An Idaho nuclear research scientist, Veronica Rutledge, was killed Tuesday in a horrific accident where her 2-year-old son pulled a loaded handgun from her purse and shot her at a Wal-Mart. The gun was in the Christmas gift that Rutledge had received from her husband: a purse with a special pocket for a concealed weapon.
Rutledge, 29, worked at the Idaho National Laboratory and (like her husband) was a gun aficionado.
The loss in Idaho for this family is truly horrific. I do not believe (as some have suggested) that this tragedy is an indictment of gun ownership or even the expansion of concealed weapons permits. In Idaho, more than 85,000 people — 7 percent of the state population — are licensed to carry concealed weapons.
What I do believe that the tragedy shows is the still rudimentary state of firearm technology. We have previously discussed how the introduction of “smart guns” could eventually lead to product liability claims in cases of accidental discharges, particularly involving children. One of the most disturbing aspect of this accident is the ease with which a round can be discharged by a toddler. It is not clear if the safety was on the weapon, though as an experienced gun owner I assume that Rutledge had the safety on. However, it is not difficult for a child to switch of a safety. Many new guns will still not discharge without being held by the owner due to an activating ring or other recognition factor.
As noted earlier, there is a chance that “dumb” guns will be viewed as defective. At one time, seat belts and air bags were viewed as extravagances. Personalized guns, or smart guns, can use RFID chips or other proximity devices as well as fingerprint recognition or magnetic rings. Magnetic ring guns are already available. There are even new designs that would allow biometric sensors in the grip and trigger known as (DGR) Dynamic Grip Recognition, which the New Jersey Institute of Technology says can distinguish an owner with 90% accuracy.
Under the two basic tests for product defects such new designs can change the legal equation. Under the Second Restatement test of 402A, product design is defective is it is more dangerous than the expectations of the ordinary consumer. New technology can shape such expectations as smart guns become more prevalent. Under the Third Restatement, “a product is defective in design when the foreseeable risks of harm posed by the product could have been reduced or avoided by the adoption of a reasonable alternative design … and the omission of the alternative design renders the product not reasonably safe.” This could be claimed as such an alternative design if the costs come down and there is no real alteration in functionality.
While the public safety benefits are obvious, the NRA has generally opposed these guns as having the potential for gun control options in future legislation. In all honesty, it could. While the Supreme Court has recognized that individuals have Second Amendment rights to bear arms, it did not rule out reasonable limitations. Mandatory safety designs would likely pass muster in some cases. Torts and technology have long had a unique relationship in the law. This is one technology that may be coming not only to a store but a courtroom near you.
Rutledge was valedictorian of her high school class and graduated in 2010 from the University of Idaho with a chemistry degree. She published several articles, including one that analyzed a method to absorb toxic waste discharged by burning nuclear fuel.
Source: Washington Post
I am not opposed to gun ownership. I do believe it would be in everyone’s best interest if all persons owning any type of firearm would have to complete a very intensive training course similar to Germany’s. As bad as this sounds, I am sure a busy person can and will probably repeat this scenario. Plus, I have seen many people who like firearms just because of the seductive nature of owning instant lethal power. We are conditioned by mainstream culture–movies and television. Once again, requiring a course would deter some of this “seductive need” and hammer home the personal responsibility that goes along with the ownership.
One matter of paramount importance is to understand that toddler aged children often possess a strong curiosity toward firearms. That, along with their natural tendency to play with unfamiliar objects as part of their learning process has the potential for tragedy.
Anecdotally, it is akin to the old story of a bouncing basket ball going out into the street is soon followed by an oblivious child in pursuit. All drivers should know this. The tenet of a firearm being a child magnet must be accepted by gun owners also.
A New Yorker says, “Guns are for cowards.” We have discussed, there are 2 very different world in this country. The northeast in particular are anti-gun. I grew up there and know that mindset well. That will never change. But, that’s what great about this country. We don’t need uniformity, although some seem to think we do. If those folks ever become the majority, we’re screwed.
