Negligent entrustment of a firearm: TX courts haven't ruled.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cf ... ntID=42974

The above link is to an article in the Texas Bar Journal, November 2018, pages 790 & 792. The author is Attorney Jefferson W. Fisher of Beaumont.

Here's some of the key points, but he goes into much greater detail in the piece:

If you negligently let a non-licensed person drive, and they get in a wreck, you are at fault for "entrusting" them with the vehicle.

35 other states have ruled that, just like a vehicle, if you negligently entrust someone with a firearm, and they commit a crime with it, you are at fault for letting them have the gun.

The Texas Supreme Court has never made a statewide ruling regarding the negligent entrustment of a firearm. Any cases that have included this facet of prosecution have been decided on a "onesy" basis.

Some anecdotes from the piece:
A father gave his son a shotgun for Christmas. The son, who had not shown criminal intentions previously, used the shotgun to do a driveby.

A man kept a revolver in his drawer at work, and allowed multiple people to borrow it. A female coworker took it and murdered her husband with it.
She had confided unhappiness with her marriage, plus affairs. Should the revolver owner be at fault? Should he have known she would murder the husband?

This article brings up a lot of interesting points. It takes a little while to read, but hopefully I will be able to spur some discussion of this subject.

SIA

[Jago668]

I'm okay with this as long as it happens to corporations and the government. Well you entrusted that officer with the pistol, and they murdered somebody, so everyone up the chain of command to include the council and mayor get murder charges as well. Well you entrusted that copy of windows to this person and they wrote a virus on a computer using it, so Dell, Windows, and the ISP all get the same charges as the person that wrote the virus.

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm okay with this as long as it happens to corporations and the government. Well you entrusted that officer with the pistol, and they murdered somebody, so everyone up the chain of command to include the council and mayor get murder charges as well. Well you entrusted that copy of windows to this person and they wrote a virus on a computer using it, so Dell, Windows, and the ISP all get the same charges as the person that wrote the virus.

Jago668 for POTUS in 2020.

[bigtek]

If you negligently let a non-licensed person drive, and they get in a wreck, you are at fault for "entrusting" them with the vehicle.

First, it sounds like we're talking about civil liability, not criminal prosecution. Second, in the automobile example, it sounds like the bar is pretty high. If you allow somebody to drive your car, and you know they are not legally allowed to operate a motor vehicle because they have no license, that's gross negligence. It doesn't sound like the same liability exists if you loan your car to your roommate who has a valid license.

35 other states have ruled that, just like a vehicle, if you negligently entrust someone with a firearm, and they commit a crime with it, you are at fault for letting them have the gun.

I don't know if those 35 other states require a license, like a FOID, to possess a firearm. If so, then the situation sounds analogous to the motor vehicle liability. Texas doesn't require a license to possess a firearm, so the motor vehicle analogy is flawed from the start in Texas. It would be like being liable for loaning a neighbor a chainsaw after a hurricane, and they use it to massacre people instead of clearing storm debris.

We do have a law (46.06) that prohibits giving a handgun to somebody if you know he "intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an unlawful act" and the same section prohibits giving a firearm to somebody you if you know they're a felon or intoxicated. IANAL but I don't see anything that prohibits a civil action against you by a crime victims, if it was illegal for you to provide the gun he used in the crime.

[tbrown]

https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cf ... ntID=42974

The above link is to an article in the Texas Bar Journal, November 2018, pages 790 & 792. The author is Attorney Jefferson W. Fisher of Beaumont.

Here's some of the key points, but he goes into much greater detail in the piece:

If you negligently let a non-licensed person drive, and they get in a wreck, you are at fault for "entrusting" them with the vehicle.

I would like to see this applied to the murder of Silvia Zavala.

[Syntyr]

https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cf ... ntID=42974

The above link is to an article in the Texas Bar Journal, November 2018, pages 790 & 792. The author is Attorney Jefferson W. Fisher of Beaumont.

Here's some of the key points, but he goes into much greater detail in the piece:

If you negligently let a non-licensed person drive, and they get in a wreck, you are at fault for "entrusting" them with the vehicle.

I would like to see this applied to the murder of Silvia Zavala.

ALL sanctuary cities!!! Release a known criminal alien and be responsible for the crimes he commits.

[stroo]

There are 3 reported cases in the last 40 years according to the article. This doesn't seem to be a burning legal question in Texas. Of course it would only take one case to make it a real issue.