Reply #52: and you're pretending

[iverglas]

that we're not actually talking about a specific case here.

My "shoebox on a closet shelf" may not be a strictly accurate representation of how the firearm in question in this specific case was stored, but then it wasn't meant to be. It is a proxy for what was clearly stated by the authorities, as quoted in the opening post:

The gun did not have a trigger lock, but it was not stored haphazardly or recklessly, authorities said. It was not locked away, but also "wasn't left out in an area where anyone would normally see it," Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said.

Do we have ANY reason to think that the firearm IN THIS CASE was disassembled? Packed in grease? Stored away from ammunition, which ammunition itself was stored somewhat more securely than the firearm was?

About that closet shelf: Is it reachable from the floor by a person of normal stature? Is it above or below eye level? Would someone need a stool or ladder to see and/or reach an object on the shelf? What else is stored on the shelf? Is the box behind things, or is in plain sight?

Is there a closet shelf known to man or woman that yer average 14-year-old boy would not
(a) expect to find if he opened a closet door?
(b) be able to reach probably without any height aide, but be able to reach handily by grabbing a chair that he would easily find in a nearby room?
(c) look on, if he were on the prowl for something interesting, or specifically looking for firearms?

Has the fact that something is behind something else ever been sufficient to qualify it as securely stored?

If you wanted to be reasonably sure that a burglar did not find your $40,000 Rolex, would you put it in a box behind some pillow cases on your closet shelf?

Interesting question, eh? If somebody wants to make sure that something is not readily findable by an unauthorized third party in his/her own interests, e.g. to avoid a large property loss, s/he is usually going to go to some effort to secure it. Where do we imagine that the piece of right-wing shit who owned this particular firearm stored his cash and valuables? In a shoebox on a closet shelf ... or in his bedside table, or under the mattress, or in the fridge, or in his desk drawer? I kinda doubt it.


So once again, now:

We don't have enough information in the case under discussion to make a determination that the gun owner did nothing to secure the weapon.

-- did you really not read what was reproduced in the opening post?

Or are you just using a different dictionary from the one I'm thinking of when you type the word "secure"?