It is a short note here...prosecutors down in the German state of Baden-Württemberg...have finally decided to put manslaughter charges against the father of a 17-year-old boy who killed 15 people earlier this year.
The father had a gun collection....which was all kept locked and secure (as the law mandates)...except for one pistol...which he kept in the open area of the house. We can only imagine that it was for protection.
The problem here...is that the law is very clear...ALL weapons are supposed to be locked and secured. As you take the class on weapons...it's spelled out very clearly. No one else in the house is supposed to have access to your weapons...not even your wife...unless they go through the same course.
If the cops ever suspect you are being stupid on gun control...they merely show up and ask to see all of your registered weapons. You will take the key from your pocket (you must have full control of that key)...and take them to the gun cabinet. All of your weapons must be inside of the cabinet...no exception.
The general feeling is that this charge is a pretty drastic episode to take...considering the guy's own son...the shooter...is dead. Punishment, if convicted...probably around two or three years in prison. Remember this is Germany, where murder barely gets you twenty years.
I paused over this argument here. I feel sorry for the guy and certainly hate to see him punished in this fashion. But the problem is...he contributed to the entire act by failing to control his gun collection. The kid only needed one weapon...and that was the one kept out in the open.
So I'm guessing the court case will proceed....the guy will be declared guilty...and my best guess is that he barely gets twelve months in jail. The relatives of those killed will be furious...but this is the German way of punishing folks. In the end....it may not have really mattered. A year or two in the future, had none of this occurred in 2009....his son would have taken the same gun control course....acquired his own weapons....and done the same act anyway.
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