Legal Review & Comment: Aftermath of tragedy- more views on parents’ accountability for acts of their children
In the wake of the recent tragedy in Connecticut, many have been searching for answers and seeking to identify the cause of this senseless massacre. Others have used the mass killing of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School as a sign for action.
Some groups and organizations, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have called for stronger gun control laws. At the other end of the spectrum, Missouri, for example, has introduced a law that would allow teachers to carry concealed weapons in school. In Utah, an 11-year old sixth grader was detained and charged with bringing an unloaded .22 caliber handgun to school in order to “protect his friends and family from a Connecticut-style shooting.”
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle has also been searching for answers and cures. We have been asking legal authorities to comment on a related issue that seems to elude many pundits: How can the critical role of parents not be examined and held accountable?
We are wondering if prevention should not only start at home, but maybe it should be compelled, legally, to start at home. Can we, or rather should we put the fear of punishment into parents so it will be passed along to the children? As we struggle with the laws to increase limitations on weapons — and watch the capricious reversals that indicate the power of big lobbyists budgets — maybe more consensus could come around the idea of greater parental accountability?
Here are some comments by Richard Allan, a Brooklyn attorney and former associate producer at CBS:
“The question of parental responsibility is a controversial one. And it is controversial for a number of reasons. The first is that when something this tragic happens, we, as a people want to ask, “‘Who can we blame?” Collective blame, that is what we seek. But there is not just one thing that went wrong here.”
“When you start looking at criminal sanctions against parents, you have to show some form of intent — an intent to disregard. This scheme can become dangerous. When you have a 12-year-old or 13-year-old child that is a bit odd or a bit quiet, can you say that the parent is clearly disregarding the child’s well being and therefore if the child commits a crime the parent is guilty?”