Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 427
if they do not restrain a child known to have dangerous tendencies,
the parent may be liable.
Another potential situation where a parent may be held civilly liable
arises with the negligent storage of a firearm in violation of Texas
Penal Code Section 46.13. Under this code section, a parent can be
held criminally liable if a child gains access to a readily dischargeable
firearm, but can the parent be held civilly liable? There is no
published authority on the issue of per se liability as of this writing.
However, one appellate judge in a dissenting opinion (dissenting
opinions are not binding on other courts) has suggested that a claim
for negligence per se might exist for violations of Section 46.13.
See Perez v. Lopez, 74 S.W.3d 60 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2002)
(dissenting opinion). Negligence per se means that liability is
automatically established due to the violation of the statute, while
damages and proximate cause must still be proven. Regardless, all
gun owners should exercise great care to avoid unintended access
to guns by minors.
EXAMPLE:
Johnny’s 17-year-old son Connor has been hunting since he was
11 and has taken several firearms training courses.
If Johnny takes Connor hunting and for some reason Connor
accidentally discharges his shotgun, injuring another person, it is
highly unlikely that Johnny, the parent, will be civilly liable for an
accident that occurs while hunting.
EXAMPLE:
Johnny’s 12-year-old son Curtis has never handled a gun or taken
a firearms training course. Johnny decides to take him to the range
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