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TYLER'S LAW
- Posted by Angela Wilson Leedy
To: Senator Jay Rockefeller
I am petitioning for Gun owners to keep there Guns locked up, unloaded, and out of reach of children, In the state of WVa. My son Tyler lost his life due to a loaded Gun being left in his reach.
1,497 people signed the petition
I wanted to do this for my son Tyler. We live in WVa and there is no law here saying that you do not have to lock up your loaded weapons..I would also love it to be in other states that don't have this law to protect our children..Please help us pass this law..My son died due to a loaded gun being left out in reach he was 12 years old. Tyler had many hopes and dreams.
Look at Tyler's Law on Facebook
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- What started off as a relaxing Labor Day holiday ended in a horrific life-changing event for one family.
A 12-year-old boy was found dead near his home in Wayne County with a gunshot wound to the head -- the gun laying nearby. Tyler Blankenship took the gun from a family member's home; it was accessible and loaded.
His family is pushing for new laws to make sure this never happens again.
Tyler's family was shocked to discover West Virginia doesn't have a law forcing gun owners to secure their guns. So, they're pushing for one called Tyler's Law, hoping their son's death will save a life.
"He was always joking around," said Tyler's mother Angela Leedy. "We'd always get in water fights. He'd jump out and scare me and think that was the funniest thing."
Like many mothers, Leedy can't stop raving about how wonderful her son was. Tyler was the apple of his mother's eye -- right down to the last moment she spent with him.
"He smiled and I asked him how his day went, and he loved his hair," Leedy said. "He always liked his hair. He asked how I liked his hair and I said, "It looks good.' "
Several hours later, Tyler was found dead from the gunshot. Rumors immediately started swirling that Tyler committed suicide -- the victim of bullying at school.
"Did he ever complain about being bullied or about kids picking on him?" WSAZ.com's Carrie Cline asked.
"No," Leedy responded. "He wanted to go to school. I had to make him stay home when he was sick because he wanted to go to school. If you're bullied, you don't want to go to school. He wasn't depressed, showed no signs of suicide. He finished his homework Friday. If he was feeling that way, he wouldn't care about anything."
"We have our own theory about it, and we'd like the detectives to look into it," said Fred Leedy, Tyler's stepfather.
The Leedys believe it was an accident -- a child playing with a loaded gun and an accidental shooting. Regardless of what led to Tyler's death, there's no disputing the fact that he was able to gain easy access to a loaded gun at a family member's home.
That's why the Leedys have started a petition and crusade for Tyler's Law -- to force gun owners to lock their guns.
"We're not against guns," Fred Leedy said. "We just want people to be safe. Lock up your guns. Even if you teach your kids not to touch guns, kids will be kids. Don't give them a chance to make the same mistake Tyler made."
Tyler's biological father, James Staley, is a gun advocate who routinely took Tyler hunting. But, he always practiced safety first and is pleading for others to do the same.
"If that's what it would take and we could at least save one life to prevent someone from going through something like this," Staley said.
The Leedys plan to present their petition to U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., hoping for a change.
Cline spoke with family members of the home where Tyler took the gun. They said they were concerned about crime, and the gun was out for protection.
You can sign the petition for Tyler's Law online on the Tyler's Law Facebook page. That page is accessible through our Featured Links here at WSAZ.com.
Lock it up.
Teach that guns kill.
Explain how to act around guns.
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the gun in mention was on top of a frig.. he is 12 he knew gun safety if he didn't then someone should have spoken to him.. DON'T put blame where there is none... it is very sad we lose kids everyday.. so parents step up talk to ure kids... don't blame someone tha'ts the problem put blame somewhere else not on the parents.
I am going on what his aunt posted in a letter on here. I can find it and post it on here. If anyone knows the truth, then she should.
