Keep the guns and ammo inaccessible to children

[NIFT]

These are sickening, so preventable, and, yet, many still proclaim that guns should be accessible to children.

Today, July 15, a five-year-old boy shot and killed his two-year-old brother in Connersville with a gun negligently left where he could access it.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/1...ots-kills-2-year-old-brother/?test=latestnews

April 21, 2009:
Jared Conrad, Crawford County Indiana Reserve Deputy Sheriff, kept his loaded .40 caliber Glock between the mattresses in his bedroom. While he and his wife were in their bedroom, his two-year-old stepdaughter, Alexis, found the pistol, looked down the barrel, pulled the trigger, and killed herself instantly in the presence of her mother and Jared.

November 24, 2010:
Logansport, Indiana. Six-year-old Ariana Roman was shot in the head with a BB gun by a three-year-old boy while visiting at the home of the boy. The BB penetrated Ariana’s skull, severed an artery, and almost killed her.

February 16, 2011:
Greg Mehlbauer, Franklin County Indiana Deputy Sheriff, left a loaded .40 caliber Glock in an under-construction “office” area of his basement. His four-year-old twin boys were playing in the basement, found the gun, and one of the boys, Aiden, suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, while his mother was upstairs helping a six-year-old daughter with homework. Aiden died, later, at a Cincinnati hospital.

June 30, 2011:
Martinsville, IN, eleven-year-old boy shoots six-year-old brother to death with a rifle negligently left where he could access it.

And now, this, today, only two weeks later:

July 15, 2011:
Connersville, IN, five-year-old boy shoots two-year-old brother to death after finding gun in the family’s home negligently left where he could access it.

This is five with four deaths in slightly over two years just in Indiana. No excuses...none.

Please, keep the guns and ammo inaccessible to unauthorized people--espcecially children.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Who proclaims guns should be accessible to children?

 

[NIFT]

Who proclaims guns should be accessible to children?

Didn't keep a list, but many on previous keep-gun-inaccessible-to-children threads. You might do a search, if you wish.

Edit: (one day later)
Don't bother with a search; just read posts that follow.

 

[Lucas156]

I don't think they should be accessible to children but children should be taught what they are and what they can do. Teach your kids firearm safety and set boundaries just in case they ever find it laying around the house when you're not home. Not saying that it will happen but we all make mistakes even dire mistakes. If your child knows what it is his/her curiousity will not be piqued because they know what it does has seen it operate and they know not to touch the gun or operate the weapon unless under the instruction of an adult. Some kids will not listen this is true but it is better that they know about it so they are not as curious. Thats my line of thinking any way

 

[edsinger]

I don't think anyone said make them readily accessible to children. In my case it was an argument about what has changed over the last 30 years. My parents didn't lock them up, they taught me how to use and respect them. And here is the kicker, if I didn't listen my arse was beaten. You cant do that anymore, but I learned. Kids these days sometimes don't learn that NO means NO.

 

[PistolBob]

Responsible gun owners don't leave loaded firearms where a small child can find them. Period. Not all gun owners are responsible, as a matter of fact a few of them are just plain stupid. Tell your three year old no a thousand times and then leave your gun in the unsecured drawer next to the bed in your unsecured bedroom, within his reach, and you might as well shoot the kid yourself.

 

[buford t justice]

If you cant afford a big fancy safe ,every gun owner should at least invest in one of those cheap homak gun storage boxes.

I think they are about 200 bucks

 

[jeremy]

Hey I have a Novel Concept....

How about Educating the Children in Your home about Firearms...

 

[edsinger]

Hey I have a Novel Concept....

How about Educating the Children in Your home about Firearms...

I guess the modern theory is no, you must lock them up, I mean they have done that for hundreds of years.


https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo..._up_guns_what_has_changed_over_the_years.html


** There are places in a house that a 3yr old can not get to.......

 

[BlueEagle]

I'm of the mind that you should satisfy their curiosity when you can, and in the safest manner possible. But the guns should be kept out of their reach otherwise. If they're just another tool in the house, the kids will be fine with them if they're taught about them and the mystery is removed.

Also, a good arse beating goes a long way to keep you in line; something we seem to have forgotten in recent years.

 

[Amishman44]

We do the following:

1. Educate our children about guns and how dangerous they are...they are only allowed to touch / hold them in our presence and only AFTER they have been unloaded.

