By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
With the conviction of James Crumbley of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of four students by his then-15-year-old son at Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021, the media is wondering whether the case has opened a gun control “Pandora’s Box.”
According to an article in TIME, the answer is “maybe, maybe not.” It depends upon who one asks.
TIME quotes Law Professor and author Adam Winkler, University of California, who observed, “This case may not set a huge precedent, because there won’t be as many cases where the facts are as egregious as this one.”
Winkler, author of “Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America,” also told TIME the verdicts against both James Crumbley and his wife, Jennifer, the convictions might bring a change in attitude and behavior around firearms.
“It could lead to more prosecutors bringing charges against parents when their children use firearms. And that could have a similar effect of gun control,” Winkler told TIME.
He suggested the case could convince parents to do more to keep guns out of the hands of their children.
However, Fox News quotes criminal defense attorney Keith Johnson, who observed, “This is a historic case because the prosecutors are seeking to hold a parent responsible for the actions of a child … the violent actions that led to the death of other children. And so this is a test case to see the limits of parents’ responsibility for the actions of their children who are of a high school age.”
The Crumbleys will be sentenced next month. Their son is already in prison (life, without parole) for fatally shooting fellow students Tate Myre, 16; Justin Shilling, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and wounding seven other students during the November 2021 school shooting.
Ethan Crumbley was unquestionably a troubled teen who wrote in his journal, “I have zero HELP for my mental problems and it’s causing me to SHOOT UP THE F—ING SCHOOL … I want help but my parents don’t listen to me so I can’t get any help,” TIME noted.
The Oxford shooting is at least partly responsible for adoption of new restrictions on Michigan gun owners. As reported by the Michigan Advance earlier this year, “After the Oxford High School shooting in November 2021, gun control groups and student advocates had hoped the Republican-led Legislature would act and implement gun safety laws, but bills were never passed. Starting in January 2023, Democrats took over the majority in both chambers of the Legislature and passed a series of gun reform policies.”
This says as much about Democrats as it does about the effect of the Crumbley case on gun control, reinforcing the image of Democrats as the “party of gun control.”
The Crumbley parents face up to 15 years in prison. The example set by prosecuting the couple could discourage other parents from allowing their children to have firearms, or access to guns in the home. It remains to be seen how this will ultimately play out.