Tonya Parsons
For Tyler...I am writing this in the hopes that people get on their phones or get their pens out. I am going into some detail about the case in the hopes that it makes you as outraged as I am....Child protective Services was called in regards to the abuse happening at my nephew's home 4 times. The school called CPS. Childcare called CPS and family members called CPS and over and over family was told, "Using drugs isn't abuse." They even told the grandparents, "You have no rights." Each time CPS did nothing. One CPS worker even said, "As soon as I saw Tyler I knew he was an abused child." Yet, nothing was done. I walked into my sisters home this week and saw that Tyler was sleeping with no pillows and no blankets. He barely had clothes. I could have counted everything he had in 2 seconds. One of Tylers aunts bought him clothes every year for school and my Mom and Dad bought him the bed he was sleeping on. This is a HUGE case of neglect and a huge failure by the CPS system who is supposed to protect children. My nephew ran away last year, walking 13 miles to try and get to his Dad's house and he was brought right back home. I could go on and on about how badly my nephew wanted to get out of that home due to abuse. My nephew was almost 6 foot tall and he weighed 121 pounds. I am outraged at myself for not investigating more when I knew he ran away or I knew somethings were happening. I was always worried what my sister would do it my niece and nephew were taken. Now, my nephew is dead. I failed as an aunt. I will do everything I can to make sure laws are changed. My sister needs REHAB. Which is something I told them (her and Tyler's stepfather) this week. Something has to be done. I have a 5 year old niece living in the house. I have heard over and over, "Tonya, how can I help, what can I do?" I am so grateful for the support. Your support is forever engraved in my heart. For Tyler, please write, call or talk to anyone you know about Tyler's case. Call CPS in Wayne, WV CPS WV 1-800-352-6513 and talk to Hope who is Supervisor over the case. Write or call Joe Manchin the WV Senator and tell them about the failure of the CPS system. My nephew told CPS about the drug use at the home. CPS did nothing. CPS should be able to take the kids out of the home if their is drug abuse. Their should be a penalty if CPS is called more than 3 times and the child has not been taken out of the home until further investigation. I am outraged and I will be writing, calling and doing everything I can to get things changed. If you know of something I could do, please contact me at tonya6@mac.com And if you know of someone in Crisis or you need to talk to someone please call 1-800-273-8255 the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can talk to someone for Free and someone is available 24/7. And lastly, please pour your hearts out to God above and plead with him to intervene.
i know what she has said i have read so much from her. but i have been around tyler and his mom and sister for years and ive never seen him not taken care of or go without. and im not being rude or smart so please dont take it that way i have just been by his moms side the whole time and things they have said are horable they sure dont act like family. a lot of what she has said i know is not true and a lot of rumors about tylers mom is not true every kid tries to run away i mean i did when i was a kid i hated being at home my parents was so mean and i couldnt stand them but now i look back and im glad they raised me how they did with respect and i see now they wasnt mean they wanted to raise me right. i just have a lot of feelings about this i dont mean to go on the whole thing just bothers me
It doesn't matter the age of the child people....the responsibility will always rest in the hands of the parent(s)...they should already know better then to leave a gun out loaded of all things. My mother had a gun most of my childhood and I knew it,but she also kept it in a security box...unloaded....and sat me down and talked to me about the safety and risks of having that gun.
All of this has nothing to do with someone leaving a gun out in plain view. The young man was twelve years old, and from what family has said, for everyone to read, there were drugs being used and abuse going on in the home. There was also bullying in the school. All of this going on, nobody seeming to give a crap about the pain and hurt that was going on in his life, drove this little boy to want to end his life. He figured that the only way that he would have peace is for him to get...
