104 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
104 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
[This appeared in the Sonoma State Star student
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newspaper, so far back that I can remember when]
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Gun Accidents & Kids: Techniques For Prevention
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Life is full of senseless accidents. In the last few
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months, the news media have given considerable attention to
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firearms accidents involving children. Nearly all of these
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accidents are easily preventable. Forty percent of the
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households in America have a gun -- which means even if you
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don't have a gun in your house, this is still your concern,
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since your child may visit a house where there is a gun.
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It's important to put firearms accidents involving
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children in perspective. In 1984, there were 287 accidental
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firearms deaths of children under 15. By comparison, motor
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vehicle accidents killed 3,401 children under 15; drowning
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killed 1,170; fires and burns killed 1,208, and even choking
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killed 316. In brief, your child is 11.9 times more likely
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to be killed in a car crash, 4.1 times more likely to drown,
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4.2 times more likely to die of fire, and even 10% more
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likely to choke to death, than to be killed by a gun
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accident. Even a bicycle is more dangerous to kids than a
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gun accident. If you aren't putting your son or daughter in
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a seat belt in the car, making sure that their food is cut
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up, and eliminating fire and pool hazards, gun accidents
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should be the least of your worries.
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One approach to protecting kids is child-proofing your
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gun -- making the gun secure from children. The other
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approach is "gun-proofing" your child -- teaching him or her
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to recognize that guns are only for responsible adults.
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Both approaches are necessary. Child-proofing your gun
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reduces the risk that someone else's child, who hasn't been
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"gun-proofed", will cause a tragedy with your gun. Gun-
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proofing your child reduces the risk that he or she will
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cause a tragedy with someone else's gun.
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Gun-Proofing Your Kids
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Because children are naturally curious, hiding a gun is a
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mistake. The dividing line between fantasy and reality is
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vague for many small children, and violent cartoons, TV
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shows, and movies, don't help. A child may not understand
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the difference between toy and real guns, especially if the
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parents haven't shown them a real gun -- and there are some
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very realistic toy guns out there. Curiosity may also
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encourage a child to "mess around" with a gun, trying to
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figure out how it works. Satisfy that curiosity under adult
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supervision.
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If you own a gun, show your son or daughter that a gun is
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not a toy for adults, but a serious matter. Using a
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watermelon as a target will powerfully impress upon them how
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dangerous a gun can be.
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Child-Proofing Your Guns
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The ideal solution is a gun safe. A gun safe not only
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prevents unauthorized access by kids, it prevents a burglar
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from stealing one of the easiest items to fence. (This is
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the reason that background checks are so ineffective at
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disarming criminals -- criminals don't buy at gun stores --
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they buy stolen guns). For handguns, there are quite
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adequate safes between $100 and $125.
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But for a renter, a gun safe is usually not practical --
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the landlord won't appreciate holes in the wall. A locking
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handgun case prevents kids from getting in, and chaining the
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case handle to a pipe under a sink will discourage theft.
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Most gun stores sell such cases for less than $40.
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The cheapest solution is a trigger lock. Inserted
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through the trigger guard, it prevents firing of the gun,
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though it won't prevent theft. A disturbing number of guns
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aren't even secured with this, the cheapest of child-
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proofing devices -- and since trigger locks can be bought in
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most sporting goods stores for about $10, if you own a gun,
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you have no excuse for leaving it unsecured.
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If you do own a gun, do everything you can to make sure
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that gun doesn't end up as an accident statistic. Sad to
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say, not every gun owner is terribly knowledgeable about
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guns; some people buy a handgun, take it to a shooting range
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once, and never shoot it again. Others learned gun safety
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many years ago, and that knowledge has become hazy with
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time. The SSU Shooting Club is ready to help you learn or
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relearn safe gun ownership.
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If you don't own a gun, it's important to teach your
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children enough about gun safety to prevent them from
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becoming a statistic. Whether you like it or not, guns are
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a part of American society, like pools and motor vehicles.
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Children need to learn enough to not be a hazard to
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themselves or others. To this end, the National Rifle
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Association has produced a coloring book for children that
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teaches what to do if kids find an unattended gun: don't
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touch it, find a responsible adult at once, and inform them
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about it. The SSU Shooting Club will have copies available
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soon.
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The risks of a child getting killed or injured with a gun
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are quite small; the grief that will result is enormous. A
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gun, like a car, or a pool, is a potentially dangerous item.
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you own one, you need to be responsible. If you don't
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own one, common sense says you should educate your children
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about the risks.
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-------
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Mr. Cramer is a junior, majoring in history. He has
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child-proofed his guns, and gun-proofed his children.
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