Current:Home > InvestFamily whose son died in accidental shooting fights to change gun safety laws-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Family whose son died in accidental shooting fights to change gun safety laws
View Date:2024-12-23 20:28:27
Kristin and Mike Song last saw their youngest son, Ethan, alive on Jan. 31, 2018.
That day, while hanging out at a friend's house in Connecticut, Ethan was shot. He was rushed to the hospital, where his parents later learned he died. He was 15.
An investigation found Ethan was accidentally shot while he and his 14-year-old best friend were playing with a gun.
Kristin Song said the day her son died she'd had "probably one of the best conversations I had ever had with Ethan."
"After he had got his braces off, Ethan was thinking about what his future was gonna be like," she told CBS News.
Mike Song said Ethan's death "feels like someone's ripping your, physically ripping your heart out of your body while also shoving you off a cliff."
"And we were probably on the floor for five minutes, just trying to cope with, you know, taking the next breath," he said. "And then it occurs to you that your other children are about to get this body blow that will forever harm them."
The gun Ethan and his friend were playing with belonged to the friend's father. The 14-year-old was charged with manslaughter and sentenced to probation, according to the Songs. But because of state law at the time, the father could not even be found negligent for failing to secure his firearm.
"Ethan meant nothing in the eyes of the law," Kristin Song said. "What the prosecutor said to us is, 'You need to change the law.'"
The Songs helped pass Ethan's Law in 2019 in Connecticut, requiring all firearms to be safely stored in homes occupied by minors under 18.
As of the start of 2024, 26 states had some form of gun-safe storage or child access prevention laws. In 2023, there were at least 377 unintentional shootings by children, resulting in 145 deaths, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Everytown for Gun Violence.
Kristin and Mike Song said they are "100%" confident Ethan's Law will eventually be adopted nationwide.
"I will not stop until it's done," Kristin Song told CBS News.
Jericka DuncanJericka Duncan is a national correspondent based in New York City and the anchor for Sunday's edition of the "CBS Weekend News."
TwitterveryGood! (61)
Related
- South Carolina lab recaptures 5 more escaped monkeys but 13 are still loose
- 1 of 2 Democratic prosecutors removed by DeSantis in Florida wins back old job
- Tesla shares soar 14% as Trump win sets stage for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company
- Why Katharine McPhee, 40, and Husband David Foster, 75, Aren't Mourning Getting Older
- Blake Shelton Announces New Singing Competition Show After Leaving The Voice
- 76ers’ Joel Embiid is suspended by the NBA for three games for shoving a newspaper columnist
- Jury finds Alabama man not guilty of murdering 11-year-old girl in 1988
- How President-Elect Donald Trump's Son Barron, 18, Played a Role in His Campaign
- Summer I Turned Pretty's Gavin Casalegno Marries Girlfriend Cheyanne Casalegno
- 'He gave his life': Chicago police officer fatally shot in line of duty traffic stop ID'd
Ranking
- Conviction and 7-year sentence for Alex Murdaugh’s banker overturned in appeal of juror’s dismissal
- Entourage Alum Adrian Grenier Expecting Baby No. 2 With Wife Jordan Roemmele
- Sherrone Moore's first year is starting to resemble Jim Harbaugh's worst
- DZ Alliance’s AI Journey: Shaping the Future of Investment Technology
- Mechanic dies after being 'trapped' under Amazon delivery van at Florida-based center
- AP PHOTOS: The world watches as US election results trickle in
- Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson East Reveals What Led to 8-Year Rift With Nastia Liukin
- Daniel Craig Has Surprising Response to Who Should Be the Next James Bond
Recommendation
-
Gerry Faust, former Notre Dame football coach, dies at 89
-
AP VoteCast: Voter anxiety over the economy and a desire for change returns Trump to the White House
-
Jennifer Lopez Details Holiday Plans Amid Divorce From Ben Affleck
-
AP Race Call: Republican Nancy Mace wins reelection to U.S. House in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District
-
John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
-
Stewart wins election as Alabama chief justice
-
Michael J. Fox Shares Rare Photo of His and Tracy Pollan’s 23-Year-Old Daughter Esmé
-
Republican Hal Rogers wins reelection to Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District