Prosecutors alleged that the Crumbley parents willfully disregarded warning signs that their son was in crisis, did not heed concerns of school administrators, bought him a gun days before the shooting and failed to lock it up. Yet, research shows that even parents who think their guns are inaccessible to minors are mistaken. Distributed responsibilityMost parents want their children to be safe, yet many continue to enable household access to loaded guns. In fact, a recent study shows that states often loosened gun laws after mass shootings, especially states with Republican legislatures. This case opens the door for parents to be held legally accountable, and reminds all parents of their responsibilities when it comes to gun safety.

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Persons: Jennifer Tucker, Jennifer Crumbley, Ethan Crumbley, She’ll, Jennifer Tucker Olivia Drake, Shannon Smith, ”, Sig Sauer, James Crumbley, “, it’s, Payton Gendron, Robert Crimo Organizations: Wesleyan University, Wesleyan’s Center, Guns and Society, Brennan Center for Justice, NYU Law School, CNN, Prosecutors, RMA Armament, Buffalo, Buffalo News, Giffords Law Center, “, District of Columbia, American Medical Association, National Rifle Association Locations: Oxford, Michigan, Buffalo , New York, Buffalo, Chicago, Highland Park , Illinois, Illinois, Virginia, American