…All of this has nothing to do with someone leaving a gun out in plain view. The young man was twelve years old, and from what family has said, for everyone to read, there were drugs being used and abuse going on in the home. There was also bullying in the school. All of this going on, nobody seeming to give a crap about the pain and hurt that was going on in his life, drove this little boy to want to end his life. He figured that the only way that he would have peace is for him to get away from all of the things that were going on. He tried running away to his father's house, which didn't work. Who knows what else he tried, before he took his own life. Child Protective Services, the adults in the home, the adults in school that allowed the bullying to keep going on, and the kids that bullied him should be held liable for this boy's death, not the gun owner. So many people see things like this happen, and unless you have walked a mile in that person's shoes, you don't understand what is going through their mind. Since this happened, has CPS stepped in and investigated the home of this child? No. Has there been anything on the news about this? No. Why? Probably because the mother has asked for there not to be anything put on the news about it, because she knows what she does "recreational" is illegal. When the school even calls CPS on behalf of the child and there is nothing done, something is wrong. I know that this sounds like a rant, and it kind of is, but I am talking from someone that has been so close to that edge, that this young man jumped off of, that I could see death right on the other side. But, it was only by the grace of God and the love of my family that kept me from doing this. When you get to that point, you are not in your right mind. You only think about yourself and the pain that you are feeling. A lot of times you think that you could make other people happy by not being on this earth, or that all of the pain you are feeling now and the pain that you are afraid of feeling later could end if you ended you life. Pray that a law will be passed to hold CPS accountable in situations like this. Pray that the states will pass a law that prohibits bullying in schools, and if the bullying happens past a point, then the kids be expelled. Also, pray that the teachers and counselors will be able to see the red flags popping up in a child's life before it gets this far. Pray for the family, and pray that the ones in the family who are responsible will go to the ones who were doing the drugs and stuff and make them suffer. Not with violence, but with words and memories.
if the gun hadn't been there, and hadn't been loaded, he couldn't have killed himself that way. and he isn't the only one - there are three year olds who find the gun, there are mentally ill people, or mentally delayed people who could find it. a gun that is loaded and unsecured is death waiting to happen.
@Christopher P. ...Did you even read this article? Nowhere in it does it say anything about drugs being sold or abused. The child, Tyler, was not being physically abused either. They said there was no bulling at school. He was excited to go to school everyday.
The child was Twelve. He was not even a teenager yet. He picked the gun up thinking it was cool. Obviously, the gun discharged into his head, killing him.
Yes, they should put their gun up...or an adult should be around it at all times when it is freely lying around!
But, read before you open your mouth.
This is a very tragic thing that has happened n I am for one really good friends with Tylers mother and the blame should not be put on her. It was not in her house that he got the gun... I think Tylers Law is a very good way to open up peoples eyes n.make more parents opens their eyes n realize that things like this does happen so I support his mother in this 100 percent.... Love n prayers to his mom step dad n siblings!
I agree Amy, But The idea of Locking up Your Guns is kinda Crazy, If you and your kids are at home asleep and some man is breaking in your house, you barely have enough time to get up and even get your gun ,what are you gonna do, tell the Guy breaking in to hold on while you look for your keys to unlock your pistol ? You or your kids would be dead, No one wants a kid to get Hurt ,Parents just need to be responsible and put the gun where kids won't be ,,and when the kid gets old enough to understand ,tell them how dangerous it is and even let them hear how loud it is and hopefully it will make them scared of it. But we have to be responsible somehow without locking it up, why have it if its locked and takes 5 minutes to open in the dark. I fel sorry for the parents who lost kids ,
This whole thing is sad I wish peace for his family and friends
Laws are not a remedy for comon sense. Laws only punish those who do not learn from lifes lessons. Guns do not kill. People kill people!
people kill people... your right... But put a child in the mix, and you never know??? So keep them locked up, or meet them in heaven?? your choice...God Bless
I have raised four children and have more grandchildren great grandchildren than I can remember. Me and my family has always and always will have weapons ready and available for family defense. If I lock them up out of reach how could they protect protect my family from those that don't ever obey the law?
This dumbass needs a law to tell her to keep a loaded gun out of her now dead
sons hands...
Gun SAFETY is number ONE! and no one needs automatic weapons but the military!
shouldn't left your guns out.
It wasn't OUR GUN...