Boy, 9, is Too Young for Shotgun, Rules Wash. Judge
A judge in eastern Washington state has sided with the divorcing mother of a 9-year-old boy who is contending in court that he is too young to be given access to a shotgun by his father.
Although he had earlier given his son access to the gun without incident, Sean Fawcett of Spokane must now wait until the boy is 12 and has completed a safety course, ruled Superior Court Judge Sam Cozza last week.
Attorney Dennis Cronin, who represents the father, says it hasn’t yet been decided whether to appeal Cozza’s decision, reports the Spokesman-Review.
“You don’t see people coming in saying (the) child can’t go swimming in the lake at 9 because he might drown,” said Cronin in a transcript of a court hearing on the issue last month. “Essentially what they are saying, with no facts, (is) ‘restrain him from letting his father teach him to be around and supervise his use of a firearm because he might get hurt.’ Show me the facts beyond speculation and this opinion of fear.”
The 9-year-old’s mother, Laura Visvydas, argued that it is too dangerous for a 9-year-old to have a gun.
There is no minimum age, under Washington state law, for hunting with a shotgun or having access to firearms, the newspaper reports.
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