http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/dec/22/police-9-year-old-boy-dies-after-accidentally-shoo/
Take a minute for that to sink in. I don't think that the problem is that these children were able to get to the handgun. The problem is that the parents didn't take the time to teach the kids basic gun safety. The NRA has a program geared just towards kids, which can be found here:
https://eddieeagle.nra.org/
Like most (all?) gun owners, I do NOT want gun control. I do NOT want to be told where to store my gun and ammo, or how to store it either. I don't believe we need a list like the "no fly" list to keep people from getting guns. We have so many laws on our books that our government doesn't even bother to enforce. Rather than trying to keep penalizing legal gun owners, let's work rather on EDUCATING people. Ideally, what I would love to see, is a short, basic safety class before a purchase. Suppose that each person who legally bought a gun HAD to have the basics down pat before they could walk out the store with the gun? Basics like, do NOT assume the gun is empty until you PROVE it is? So many tragic stories of people who thought their gun was unloaded (and unchambered) when tragically it wasn't. Basics like, Never point a gun at a person (or your own head!). Imagine if a person purchasing a gun with kids had to know the four NRA rules by heart before they got their gun?
I really don't think that the answer is more gun control. I don't think that those who call it "gun sense" get it either. Gun sense is knowing HOW to handle your gun. It's knowing HOW to use it well and taking good care of it. Gun sense is practicing safe ways of passing a gun to another person, or knowing how to clean it without getting yourself killed. Good gun sense is teaching your children that guns are NOT a neat toy, and that they are a weapon that needs to be treated with proper respect. Children are curious. They explore. My kids all know that if they want to see my gun, they only have to ask. They are allowed to handle it ONLY when I am around to ensure that it is properly unloaded and they are supervised. This settles their curiosity and I am confident that they will not want to look at it when I am not around. (So confident in fact, because my youngest has no interest in it at all, due to the fact we did this years ago.) I also think that all kids should be taken to a shooting range. A child who knows how to handle a gun will not be curious! They see the power it possesses, and has no desire to "play" with it.
Without any further ado, here are what I consider to be the basic gun rules everyone needs to know:
1- Never, ever, ever point the gun at a person unless you intend to shoot them. Not as a joke, not as playing, not with the chamber open, never, ever, ever!
2- Keep your finger OFF the trigger unless you are planning on a bullet coming out. If you are posing for a picture, your finger should be OFF the trigger. Again, even if you know it's empty, don't put your finger there unless you are ready to fire the gun for real.
3- Always point it in a safe direction. At the range, this means down range. In the house, if you are dry firing, see rule #1.
4- Never hand the gun to someone else until you can prove it is safe to. This means, with no bullets in it. I hand my revolver over with the chamber open. This allows the other person to ascertain for themselves that it is safe to receive it. Semi-automatics are trickier. You can take the magazine out, and there can still be a bullet in the chamber. They should only be handed over to someone else when the slide is locked open to show no bullet in there.
5- (This doesn't apply to me, but it bears being said.) Never shoot when you are drunk, high, on pain meds, etc. If you don't have a clear head, you shouldn't be holding a gun in your hand.
6- Make sure anyone you show your gun to or take to the range understands all these safety rules, and any others you personally have.
7- If you are carrying concealed, make sure you practice with the gun unloaded drawing. I recently discovered that when I point my gun towards my right for easier access, the sight snags on the band as it comes up. If I hadn't had practiced, I wouldn't have realized it. It should become second nature to you.
8- Always wear protective gear while shooting. I wear both ear plugs AND head phones, and it still seems loud to me.
The kids rules are easy.
1- STOP
2- DON'T TOUCH!
3- GET AWAY from the gun; get out the room or wherever it is you found it.
4- FIND an adult to safely handle the gun.
I would like to think that if all gun owners would take their gun ownership as a huge responsibility, we wouldn't hear these tragic stories. What makes them even more tragic, is that they don't have to happen with a little education and training.
So happy shooting, and keep it safe!
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