"Miracle Baby" Dies After Shooting Himself With Father's Handgun

Linkin Leatham was described as a “miracle” child by the Provo Daily Herald in Utah, after overcoming multiple illnesses as an infant and going on to become a fully healthy toddler. Unfortunately Linkin couldn’t overcome the dangers of his own household. The toddler accidentally shot himself in the head with his father’s handgun, which apparently was left loaded and sitting out in the open. More, from the Huffington Post:

Melinda and Owen Leatham were in their Springville home last Tuesday when their son picked up a handgun left at his eye level and inadvertently fired it, according to KSL. But they didn't see him do it.

Owen Leatham is a police officer, but the weapon that killed Linkin wasn't his service gun, reports said.

This is a tragic story, but there's one important question that must be asked. I know, I know, people would like to simply mourn for this child instead of discussing difficult issues, but when a story like this emerges, we owe it to ourselves to ask the tough questions. And that tough question, as I'm sure you can guess, is this: Is this kid named after Linkin Park? I mean, Linkin isn't a name, right? And even if it was, it would be spelled Lincoln. Plus he's a few years old, so he would have been conceived right around the time that Linkin Park's "Minutes to Midnight" was popular. I know America was founded on freedom, but with freedom comes responsibility, and I think it's the height of irresponsibility to name your child after a rap-rock band. I'm sure the father will claim that he chose the name to protect his child from being associated with pussy indie bands. But you know what? Ultimately it was the father who made his child suffer. Suffer through a horrible name. That's why we need name control in this country.


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