Putting parents on trial for their child’s criminal behavior appears to be a new trend.

For many Americans dialed into the Georgia school shooting tragedy, it came as no surprise when the father of the suspected school shooter was taken into custody on multiple charges. Georgia authorities arrested 54-year-old Colin Gray on Thursday, Sept. 5, and charged him with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter, and eight counts of cruelty to children. Gray’s 14-year-old son, Colt Gray, also faces four counts of felony murder and will be tried as an adult. He surrendered to school resource officers at Apalachee High School after allegedly killing four and injuring nine others.

The father’s arrest signals a relatively new element in prosecuting the parents of school shooters. Until now, the only parents held criminally responsible for their child committing a school shooting were those convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with their son’s 2021 high school attack in Michigan. The business of charging parents for their child’s criminal actions is a new twist that is fraught with potential complications, fueling a conversation among Second Amendment advocates and the anti-gun lobby as well. Everyone seems to be asking to what extent a parent can be held liable for their child’s felonious behavior. And the Georgia shooting appears to be a perfect test case for several reasons.

School Shooter: Already on the Radar

Georgia authorities had Colt Gray in their sights last year in connection with a post written on the social media platform Discord that included a threat to “shoot up a middle school.” Authorities tracked the message to Colt Gray and paid a visit to his home, where they interviewed both the father and the son. Colt denied being the author of the message.

Widespread reporting of that visit was broadcast on several cable news outlets, and it appeared to show Mr. Gray as incensed about the prospect of his son making online threats. During the interview with authorities, Gray said the pre-teen was going through a difficult time after he and his wife divorced and they were evicted from their home, according to Fox Digital. The New York Times obtained a transcript of the conversation in which the father said in part: “I’m going to be mad as hell if he did [make threats about a school shooting]. Then all the guns will go away.”

Ultimately, a Jackson County Sheriff’s report said that nothing could be substantiated to justify charging Colt Gray with making threats. So, the matter was dropped.

But the guns did not go away.

The fact that the father was aware his son was suspected of making threats is where the rubber meets the road. For most parents, that would be more than enough to make sure the firearms were locked up tight. But good parenting can’t be legislated, and reports from family members and those who lived nearby indicate that there was significant family dysfunction. Next-door neighbor Lauren Vickers told the New York Post, “There were nights where the mom would lock him and his sister out of the house. And they would be banging on the back door, just screaming like ‘Mom! mom! mom!’ and crying.” The younger child, Vickers said, came into their backyard begging for food. “It was absolutely devastating.”

Child protective services made several visits to the home. Then, last year, Colt’s mother, Marcee Gray, who had a rap sheet that included drug use, fraud, and domestic violence, was sent to prison. It appears the Gray home was a cauldron of dysfunction waiting to blow. Thus, it comes as no surprise that proper gun safety and a healthy respect for firearms were not high on the family agenda.

A Conversation is Needed

When asked for comment about the Georgia school shooting and the arrest of the shooter’s father, Liberty Nation Legal Affairs Editor Scott Cosenza, Esq. quoted deadly force expert Massad Ayoob, who asserts that you can’t childproof your guns, so you have to gun-proof your children.

Gun-proofing your children involves time and effort. Training doesn’t merely involve time at the shooting range but private lessons that include the parents’ rules regarding guns in the home. The parent must also be connected to the child and get a feel for their social and emotional health or lack thereof.

Liberty Nation’s Second Amendment expert Jim Fite added:

“Should the shooter’s dad have removed or, at least, secured his firearms once his kid’s issues became evident? Of course. But the presence of guns here was just part of the problem – in fact, if it weren’t for the other issues, accessibility probably wouldn’t have been an issue. It is a parent’s job to teach children the value of human life and how to respect a deadly weapon. But in this case, it seems the shooter barely managed to survive his parents, let alone learn any valuable life lessons – or, at least, any of the right ones.”

Holding a parent liable for the criminal actions of their offspring may sound like the right thing to do, but it can also be a slippery slope. What if the child has a problematic relationship with a parent and wouldn’t mind seeing good old Dad behind bars? Does charging parents shift the blame and accountability onto the parent? Many good parents have troubled children – what about them?

Those who support the Second Amendment see firearm ownership as a right and a responsibility. In the days and weeks to come, there are likely to be many conversations around the kitchen table about the Georgia school shooting and perhaps a review of what kind of gun safety measures are in a gun owner’s home. And that’s at least one good thing that may come out of this tragedy.