Yet another sordid Lancaster County tale, as if we haven’t had enough of them in recent years. But speaking of, there’s a common threat between this murder-suicide in the southern end and the Ludwig-Borden case a few years ago:

WGAL just reported that the .22 that appears to hav been used by Mike Hollow to kill first his girlfriend, Mae Davis, and then himself, was one of 10 guns in the home. But the wording is strange:

Police said there were more than 10 guns in the Hollow home, but they were locked in a gun safe.

“The weapon used in this particular case was secured in the residence. The family had taken substantial steps to secure them in that residence. However, he was able to obtain a .22 caliber rifle at which time he utilized that rifle to shoot his girlfriend,” said Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Adam Kosheba.

So - is Kosheba saying that this gun was one of the 10, that the kid somehow manage to unsecure it? Hard to tell. That’s what it sounds like, though.

You’ll remember, then, that in the Ludwig-Borden case, the gun used by David Ludwig was one of 54 firearms in the house.

This sort of thing, I think, puts a different twist on the usual gun arguments.

You, the gun owner, may be eminently responsible with your firearms - even locking them up in a gun safe. But what if your kid manages to get hold of one, and uses it to commit a murder?

Do you, the gun owner, bear any responsibility?

I mean, it’s a tough call. Kids do stupid things; if mom and dad have liquor in the house, kids can steal the booze. Kids can sneak out at night when mom and dad are asleep. And if the kid knows guns are in the house, he or she, but probably he, might in a moment of teenaged trauma grab it and use it.

It’s a good argument not to ban guns - but maybe not to have guns around if you have kids.