Update, 3/24: Jamie Gilt, the gun-advocate mom whose son shot her in the back earlier this month, could face up to 180 days in jail, according to the Huffington Post. The Putnam County Sheriff held a press conference Tuesday explaining how Gilt's 4-year-old son ended up with the loaded gun. She had apparently left the gun, which did not have a trigger lock, under the front passenger seat of her car. It slid to the backseat floorboard and the toddler unhooked his carseat to grab the firearm. Gilt could be charged with unsafe storage of a firearm, a misdemeanor in Florida which carries a penalty of up to 180 days in jail.
Original story, 3/8: A Florida woman who advocates for the 2nd Amendment was accidentally shot in the back on Tuesday by her 4-year-old son.
Jamie Gilt had posted on Facebook the day before the incident that her child "gets jacked up to target shoot the .22," according to the Florida Times-Union. (Gilt's account has since been deactivated.)
The 31-year-old told a deputy that her son had shot the gun from the back seat of her truck while she was driving, according to the report, and it appeared that the bullet went through the seat, striking Gilt in the back. A .45 caliber handgun was found on the floorboard of the backseat of the car and the boy was not strapped into his booster seat, according to the report.
Gilt was transported to a nearby hospital where she is now in stable condition, and the boy, who was unharmed, is staying with relatives. The Florida Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the case.
"Our investigation has revealed that the firearm was legally owned by the victim and the child came to possess the firearm without the victim's knowledge. Florida Statute makes it a misdemeanor for a person to store or leave, on a premise under his or her control, a loaded firearm in such a manner that it is likely a child can gain access to the firearm," according to a statement posted on the Putnam County Sheriff's Office website. "The investigation is ongoing to determine exactly how the firearm was stored in the vehicle."
For more about the complicated world of women and guns, see Marie Claire's feature project here.
-
Queen Letizia and King Felipe Return to Embrace Flood Victims After Being Heckled and Pelted With Mud on Prior VisitThe Spanish royals didn't shy away from coming back to Valencia.
-
Queen Camilla Pays Tribute to Queen Elizabeth by Wearing Her Rare Aquamarine Ribbon TiaraThe late Queen was photographed wearing the dazzling tiara on just one occasion.
-
Selena Gomez Means Business in a Sparkly Black PantsuitThe star seems to have found a new style hyper-fixation: suiting.
-
36 Ways Women Still Aren't Equal to MenIt's just one of the many ways women still aren't equal to men.
-
EMILY's List President Laphonza Butler Has Big Plans for the OrganizationUnder Butler's leadership, the largest resource for women in politics aims to expand Black political power and become more accessible for candidates across the nation.
-
Want to Fight for Abortion Rights in Texas? Raise Your Voice to State LegislatorsEmily Cain, executive director of EMILY's List and and former Minority Leader in Maine, says that to stop the assault on reproductive rights, we need to start demanding more from our state legislatures.
-
Your Abortion Questions, AnsweredHere, MC debunks common abortion myths you may be increasingly hearing since Texas' near-total abortion ban went into effect.
-
The Future of Afghan Women and Girls Depends on What We Do NextBetween the U.S. occupation and the Taliban, supporting resettlement for Afghan women and vulnerable individuals is long overdue.
-
How to Help Afghanistan Refugees and Those Who Need AidWith the situation rapidly evolving, organizations are desperate for help.
-
It’s Time to Give Domestic Workers the Protections They DeserveThe National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, reintroduced today, would establish a new set of standards for the people who work in our homes and take a vital step towards racial and gender equity.
-
The Biden Administration Announced It Will Remove the Hyde AmendmentThe pledge was just one of many gender equity commitments made by the administration, including the creation of the first U.S. National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence.
