Kentucky lawmakers will consider a bill in the new year that would hold parents accountable for crimes involving the discharge of a firearm.
State Rep. Kim Banta (R-Erlanger) modeled her bill after similar laws that hold parents responsible for property crimes and motor vehicle accidents.
In the Bluegrass State, parents can be held liable for up to $2,500 if their child makes a mess, and parents who sign a minor’s driver’s license application can be held liable if their child is found to have been negligent or damaged. shall be “jointly and severally liable.”
“Most importantly, I am in no way trying to stop gun sales or enact gun control,” Banta said in an interview on FOX News Digital on Friday.
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A sign on US-460 departing from Virginia greets drivers near Mousecard, Kentucky in 2017 (Charles Crates)
“I just want parents to understand that whether it’s driving or anything else their kids do, they need to know what they’re doing and be careful. is.”
Similar to the language of the Motor Vehicle Accident Act, Banta’s bill would include the “negligent or willful misconduct” of a minor as civil damages resulting from injury to another person caused by a person with a gun. It is imposed on parents/guardians.
According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, factors that determine parental responsibility include whether the elderly person allowed their child to have a gun, whether they were aware of past gun violations, and whether the minor had a tendency toward violence. This includes things like whether you believe there is.
Banta said Friday that several 15-year-old boys recently got into an argument over drugs in Kentucky, and one of the boys went home, pulled out a gun, returned and shot and killed the other two teens. He said that there was an incident.
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Police gather at shooting scene in Brooklyn, New York (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
“A 15-year-old doesn’t have the mental capacity to make decisions on the fly like an adult. They don’t have the ability to get angry or make judgments in everyday life. So owning a gun unsupervised is an adult. It’s a little different than owning a gun,” she said. Said.
But foster parents are exempt from the law, according to Murray State University’s NPR affiliate.
The bill is expected to be introduced in January, and Banta said if it advances to a committee vote, it will likely advance to a vote on the full chamber and then to Gov. Andrew Beshear’s desk. Ta.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Beshear for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
Both Frankfort councils have Republican majorities, but Beshear is a Democrat.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduate of Temple University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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