She made a horrible mistake in judgment and paid the ultimate price for it. But, her child also pays the price, not having a mom. Thankfully, he’s too young to remember this.
Guns are for cowards.
Pat Richards – “Guns are for cowards”? Really? So you are willing to die an honorable uncowardly unarmed death?
Haz said …
We don’t know what brand and model the gun was so we don’t know whether it had a thumb safety or a grasp safety (gun is always safe until a hand squeezes the grip and the trigger is pulled). There was a round in the chamber; that was a big mistake. I know that it’s good to have a round chambered in case the gun is needed in instant, but still it takes nearly zero time to chamber a round when the gun is needed.
Epistle warning 🙂 You beat me to it. I’d need to know specifically what gun she was carrying and how its “safety” mechanism worked. There are way to many (in my opinion) pistols out there today with passive safeties, both grip and trigger toggle types (in short, NO thought is required to activate a loaded pistol)…and if a round is in the chamber, way to easy to have an accidental discharge (AD) …just ask the DEA agent giving a class on “gun safety” who shot himself in the leg. Early ones, and some newer require only trigger pressure of 5 lbs or so to fire. That is NUTS.
I used to carry a .45 ACP Model 1911 “cocked & locked” in a holster with a thumb snap strap over the hammer. The Model 1911 has two safeties built in to it, one a passive grip safety (you must squeeze the handle to release it) and also a manual thumb activated safety. It still gave me enough concern (because once the safety is off, the trigger requires only 4 lbs or less to fire) that I carried it without a round in the chamber and un-cocked half the time…and my experience with Model 1911’s dates back to 1964 or so.
Today there are v-e-r-y good alternatives, by FNH, Beretta, and Hecker & Koch (most made in the USA) … all of which have manual thumb safeties AND a de-cocking feature that drops the hammer to a blocking bar and requires a hard (8-10 lbs or so) pull on the trigger to fire the first round, just like a double action revolver. Beyond that, in the FNH, Beretta, and the Heckler & Kock models I’ve shot, the manual safety totally disconnects the trigger from the the “sear” mechanism ( that which lets the trigger release the hammer)…e.g., when set on safe it cannot fire, and when safe & de-cocked it cannot fire….no hammer cocked to be released by the trigger). Even if just de-cocked it takes far more grip and finger strength than any two year old would have. That brings us back to how you carry a pistol…holstered and concealed is the best way. In a briefcase or purse it is unsecured by definition…e.g., out of your immediate control some of the time.
A toddler could fire an early Glock or any number of the “striker fired” models (always at half cocked or more) on the market today that have no manual safety or de-cocking mechanism. I insist on both for regular use…and today I carry an FNH Model FNX-45 with safety on and de-cocked. I choose it because it had a better trigger release than the others (less lag and creep, crisp let off) I also own, and occasionally carry, a striker fired single stack 9 mm S&W Shield, with a manual safety that is not easy to release if you don’t know it is there….used mainly when wearing just a un-tucked tee-shirt in the summer. Never-the-less, I am most comfortable with the FNX-45 de-cocked and safety on. The S&W Shield has a decent trigger (if made after August 2013) but lacks the de-cocker…if it had that feature, it’s be my regular carry pistol…much lighter than any of my .45’s.
All that said, for a smallish woman an FNX-45 or the H&K models might be too large to carry comfortably. However, the Beretta PX4 Storm in the compact version, with a manual safety and de-cocker, would fit well in a small person’s hand and is easier to conceal. I had to have custom made holsters made for my .45’s to assure decent concealment and comfort over all (carried lower than the most common, and designed (by me) like the basic Galco “Stinger” models for small pistols and revolvers…the other large caliber commercial models just are too awkward for me, and many designed for speed shooting competition are bulky and noisy to boot. I’m not an advocate of “open carry” because I think it is provocative, and puts you at obvious risk of having it snatched away from the side or behind….it is just hanging out there like a flag….John Wesley Hardin most of us are not. Secure it. No reason to make your carried pistol the focal point to strangers. At present I am seriously looking at the 9 mm Beretta PX4 storm for myself , because of its compactness and the de-cocking feature and the manual safety. It sure would be less heavy and as safe as the FNH or H&K models.