2. The ONLY gun that is not stored in a safe is a Glock 19...and it is up on a shelf away from where our 3 & 2 y/o cannot reach it. I check it nightly to reassure myself that there is NO bullet in the chamber!

3. ALL others are either stored unloaded (rifles / shotguns) or in a safe (revolvers)!

My 6 y/o daughter is allowed to shoot the 10/22...with supervision...and she's a good shot!

I believe in educating children...AND practicing safety first!

 

[Bill of Rights]

Is it my imagination, or are the news agencies reporting more shootings since 7/1, when the new laws went into effect?

Coincidence?

 

[edsinger]

Is it my imagination, or are the news agencies reporting more shootings since 7/1, when the new laws went into effect?

Coincidence?

Nope

 

[sgreen3]

I don't think anyone said make them readily accessible to children. In my case it was an argument about what has changed over the last 30 years. My parents didn't lock them up, they taught me how to use and respect them. And here is the kicker, if I didn't listen my arse was beaten. You cant do that anymore, but I learned. Kids these days sometimes don't learn that NO means NO.

^^^^THIS^^^^

 

[dom1104]

I like how people who obviously arent parents say "Educate your children about guns, they wont touch them".

What a NOVEL idea!

So if I educate my son about drugs, sex and loose women he wont touch them either!

Wow. And all these years the answer was on a internet message board

 

[Principal Skinr]

Hey I have a Novel Concept....

How about Educating the Children in Your home about Firearms...

Yeah. Educate a 3 or 4 year old and then trust them.

I've got 9 kids. I honestly believe that 6 of them would not touch one of my guns, and 1 is too young to know for sure. That leaves the other two. They are both smart, and we've not spared the rod with them. Yet, they are not so afraid of discipline as the others. They've been known to do things knowing full well they would take a supreme lickin' for it, and yet they did it because they felt it was worth the risk. I started educating each of them at two years old, beginning with simply showing them the guns, and teaching them that it was bad to touch them. Of course, they never have had the chance, as my guns are always locked up unless I'm doing something with them. To be honest, even with the 6 that likely wouldn't touch them, I still would lock them up. It just isn't worth the risk.

I grew up in a home where our guns were never locked up and the ammo was stored in a drawer below them. My dad educated us about them. I will admit that I held them and messed with them a time or two without permission, but we were smart enough not to screw with the ammo and certainly knew about pointing in a safe direction. Truth is, I think many families can even today get away with this, but why risk it? Even educated kids can do something stupid. (Kind of like adults, right?)

My humble but strong opinion: Lock 'em up. Get a safe that allows quick access for home defense. I can get up, punch the buttons, and be ready to kill in about three seconds, with gun and flashlight in hand. If that's not enough time, then I'd bet 99 times out of 100, the bad guy would have me over a barrel anyway.

Each and every kid is different, and to think that simply educating and being strict works with every one of them is a truly amazing statement. And kids these days? There's as many good kids today as ever. (Rhetorical questions, not aimed at any individual here): Do you really think that there was a time period when all kids were good and all parents knew exactly how to be good parents? Do you think good parents never have bad kids?

I'd love to visit this period in time when everything and everybody was just right. As a history buff, I've been searching and searching but haven't found it yet. Someone please help, if you know the time and place where that was the case.

 

[buford t justice]

I have educated my children about guns and gun safety ,heck I could leave guns lay anywhere in the house most of the time but,the are now teens and bring home friends.

I have no idea of their friends level of gun education,so I lock them up.

 

[jeremy]

I like how people who obviously arent parents say "Educate your children about guns, they wont touch them".

What a NOVEL idea!

Why Not?!

It works in My Home just fine...
It worked with My Parents...
It worked for my Grandparents...
It worked for untold Generations of Our Peoples History...

 

[sadclownwp]

how about instead of keeping guns and ammo away from children, you keep your children away from guns and ammo.

The problem today is not enough children fear the repercussions of doing something as stupid as playing with a loaded gun. I think more parents need to give their children a good butt whipping (or at least that is what worked on me) so that they can build the fear of what could happen to them. It's useless to tell them about how they could get killed, because children don't have a real concept of death and they think they are all invincible. But a good butt whipping now that is something they can have a wonderful concept of.

 

[Westside]

I was glad to see the Channel 13 WTHR did the follow up story to this at premier arms in Brownsburg and not at pop's or Don's. This is a constant debate my wife and I are currently having as we are about to start trying to expand our family to 3 or more.