Home Firearms Safety

[Guest]

This information is kind of old, but I will have to say one more time. I may be beating a dead horse here.

I have responded to several crime scenes where a child got hold of a gun and "accidentally" kill another individual. I have been to another such a case couple of days ago. How tragic event it was!

We all know that we need to keep the guns safe, away from ammo. The kids eventually find out where you keep your guns and ammo, and key for the cabinet or maybe even safe combination. The guns and ammo are not safe from kids.

My way of solving a part of the problem was educating my kids on firearms safety early in their lives. I have drilled it into their brains enough that it became the second nature to them to check for the safety whenever they are handling a firearm. I also take them to the range and shoot. They all have their own guns and they participate in competitions. Firearms became their second nature that they are not curious about guns anymore. Curiousity kills cats and kids are the same way I believe.

When I go to a crime scene and see a youne kid laying dead, it bothers me, because I have kids that age. I would never want to see a child killed by "accidental" discharge of a firearm in my life, but I guess it will not be likely.

I say we all have a duty to keep our guns safe, and educate other peole about firearms safety. It may reduce firearms fatality on children. Some people will say I am preaching to a choir, but one more reminder may get us out of complacency.

[Greg-Dawg]

...

My way of solving a part of the problem was educating my kids on firearms safety early in their lives. I have drilled it into their brains enough that it became the second nature to them to check for the safety whenever they are handling a firearm. I also take them to the range and shoot. They all have their own guns and they participate in competitions. Firearms became their second nature that they are not curious about guns anymore. Curiousity kills cats and kids are the same way I believe.

...

I say we all have a duty to keep our guns safe, and educate other peole about firearms safety. It may reduce firearms fatality on children. Some people will say I am preaching to a choir, but one more reminder may get us out of complacency.

Unfortunately, most gun owners haven't taken a basic handgun course prior to owning a firearm, therefore there is no foundation of safety. So the majority that practice safety is very limited.

There should be a daily public service announcements or police organization sponsored programs on open basic fireams safety course held in town halls to teach safety.

Unless things change, there will be continued domestic adolescent deaths with firearms. Sad, but that's the truth.

[Lucky Scott]

I always taught my kids about gun safety, and always kept them locked on top of that. Still worried about them. Thank goodness my kids are all grown up now.
Now my daughter goes shooting with us!

[RandyD]

I have done the same thing with my daughter who is only 5 years old. I bought her a Cricket .22 LR, and I take it out of the safe on a regular basis so I can review safe gun handling techniques with her. Frequently I ask her what are the three things she is to do if she is handed a firearm, and she always answers; 1) hold the firearm so that it is pointed at the sky, 2) not to put her finger on the trigger and 3) to open the action and make sure it is unloaded. I have taken her shooting two times and she has enjoyed both sessions. I have bought some of the red plastic 22 LR snap caps and we go over how to load, unload and determine if a gun is loaded.

I have also taught her to run away from any place where there is a firearm and no adults. A couple of times, I have intentionally left an unloaded firearm in an area where she is playing to see if she reacts properly upon discovering the firearm, which is to come and get me or her mother. I also visually watched her. Whenever she asks to see a firearm, I take one out of the safe. She is not afraid of firearms nor is she overly curious about them.

Later, when she gets older, I intend to teach her the more detailed instructions on firearm safety.

[hollabillz]

Unfortunately, most gun owners haven't taken a basic handgun course prior to owning a firearm, therefore there is no foundation of safety. So the majority that practice safety is very limited.

There should be a daily public service announcements or police organization sponsored programs on open basic fireams safety course held in town halls to teach safety.

Unless things change, there will be continued domestic adolescent deaths with firearms. Sad, but that's the truth.

You can know and practice firearm safety without paying money for handgun courses. I'm not arguing against safety and training, I'm just willing to bet the majority of gun owners you're talking about grew up around guns and/or learned firearm safety from responsible people, like many of the anecdotes in this thread. Of course, we can't avoid that the minority of gun owners are going to be idiots like this guy. Would he benefit from a sponsored firearm safety course?

