February 8, 2011 | 3:44 PM | By

Childhood Accident Fuels Gray’s Support of Gun Control

FILED UNDER: Government, Guns, Vince Gray

Flickr: Adam Fagen

A Smith & Wesson revolver from the Smithsonian's "National Museum of the American Indian".

Remember that story from our morning roundup about guns, “Since D.C.’s handgun ban ended, well-heeled residents have become well armed”? Well, according to NBCWashington.com, Mayor Vince Gray is quite concerned about that trend:

When D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray was a boy, his father owned a gun, and one day, Gray’s brother found it in their apartment and was cleaning it. After Gray got up to go to the bathroom, he heard a loud shot. His brother had accidentally fired a shot into the sofa right where Gray had been sitting prior to going to the bathroom.

Gray told this story Tuesday at a news conference when asked about a Washington Post report that the bulk of guns registered in D.C. since 2008 were purchased by residents in D.C.’s wealthier neighborhoods, NBC Washington’s Tom Sherwood reported.

Gray remains a strong supporter of gun control laws and said he is troubled by the report. Gray wishes people wouldn’t buy guns and said he doesn’t think they need them in D.C., Sherwood reported.

By the way, if the name “Tom Sherwood” sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the resident political analyst on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show.

About the author

DCentric was created to examine the ways race and class interact in Washington, D.C., a city with a vibrant mix of cultures and neighborhoods. Your guides to the changing district are reporters Anna John and Elahe Izadi. View all posts by Anna →

  • Inertia

    So, in short, Gray was almost the victim of an irresponsible gun owner and his father’s lack of education and lack of training nearly cost him his life.

    I suspect that Gray’s parents probably also drove around with him in a car without a seatbelt at some point.

    Therefore, based on his logic, cars should be banned form the District, since parents can place their children at risk by not educating themselves and their children about the basic laws of inertia.

  • Andrew

    Cars, if used correctly, serve a purpose in the city. Handguns, if used at all, just end up killing people.

  • Inertia

    Handguns, if used at all, deter people from enter homes they don’t belong in to steal things that aren’t theirs.

    It is amazing what the threat of death and maiming does to potential criminals.