Safety With Children And Firearms
According to Pew Research Center, Gun deaths among US children and teens under the age of 18 rose 50% between 2019 and 2021. Before the Coronavirus pandemic there were 1,732 gun deaths of minors including homicide, suicide, accidents, and other causes. This figure climbed to 2,590 during those 2 years.
Both the number and rate of minors killed by gunfire were higher than any point since at least 1999 according to the CDC’s mortality database. Additionally the CDC estimates there were more than 11,000 ER visits for gunshot injuries of minors - far higher than in other recent years.
A sizable share of American parents are worried about their kids getting shot. In a fall 2022 Pew Research survey, 22% of parents with children under 18 said they were extremely or very worried about their children getting shot while another 23% said they were somewhat worried. About half of the respondents said they were not worried.
Additionally the RAND Corporation estimates that 60% of households in Idaho own at least one gun, the fourth highest gun ownership rate among the 50 states.
So, what can we do as responsible gun owners or parents of children who do not have guns, but live in a state where ⅔ of homeowners have a gun?
Safely store any firearms you own away from minors
All firearms, especially in the presence of minors, absolutely should be under lock and key or some kind of safe. Just like we make sure minors wear seatbelts or look both ways before crossing the street, we need to take care of them until they can make sound judgements.
There are floor safes that weigh 100’s of pounds and can hold several dozen guns and lockable gun cases that you can stage for a pistol next to your bed. A cable lock can be used to prevent the gun from being fired and less secure is a trigger lock. There is hidden storage, but don’t use that as the only means of keeping firearms out of minors hands. Children are curious and will look around, maybe even with their friends when you aren’t around. Additionally ammo and firearms should be stored separately.
Teach our children that firearms are not toys.
How old can you teach gun safety to children? I started both my kids with a BB gun to learn the 4 universal laws of gun safety before they were 6 years old. Parental supervision and learning demystifies firearms and makes it less likely they will experiment on their own. They eventually shot .22 lr and larger calibers as they grew and matured. I trust both of my adult children complete around firearms.
Even if you do not have firearms in your household, there is a likelihood that the children they play with have a gun in THEIR home. Even at 3-5 years old children can learn gun safety starting with a talk around Four Firearm Safety Steps:
Every Gun is Real
Every Gun is Loaded
NO! Don’t Touch!
Tell an Adult.
A simplified version of the Four Universal Rules of Gun Safety is Four Gun Safety Rules (as applied to children).
SAFE gun
SAFE direction
SAFE finger
SAFE target
ANY shooting of a minor is a complete tragedy and many are preventable. You owe it to yourself AND your children to make them gun safe. Most parents learn CPR, make kids wear seatbelts, give them swim lessons, and keep an eye on them when out in public; but many will not teach their kids gun safety. I don’t understand this; it’s not about politics, it’s about safety!
Let’s make our world a safer place around firearms and prevent tragedy.
If you liked this content and would like more information on childproofing your home with firearms or want to raise gun safe children give me a call/text/email. I have a lot more information and can do classes as well as private sessions for individuals and families.
