Can North Carolina parents be charged for their kids’ gun crimes?
More kids in Charlotte than ever before are getting their hands on guns.
A record number of guns were recovered from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools campuses during the 2021-22 school year, The Charlotte Observer reported. The number of guns found during the first half of the school year was higher — 23 — than the second half of the year — seven.
The 23 weapons broke the CMS record dating back to 2007 for guns found on campus in a single school year.
This year, 482 children under age 18 in Charlotte have been victims of gun violence, and 118 juveniles have been suspects in gun-related crimes, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
“We need active parents,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Maj. Brian Foley said during a news conference Thursday. “CMPD needs the support, the participation and the partnership of active parents, to negate this youth violence.”
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But data show the trend of kids possessing firearms isn’t just happening in Charlotte.
In 2022, there have been at least 126 unintentional shootings by children in the U.S., including six in North Carolina, resulting in 55 deaths and 78 injuries, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates against gun violence. And most victims of unintentional shootings are boys who are shot by a friend or relative, according to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
In these cases, gun violence prevention advocates call for harsher punishments for parents who do not secure their firearms, allowing their children to access the weapons.
Can NC parents be charged if a child takes their gun?
State law says anyone who lives with a minor and stores a firearm in a place where they could gain access to it without the guardian’s permission can be charged with a class 3 misdemeanor if the minor:
Displays the firearm in a public place in a careless, angry or threatening manner
Causes personal injury or death to someone not in self defense
Uses it to commit a crime
A class 3 misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 days in jail and a fine of $200, according to state law.
Would courts convict a parent?
Charges from child abuse to involuntary manslaughter have been filed against parents after children too young to be prosecuted accidentally shoot themselves or other children, The New York Times reported.
However, a small portion of adults have been prosecuted when their children commit gun-related offenses.
An analysis of 145 school shootings between 1999 and 2018 by The Washington Post said children used guns taken from their own homes or the homes of someone they knew 84 times. Of those cases, only four adult owners were ever convicted of a crime.
If a child in North Carolina committed a shooting with a firearm owned by a parent or relative, it would be difficult to convict them of a murder or involuntary manslaughter charge unless they knew the crime was going to happen, said Jeff Welty, a law professor at the UNC School of Government.
“Obviously if a parent knew that their child was planning a shooting and chose to provide the child with the gun, all sorts of homicide charges would be on the table,” Welty wrote in an email to the Observer. “But if the parent was unaware of the child’s intention, and simply failed to secure a firearm that the child later used in a shooting, I think even an involuntary manslaughter charge would be an uphill battle.”
If a parent’s action is considered a “proximate cause,” or the cause of the crime that occurred, then they could be prosecuted in court, Welty says.
“In a case like this, I would expect a parent or defendant to argue that the child’s decision to shoot someone was an intervening criminal act,” Welty wrote. “Maybe there are theories or arguments that could get around that in a particular case, but it would be difficult and certainly would be challenged on appeal.”
The push for gun safety awareness
In March 2021, the N.C. House introduced a bill called the Firearm Safe Storage Awareness Initiative, which aimed to launch a two-year statewide firearm safe storage awareness initiative to educate the public on the issue and distribute gun locks to people who own firearms. The bill passed the House and stalled in the Senate.
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If approved, the bill would fund the creation of a website with information on how to store guns away from children and youth and link to web pages with other firearm safety resources such as hunter education and suicide prevention.
Becky Ceartas, executive director for North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing gun deaths and injuries in the state, says this is the first step in making sure children can’t get their hands on unsecured guns.
“We’re facing a real crisis with this, and something needs to be done,” Ceartas said. “We will continue to advocate for this important, common sense bill.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
