05-07-2013, 03:21 AM
samintx wrote:
....and the gun law would prevent lack of judgement parents from leaving a gun around?
My question is: How do little kids fire a gun? It takes me two hands to pull the trigger and I don't know how a little kid has the strength to pull a trigger.
That really depends on the weapon and its condition.
Let's take a typical handgun, say the Sig Sauer 226. The 226 can have what is known as double-action, meaning that the hammer (what strikes the firing pin that ignites the propellant in the cartridge and fires the bullet) is down and the pulling of the trigger pulls the hammer back and releases it. This action is much the same way revolvers operate. The double action trigger on a 226 requires roughly 10 lbf to actuate.
The 226 can also be in a cocked condition in which the hammer is pulled back and ready to fire. In this case the required pressure to actuate and fire the gun is significantly less and a child would more easily be able to fire the weapon.
Other weapons, such as the typical 1911 .45 Auto must be actuated from the cocked position and other weapons, such as the Glock series, have an integrated trigger safety that requires 8lbf of pull.
However, without knowing the actual weapon, its condition and potential modifications, it's difficult to tell for sure what the situation was. That said, weapons should never be left "lying around".