Summary…if the woman was carrying a smallish 9 mm or “380” with a striker fired mechanism and no de-cocker or manual safety, or even a passive grip safety, I could understand how this tragedy happened. All the safety features are necessary to call a pistol “safe.” If and when we know that it will make more sense. Full disclosure: people who handle and carry the striker fired models with only the passive “safety” features make me nervous…I won’t allow them in my house with those pistols….including my police friends. As I’ve said my experience with pistols dates to 1964 … long enough to inform me, YMMV….
No 2 year old has the strength to pull the trigger on any gun, so there was some mishap with getting the gun out of the carrier. Children are curious and the kid got into the carrier and somehow got the gun out or partially out when it fired. This poor kid is going to carry this with him the rest of his life. I feel bad for the entire family.
Darwin award winner. Glad no other person died.
Wait a minute? She is a nuclear scientist?
“Oxa
“I do not believe (as some have suggested) that this tragedy is an indictment of gun ownership or even the expansion of concealed weapons permits.”
Of course it is.”
——————-
Then why aren’t there more stories like this?
“I do not believe (as some have suggested) that this tragedy is an indictment of gun ownership or even the expansion of concealed weapons permits.”
Of course it is.
Maybe this would not have happened if cops had stopped and frisked this woman and her kid. Idaho cops are falling down on the job! Would cops have shot and killed the kid if they encountered the kid holding the gun? Ferhevvinnssake, someone could get hurt. Would the Cops have felt threatened?
How stupid this girl was to have loaded a round in the chamber when she has a two year old kid. I doubt that a two year old could have cocked the gun to load a round. I don’t have any young children, but I do not leave a round in the chamber for safety reasons.
I have to disagree with the effectiveness of these “smart guns”. According to the article:
“There are even new designs that would allow biometric sensors in the grip and trigger known as (DGR) Dynamic Grip Recognition, which the New Jersey Institute of Technology says can distinguish an owner with 90% accuracy.”
Frankly, I would never trust my life to a firearm that would fail to shoot 10% of the time. When I was at work, I expected the guns I used to be able to work 100% of the time. I would never purchase a gun having these mechanisms.
Furthermore, the increased level of complexity of the locking mechanism leads to increasing risk of malfunction. Plus, there are the conditions of weather, temperature change, dust, a worn battery, it goes on and on.
I disagree that this one example is sufficient to mandate a policy change with regard to the public. Politically, it makes for good talking points but practically this is a tragic freak accident that provided little to foresee.
We cannot prevent every possible bad event from happening with all things handled by people.
Same problem when compared to Adam Lanza’s mommy and GE executive daddy.
Open a gateway for Satan the devil to work and he will take the advantage. It’s super natural.
How horrible. I was looking at my three year old grandson’s hands and wondering how a hand that small could fit around the grip of a handgun and still have the finger reach to grasp and pull the trigger. I don’t see how. But it happened. Maybe the owner was very petite and carried a very small handgun.
We don’t know what brand and model the gun was so we don’t know whether it had a thumb safety or a grasp safety (gun is always safe until a hand squeezes the grip and the trigger is pulled). There was a round in the chamber; that was a big mistake. I know that it’s good to have a round chambered in case the gun is needed in instant, but still it takes nearly zero time to chamber a round when the gun is needed.
I think that’s where the owner made one of the two mistakes that ended her life. She had chambered a round. The second mistake was putting her purse where her child could access the gun, probably in the shopping cart. The gun should have been worn in a holster on her hip or on her torso, under a shirt.
Amazing that a two-year-old was able to do this. I mean, two. Wouldn’t the recoil force the child’s arm down and back so the bullet would go high? I’ve never fired a handgun in my life, so I don’t know — I’m just trying to picture how this could have happened.
We’re all smart about some things and ignorant about other things.
We need smart guns to avoid accidents by dumb people. Apparently.
I had never even heard of a “smart gun” before this and I think it’s a fabulous idea! I’m so sorry for this young family 🙁