Three accidental shootings of Texas children prompt gun safety calls

By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The shooting deaths of three youngsters after unattended guns ended up in the hands of children in the Houston area in the past five days have prompted calls by some in Texas to re-examine gun safety in homes. But few political analysts believe any laws will be changed because of the shootings, with the Republican-dominated Legislature looking instead at measures to make it easier to carry more guns in more places. The incidents included a 3-year-old who fatally shot himself after finding a gun in his home last Friday, a 4-year-old who died under similar circumstances on Sunday and a 6-year-old who was shot on Monday by his brother while playing, police said. No charges have been filed, police said on Tuesday. "A lot of families think that those kids don’t know where their guns are hidden, but they do. Kids find things and they are curious," said Angela Turner, a spokeswoman for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. More than 100 children are killed every year in the United States in unintentional shootings, with about two-thirds of the shootings taking place in the home or a vehicle belonging to the victim's family, according to a study published last year by Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. "These are innocents. These are little kids that are dying 100 percent-avoidable deaths," Turner said. On Monday, the sheriff of Harris County, which contains Houston, called on gun owners to store guns in a locked safe or vault, out of the reach of children. Sheriff Adrian Garcia also pledged to give away gun locks and preach gun safety at every public meeting, the Houston Chronicle reported. "I don't want another family to even have to fathom going through this terrible experience," it quoted him as saying. But effecting change will be unlikely in Texas or any other socially conservative state where protecting guns rights is seen as essential for securing office, analysts said. There have been no laws introduced in the Legislature to regulate gun safety since the shootings. "That is a losing issue in the Texas Republican primaries," said Mark Jones, chair of the Political Science department at Rice University in Houston. Texas Republican lawmakers are trying to pass a bill to allow the open carrying of handguns in the state. There are also proposals to make it easier to carry guns in places such as college campuses (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Peter Cooney)