Too Many Guns, Too Many Deaths
Posted: January 26, 2013
Several years ago a friend of mine told this story: Her 5-year-old son and a friend were playing in the attic of their home. After enjoying a brief rest from the demands of her son, she went to check on the two children to see what was keeping them so busy. She was shocked to find that they were playing with the long-forgotten handgun that had belonged to her husband’s grandfather. Fortunately, the gun was unloaded and no one was injured. That was not true in Guthrie, Okla., last month when a 3-year-old found a loaded gun in a bedroom and accidentally shot himself in the head.
Given the terrible shooting at a school in Newtown, Conn., and the trial of the shooter in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., Congress and the nation have restarted discussions on how these tragedies can be prevented. Firearm-related deaths are one of the top three causes of death of American youth. Nearly 3,000 children die annually due to gun violence. Their family, friends and neighbors can help protect them.
Forty percent of homes in the United States own guns, and according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than a third of accidental shootings of children take place in the home of their friends, neighbors, or relatives. According to the National Rifle Association (NRA), the thumb of a toddler is powerful enough to pull the trigger of a handgun and most children that find a gun will put their hands on the trigger (study from Children’s Hospital of Boston).
If there is a gun in the home, the best ways to prevent an accidental shooting is to unload firearms and lock them up, lock and store the ammunition separately, and hide the keys where the kids can’t find them. Gun cleaning supplies are poisonous and should be stored away from children or locked up when not used. Keeping a gun unloaded has consistently shown to reduce the risk of accidental injury to children. Additionally, parents can ask if there is a gun in the home where their child is visiting and ask if it is stored safely.
Although not as effective as safe storage, parents can teach children the rules of gun avoidance programs like the NRA Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program if they should find a gun.
■ Stop
■ Don’t Touch
■ Leave the area
■ Tell an adult
Teenagers are at high risk for gun violence because they are impulsive. Judgment and impulse control areas of the brain may not be completely developed until youth are 24 years old. A gun in the home triples the risk of homicide, and the risk of suicide is four to 10 times more likely. Teenagers are prone to react strongly to events such as the end of a romance and be reckless. Families must decide if it is worth the potential risk to have a gun in the home with teenagers, particularly, if they are showing signs of depression such as loss of interest in work or school, behavior changes, sleep changes, and changes in eating habits. Parents should store guns safely locked if they are kept in the home, and the keys to locked guns should be hidden from the teenager. Luckily, most survivors of a serious suicide attempt do not try to commit suicide again and are glad that they are saved.
I know people will disagree. Locking firearms is considered one of the best safety practices by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nearly two-thirds of gun owners report that they own guns for protection, however, sadly these may be used accidentally or intentionally against those they wish to protect. The Second Amendment gives us the right to bear arms, but we also have the right to discuss what environment we want in our schools, neighborhoods, and public spaces and how we want guns to fit in to those environments.
Gail Brook lives in Harrisonburg.
Given the terrible shooting at a school in Newtown, Conn., and the trial of the shooter in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., Congress and the nation have restarted discussions on how these tragedies can be prevented. Firearm-related deaths are one of the top three causes of death of American youth. Nearly 3,000 children die annually due to gun violence. Their family, friends and neighbors can help protect them.
Forty percent of homes in the United States own guns, and according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than a third of accidental shootings of children take place in the home of their friends, neighbors, or relatives. According to the National Rifle Association (NRA), the thumb of a toddler is powerful enough to pull the trigger of a handgun and most children that find a gun will put their hands on the trigger (study from Children’s Hospital of Boston).
If there is a gun in the home, the best ways to prevent an accidental shooting is to unload firearms and lock them up, lock and store the ammunition separately, and hide the keys where the kids can’t find them. Gun cleaning supplies are poisonous and should be stored away from children or locked up when not used. Keeping a gun unloaded has consistently shown to reduce the risk of accidental injury to children. Additionally, parents can ask if there is a gun in the home where their child is visiting and ask if it is stored safely.
Although not as effective as safe storage, parents can teach children the rules of gun avoidance programs like the NRA Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program if they should find a gun.
■ Stop
■ Don’t Touch
■ Leave the area
■ Tell an adult
Teenagers are at high risk for gun violence because they are impulsive. Judgment and impulse control areas of the brain may not be completely developed until youth are 24 years old. A gun in the home triples the risk of homicide, and the risk of suicide is four to 10 times more likely. Teenagers are prone to react strongly to events such as the end of a romance and be reckless. Families must decide if it is worth the potential risk to have a gun in the home with teenagers, particularly, if they are showing signs of depression such as loss of interest in work or school, behavior changes, sleep changes, and changes in eating habits. Parents should store guns safely locked if they are kept in the home, and the keys to locked guns should be hidden from the teenager. Luckily, most survivors of a serious suicide attempt do not try to commit suicide again and are glad that they are saved.
I know people will disagree. Locking firearms is considered one of the best safety practices by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nearly two-thirds of gun owners report that they own guns for protection, however, sadly these may be used accidentally or intentionally against those they wish to protect. The Second Amendment gives us the right to bear arms, but we also have the right to discuss what environment we want in our schools, neighborhoods, and public spaces and how we want guns to fit in to those environments.
Gail Brook lives in Harrisonburg.