10-03-2025
Bill named after 8-year-old NC girl would penalize gun owners for crimes with lost or stolen guns
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A grieving father, turning his pain into action and urging the North Carolina General Assembly to pass a bill focused on lost and stolen guns and safe gun storage.
The bill is named for his daughter Jenesis Dockery, an 8-year-old girl shot and killed in Fayetteville in 2023. Investigators say an 11-year-old pulled the trigger after taking a relative's gun.
Jenesis' family has been advocating for this bill and working with lawmakers for well over a year, but her father Fon said seeing it actually drafted brought up some mixed feelings. He said it is hard to process but also gives him hope.
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'That smile and that laugh right there, that is defining of Jenesis right there,' Fon said, pointing out a picture on a wall filled with pictures and memories of his daughter.
Jenesis is everywhere in her family's house, her pictures lining the walls and hallways, many also featuring her younger sister – her parents calling the two inseparable.
'That one's too pretty not to hang of her and her sister,' Fon said of a picture of the sisters in an inflatable pool in the family's yard.
Now, Jenesis' name could be enshrined in state law.
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'We just know we're hurt, and we want to do something powerful with that hurt,' Fon said.
In July 2023, Jenesis and her sister were at a babysitter's house. Investigators say the babysitter's 11-year-old son took a gun from his grandfather's safe, pulled the trigger and shot and killed Jenesis.
'The decision to secure his weapon, if that's made, we're not here today in this situation,' Fon said.
Now, a new bill in the State Senate, the Jenesis Firearm Accountability Act, would require gun owners to report a gun lost or stolen within 48 hours. If they fail to do so, they could face fines and additional civil penalties if the gun is used in a crime.
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If the firearm is used in a violent felony or misdemeanor, the gun owner would be charged with the same level offense as the person who committed the crime, unless they can demonstrate a 'reasonable inability' they did not report the gun.
The gun owner in Jenesis' case was not charged.
'I think it's horrific that it didn't happen in our case. and it very much did have an underlying effect in this bill,' Fon said.
Fon added the bill is not about infringing on Second Amendment rights. In fact, he insists it promotes responsible gun ownership. The bill would also include a sales tax exemption for equipment used to secure guns, like gun safes or lockboxes.
'We want to protect your Second Amendment right by continuing to harbor and manifest responsible, accountable gun owners,' Fon said.
Fon also said it is hard to see Jenesis' name on the bill. He said it makes her absence feel more real. At the same time, there is also hope.
'It gives us hope that her life, the loss of her life didn't take away the light of her life,' he said.
He hopes everyone can learn from that light he says his daughter had and learn to 'Live Like Jenesis,' the name he and his wife gave their foundation.
'They have a school dance, nobody was dancing with that little girl? Jenesis goes and dance with her. That's who she was,' Fon said. 'Our eight year old child can do it? We have no excuse as adults.'
The new bill is still in the early stages. It has passed a first reading in the Senate and is now in committee. It will have to pass two more readings in the Senate, and three in the House before heading to the governor.
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