Keep the guns and ammo inaccessible to children

[Sylvain]

regulation vs. freedom... manditory military service? That'll teach'em. How'bout, training certificate in order to purchase weapons?

Who's the comedian who did the skit entitled, "You can't fix stupid."? He nailed it!

That is like that in France.In order to get a permit to buy a gun you need to have at least six months of proper firearm training with an official firearm instructor certified by the state.
I personnally had more than 30 hours of training with a firearm instructor before I would get a permit to buy my own guns and ammo.
Your firearm instructor then has to certify that you can handle a firearm in a safe maner.
On top of that you need to see a doctor to certify that you have no mental problems.
And a bunch of other things like background checks and other JUST to get a permit that allows you to buy a gun or ammunition.
You need like 12 different documents in order to get you permit to purchase a gun.

It's why im always amazed in the US when I you can just buy a gun in 5 minutes without any training, just with a simple background check at a gun store.And you can buy ammo without any background check at the local Walmart.

 

[edsinger]

It's why im always amazed in the US when I you can just buy a gun in 5 minutes without any training, just with a simple background check at a gun store.And you can buy ammo without any background check at the local Walmart.

The Wild Wild West...hence we would never in the foreseeable future be invaded nor will the Government be able to 'really' control the population.


Isn't America Grand?

 

[Sylvain]

The Wild Wild West...hence we would never in the foreseeable future be invaded nor will the Government be able to 'really' control the population.


Isn't America Grand?

I just find it scary sometimes that someone can buy a gun and carry it legally in Indiana without having to ever fire a handgun, not even a single time.You just need to spell your name right to get your LTCH.
I mean you need training to get your licence to drive a car but nothing is required to carry a firearm in the street.

 

[Patternpimp]

Do you also lock up your Tools?!
Or how about your Car Keys?!
Or how about Matches and Lighters?!
Your Medications?!
How about the Cleaning Compounds?!

Why not?!

Actually yes, every single item you listed including alcohol. Even keep the knives in cabinets above the counter where they cant be reached. Its called being a responsible parent. One incident of curiosity and the little fella might not recover, a little inconvenience is worth the piece of mind.

 

[Sylvain]

Actually yes, every single item you listed including alcohol. Even keep the knives in cabinets above the counter where they cant be reached. Its called being a responsible parent. One incident of curiosity and the little fella might not recover, a little inconvenience is worth the piece of mind.

I agree.
Depending of the age of your kids those things need to be locked up.

 

[jeremy]

Actually yes, every single item you listed including alcohol. Even keep the knives in cabinets above the counter where they cant be reached. Its called being a responsible parent. One incident of curiosity and the little fella might not recover, a little inconvenience is worth the piece of mind.

I am calling BS on you keeping all those Items I listed under Lock and Key...

You and I have a difference on the definition of responsible parent...

 

[Chase515]

I have two safes. One for pistols and one for rifles. My four year old hasnt been introduced to firearms yet by me. But she knows if you shoot at something it will die. Her grandfather is a cop and has had her and her cousins out shooting. Not sure when I am going to introduce firearms to her but I know it will be at a shooting range so she can learn properly.

 

[Principal Skinr]

I am calling BS on you keeping all those Items I listed under Lock and Key...

You and I have a difference on the definition of responsible parent...

Sorry, but I don't think those things carry the immediate danger and power of a firearm. If someone breaks into my house, I don't run and get my medicine, alcohol, or Drain-O. Maybe a knife, but you have to work harder to go after someone with that. Otherwise, police and soldiers would have them as primary weapons.

Besides that, you have no evidence to call BS on anyone. You only have what you believe, so I call BS on your BS!

 

[Patternpimp]

I am calling BS on you keeping all those Items I listed under Lock and Key...

You and I have a difference on the definition of responsible parent...

U never heard of child locks, u buy them at places other than gunshops. The mindset of some posters on this forum is astounding.

 

[Destro]

I kinda feel like trying to teach a toddler the finer points of firearms saftey is playing with fire...and if that line of thinking lumps me in with Sarah Brady, well......

 

[kludge]

Education works. I've had first hand experience that it does with my kids. However it does not work with every kid in every situation.

And the price of being wrong just once is far too high to take the chance that my kids will obey the rules 100% of time... I know that they DON'T obey the rules 100% of the time when it's about things other than guns, why would I be stupid enough to think that they will follow the rules 100% of the time when it comes to guns.

Heck, we have full grown adults on here who complain about the stupid range rules and stupid RSOs at the various ranges around our state.

I would wager that half of the adults I see on the range do not follow the 4 RULES 100% of the time. THIS is why RSOs are dicks. It's YOU, not THEM.

The only places I have been where I wasn't ever swept at some point in time was: 4H Shooting Sport, Boy Scouts, and personal protection training courses.

 

[Magnum]

Even if your kids are particularly mature and responsible with guns, they still shouldn't have unsupervised access. Around age 11-12 I found and played with my dad's 1911, learned to strip it down, even fired it in our suburban neighborhood backyard from inside the house, and he still has no idea. Did I hurt myself or someone else? No. Could I have? Very possibly. I happened to have taken hunter's safety and education by then and had handled a lot of guns, but mature as I was, guns are still a shimmering child magnet. I intend to teach my kids safe handling in case, god forbid, they do get their hands on one somewhere alone, but I will definitely keep them inaccessible until they are a legal adult.

