A Michigan man whose 2-year-old daughter shot herself in the head with his revolver last week pleaded not guilty after becoming the first person charged under the state’s new law requiring safe storage of guns.

Michael Tolbert, 44, of Flint, was arraigned Monday on nine felony charges including single counts of first-degree child abuse and violation of Michigan’s gun storage law, said John Potbury, Genesee County’s deputy chief assistant prosecuting attorney.

Tolbert’s daughter remained hospitalized Wednesday in critical condition from the Feb. 14 shooting, Potbury said. The youngster shot herself the day after Michigan’s new safe storage gun law took effect.

  • adhdplantdev@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    This isn’t preventing him from getting a firearm this is charging somebody with improper storage of a firearm. Not sure how likely it is the supreme Court will rule against it but it’s different than the laws challenged so far

    • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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      9 months ago

      Doesn’t seem much different than a parent getting charged when their kids find their stash of drugs and consume them or take them to school.

      • asteriskeverything@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        It isn’t. But the freedom to own guns without any sort of restriction is much more loudly, enthusiastically, and financially supported than the freedom to consume drugs in your own home.

        And thus it won’t matter that the key thing is being irresponsible. Being irresponsible with guns and drugs in the home are completely different things in the Modern Republican mind.

        • CaptainProton@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Not to mention both major parties are anti-drug, no matter that conservative originalism would have long ago recognized that the founding fathers were all stoners, but both parties packed the court with their own flavors of authoritarians.

    • jordanlund@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      As a felon, legally, they couldn’t get the gun in the first place but that’s not going to stop a lot of felons.