Deadly Shot Amplifies Debate : Gunplay: Death of a 13-year-old by pistol-wielding playmate comes as legislators advance a bill that would make parents liable in juvenile shootings.

Tragedies such as the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old by his friend Tuesday happen about 200 times a year in California, a fact that has sparked debate on whether to make parents legally answerable.

Nationwide, about 10 children are accidentally shot to death by other children every day, said Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove), who has introduced a bill that would make parents criminally liable when their guns are involved.

On Tuesday, 13-year-old Francisco Mejia went to his father’s bedroom, where he found a Colt .357 Magnum, which he took into the living room. There, the gun went off, and a bullet struck 13-year-old Marcos Antonio Lara in the head. Marcos died a short time later.

Umberg’s bill, co-sponsored by Assemblyman Lloyd G. Connelly (D-Sacramento), would make it a misdemeanor or felony for the adult owner of a firearm to leave the weapon within reach of a juvenile if doing so results in injury or death.

Coincidentally, the bill was passed unanimously by the Public Safety Committee on the day of the fatal shooting.

“We won’t be able to calculate how many lives can be saved,” Umberg said, “but even if one life is saved, it is valuable.”

Brian Judy, a spokesman for the National Rifle Assn., said that group supports the bill, called the Children’s Firearm Accident Prevention Act of 1991. Although there are child endangerment laws, no parent has ever been charged with responsibility for an accidental shooting by a child.

The Umberg bill specifically “goes after the person causing the problem,” Judy said. “It goes after the irresponsible person who endangers the lives of children, who leaves the firearms accessible to minors.”

In the past 20 months, officials said, seven juveniles in Orange County have shot siblings or friends. Four of those victims died.

The most notorious case involves Richard Bourassa, 18, of Anaheim, who fatally shot 17-year-old Christian Wiedepuhl last year. The shooting, initially ruled an accident, gained national attention when prosecutors charged Bourassa with murder.

Christian’s father, Richard Wiedepuhl of Anaheim, has since gone to the media with the message that Bourassa’s parents should be charged with negligence.

In a commentary printed in The Times Orange County Edition on Sunday, Umberg wrote: “While the overwhelming majority of gun owners practice the basic rules of gun safety and understand that common sense and responsibility go hand in hand with the right to own a firearm, those who leave a loaded firearm within a child’s reach are practicing reckless and dangerous behavior. Sadly, it is often their own children who pay the price for their thoughtlessness.”

All too often, some officials say, parents buy firearms for protection, then leave the guns in unprotected places with the idea that quick access would be necessary should they need to confront intruders.

That practice can be disastrous, officials warn.

The gun that killed Marcos was loaded, although Francisco told police that he had thought the chamber was empty, Santa Ana Police Lt. Robert Helton said. Francisco’s parents were not home at the time.

Few if any police departments or youth groups offer classes to teach parents and children about firearm safety.

Alex Fey, executive director for the Boys’ Club of Santa Ana, of which Marcos was a member, said that staff members regularly teach the children about the dangers of drugs and gangs but not about firearms.

“To tell you the truth, we never dwelt on gun safety,” Fey said, but “I guess quite a few of these parents might have guns for personal safety. If you look at our neighborhood, you’d understand why they’d want to protect themselves.”

Fey said that he may consider offering gun safety classes that include parents.

Francisco’s father had borrowed the gun from a friend Sunday after someone had broken into his house, police said.

The families of the two boys declined to comment.

Francisco and Marcos were close friends. According to police, the boys had walked from Lathrop Intermediate School after classes Tuesday to Francisco’s house in the 800 block of South Broadway. While Marcos waited in the living room, Francisco went into his parents’ bedroom and took the revolver. As Francisco returned to the living room to show it to his friend, police said, he pointed it at Marcos and fired a single round, which hit him.

Times staff writer Lily Dizon contributed to this story.