 

[Osobuco]

Educate the children about the dangers. That is of utmost importance. However, no matter how educated the kid is, a child is still a child. I think we have too much tendency to think that just because we thoroughly educate our kids about guns, they will behave as "adults" and act appropriately around them. We cannot expect kids to act like adults. Their brains are not developed, they tend to act on impulse and often times irrationally. Therein lies the problem with the theory, "If I teach my kids appropriate safety they will behave accordingly." It is a scientifically proven fact children lack fully developed frontal lobes and the ability to clearly rationalize through consequences. They cannot control their impulses as well as adults. Of course there a plenty of adults who could use more development in their frontal lobe too.

Given this, I keep my guns locked at all times unless I am carrying. Of course when home I am carrying.

 

[Magnum]

It is a scientifically proven fact children lack fully developed frontal lobes and the ability to clearly rationalize through consequences. They cannot control their impulses as well as adults.

This.

 

[Suprtek]

Anyone seeking a "cookie cutter, one size fits all" answer to these types of questions might as well be looking for a bucket full of unicorn tears. Everyone's kids are different. Everyone's family situation is different. If there were a hard and fast rule book for being a parent (or even a responsible adult), there would be a lot of perfect people in the world.

What it comes down to is good old fashioned common sense. Just because its necessary for your buddy to take extreme measures to secure firearms in order to provide a proper level of safety doesn't necessarily mean you can't accomplish the same or better level of safety using different methods. If a person can't figure out what level of security is necessary for their own situation, that person might want to re-evaluate their decision to be a gun owner.

There will always be the possibility for unforeseen circumstances to create tragedy that no one could have predicted. However, that fact applies to all areas of life, not just firearms safety.

 

[revance]

I doubt that would eliminate any reason for them to touch them. Maybe some kids, but not all.

I don't think there's any one perfect formula for everyone, but one thing is for sure. When they are properly locked up, it solves the problem of when you aren't there or aren't watching. I also don't see a problem with having some things your kids just simply don't touch, if that is the way they want to approach it.

Of course, with the "spanking cures everything" crowd, I guess it doesn't matter whether you let them touch them under supervised conditions, or not.

I knew a guy who handled guns all his life who blew a hole in his own shoulder while cleaning a firearm he thought was unloaded. He bled to death.

I don't second-guess those who want to play it extra safe, and you've got to look at your own kids to decide how to approach it. Like I said, I've got 9 kids, and the same approach doesn't work for all of them. One will take the spanking of a lifetime, and will go on and commit the same offense again. Another has never been spanked because she absolutely can't stand the thought of disappointing me or her mother, let alone the spanking itself.

While I believe they should be locked up, I don't call for any laws on the matter. However, whenever someone's kids kill themselves with an unlocked gun, it certainly moves us closer to legislation that hurts all gun owners. I'm sure the parents in these accident situations thought they knew pretty well before the accident. I feel terrible for them, and worse for their children.

I was not advocating not locking them up... I was saying that making them forbidden fruit is NOT "playing it extra safe". It is putting your children in danger. When you make it clear to your children that you will never let them touch your guns, even safely under your direct supervision, you are setting yourself up for disaster.

You can keep your guns locked up 100% of the time, but that is NO GUARANTEE that they won't find one somewhere else. Now which child do you think is more likely to pick one up that they find... a child who has never gotten to touch one, or a child who knows that all they have to do is ask his father to see one?

 

[ElsiePeaRN]

I don't claim to know the answer here, but this family, and many in my community (where this tragedy occurred) could use some prayers.

To those who say the answer is simply to educate your children about guns, I have to point out that this 5-year-old WAS educated about guns. His father had a number of guns and the boy has been educated about gun safety. He always stores this gun without one in the chamber and in an (unlocked) box in his bedside table.

There has to be more to gun safety around children than just educating them. I do not know a single child, or adult for that matter, who ALWAYS without exception does what one is told or never makes an error in judgment.

And to clarify a point of fact, it has not yet been determined who was actually handling the gun at the time it fired. It is assumed that because the slide had to be racked that it was the five year-old and not one of the 2-year-olds, but it is not at all clear at this time.

Wyatt Fasbinder: Police tell parents to keep guns locked up following toddler's death - fox59.com

Please keep this family in your prayers.

 

[jeremy]

How about this...

You do what you feel is safe in your homes, but don't force your opinions on those that disagree with what you feel is safe and unsafe...

 

[ElsiePeaRN]

My four year old hasnt been introduced to firearms yet by me. But she knows if you shoot at something it will die.

Are you sure you know what "it will die" means to her? In order to have an accurate view of death, one has to be capable of abstract thinking. Most 4-year-olds are simply incapable of this at that level. You might be surprised at the limitations of her understanding of death if you explore it with her. Most children only begin to grasp death as a biological event at the age of 5 or 6. They generally do not even begin to fully grasp the permanence of death until sometime between the ages of 6-9 and even then, some don't grasp the finality of it until much later. There is little you can do to effectively speed this up as it relates to their individual cognitive and emotional development, which tends to follow similar patterns in most children.

 

[buford t justice]

How about this...

You do what you feel is safe in your homes, but don't force your opinions on those that disagree with what you feel is safe and unsafe...

how about trying that one yourself