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Guns & Kids
Boy, 6, Kills Mom During Target Practice: This was the tragic headline late in March, 2001, after a family went target shooting and reportedly allowed a boy to handle his father's gun. According to the news story, the father had stepped away for a moment, and the mother was lying prone, shooting her own gun. The boy was attempting to reload the gun when he accidentally shot his mother in the head. She died instantly. The story said the boy had been shooting for two years, and that he normally shot a "kid's gun." If you absolutely must allow a 4- or 6-year-old to target practice with you, remember that experts say children younger than 10 years old aren't cognizant enough of danger and cause and effect to even cross a busy street by themselves. You are begging for tragedy by allowing a child to handle a firearm without intense and constant adult supervision. We have to admit -- we'd rather young children didn't handle guns at all.
Banning Guns Won't Guarantee Safety: However you feel about guns, kids, the Constitution and the government, there is one thing for sure: Banning guns from your home, or even from the country, will not necessarily prevent your child from having a run-in with a gun or other dangerous weapon. Do teach your child about guns and other weapons -- about avoiding them, about telling an adult, about never playing with guns (or even standing by while someone else does), about never pointing a gun at anyone in fun, about always assuming that a gun is loaded... Guns are not cool. They are not fun. They are simply a tool -- to be handled properly by law-abiding adults who have a reason to handle them. And whether you believe those adults should include any law-abiding citizen -- or whether you believe they should include only police and military personnel -- you must make sure that your child knows exactly what to do when confronted with a dangerous situation.
Basic Tips for Firearm Safety: (not intended or implied to be a complete list. For more, see the links listed below).
National Ask Day -- August 20, 2001, was the first National Ask Day. Sponsored by PAX, a nonprofit organization, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the campaign is designed to encourage parents to ask neighbors about guns in the home before sending children there to play. According to PAX, more than 40 percent of American homes with children in them also have guns. Many of these weapons are kept loaded and within reach of a determined child. Many parents are reluctant to ask about the presence of guns because they're afraid to offend their friends and neighbors. But in Good Housekeeping's September 2001 issue, Ann Marie Crowell (whose son Brian was shot to death at a friend's house) offers this advice: "I know a quick cure for embarrassment: Close your eyes and imagine life without your child." For more on the ASK Campaign, see the PAX excerpts in our Expert Voices section.
For more on firearms, firearm law, and protecting your child: If you know of any site (on any side of this issue) that you'd like us to add to this page, please tell us.
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