequent drug use…”
Like the Crumbleys, the father of the Georgia shooter, Colin Gray, has been charged of involuntary manslaughter. Earlier reports refer to the father as frequently being “high.” The son, Colt Gray, allegedly shot and killed two teachers and two students at Apalachee High School. Read Medical marijuana should not be allowed to own guns.
Toddler lost her eye under father’s care
One week after the new law went into effect in Michigan, a father who allowed three-year-old Skye McBride to access a gun was charged with breaking the law. The toddler, Skye, shot herself in the eye, but survived. After months of hospitalization and treatment, she returned home.
While it’s not clear if Skye’s father used pot, it’s clear that increased access to pot necessitated changing gun laws.
Pot-using parents forget more often than non-drug using parents. They forget to lock up their edibles as well as their loaded guns. An easier solution would be to NEVER legalize pot.
Once a state legalizes pot, law enforcement is less likely to report when a crime scene involves marijuana use.
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