The politics of storage gets complex because there's everyone's favorite trade-off between security and convenience, ie. protecting your kids from themselves vs having quick access to protect them from a criminal in an emergency.

[Curtis]

Thank you for the warning. It can't be said too often.

I have 5 year old triplets and had the gun talk with them. Mom was very uncomfortable. She made the comment that we didn't need to do this because all of "your guns" are locked up. I kept reminder her that I wasn't worried about my guns, but the guns we don't know about. After a couple of "this is literally of life-and-death importance" she stopped objecting. I also asked her if she was sure so-and-so didn't have a gun in the house. What about the older stepson who is in college and only visits on the weekends? I was pretty ruthless on the subject.

Since the first time, I have talked with them a couple of additional times. I also opened the safe so they know guns come in different sizes, shapes, and colors.

[SCMA-1]

Yes......I agree; firearms safety can NEVER be emphasized too much. Whenever I'm at a range, I will witness at least several safety violations per session. The problem is many gun owners THINK they already know and practice proper firearms safety, but they don't. There's also the macho aspect of gun ownership; lots of guys think they a) are highly skilled operators and b) already know everything that needs to be known about safe gun handling because they are, well, "guys". It's almost like they believe they are "endowed" with the knowledge and skills by virtue of their male gender and are offended when someone tries to help them by pointing out their errors. I'm not kidding; I'm a certified instructor who has trained for 15 years and you wouldn't believe the learning blocks I've encountered when it comes to guns. Females are far better students and generally learn quicker than their equivalent level male students because they don't have that macho hangup.

SCMA-1

[Blackhawk556]

this type of info is very helpful and should always come up especially with kids in the house

[Knauga]

Unfortunately, most gun owners haven't taken a basic handgun course prior to owning a firearm, therefore there is no foundation of safety. So the majority that practice safety is very limited.

There should be a daily public service announcements or police organization sponsored programs on open basic fireams safety course held in town halls to teach safety.

Unless things change, there will be continued domestic adolescent deaths with firearms. Sad, but that's the truth.

All of this is irrelevant. You can scream until you are blue in the face, there will always be a portion of the population that will act irresponsibly with firearms. The left in this country has managed to demonize guns to the point where we are making people gun dangerous rather than gun-safe. We should have firearms safety courses in schools, we should have shooting as a sport in schools.

I started taking my oldest shooting on his 8th birthday, that was the earliest I could get my wife to consent. I will do this when my younger children get to that point. My goals behind teaching my children about guns and gun safety is that they NEED to see what it is they do, what it takes to be safe around guns and what to do if they end up being some place where there is a gun left laying about because I cannot control what happens outside of my home.

Unfortunately, in this country even teaching basic gun safety to young children will likely get you a visit from CPS if anybody finds out. My son had put up some pictures of him shooting on his Myspace page and I made him take them down, not because he was doing anything wrong, but because the nanny state might come through to show us the "error" of our ways.

[OB_WAN]

sorry for bringing up an old"er" thread but I'm curious about a couple of things:

1. what is the exact statement of the law as it applies to having firearms with children in the home?
2. what steps are people taking to ensure children do not have access to firearms / ammo but still have the weapon accessible for protection?

Sorry if this is the wrong place to bring this up and if so, let me know where or if I should be asking these questions.

[Barney Gumble]

sorry for bringing up an old"er" thread but I'm curious about a couple of things:

1. what is the exact statement of the law as it applies to having firearms with children in the home?

I believe the law is that if a minor gains access to a firearm in your home and uses it to harm someone, you are held responsible. It doesn't matter whether it's your child or someone else's. It's left up to you how to secure your firearms. I don't think the law states that you're required to do anything specific...you could simply hide them in the attic...but obviously the more you can do to secure them, the better.

2. what steps are people taking to ensure children do not have access to firearms / ammo but still have the weapon accessible for protection?

Locked in the safe. Some people keep a Gun Vault handgun safe near the bed or in other areas. I've also seen pics of shotgun locks that can be mounted in a closet that give you relatively fast access to the firearm, but I've never used one.

[OB_WAN]

thanks for the feedback.

1. I believe that's the law as well but the handgun safety book was a little misleading where it had a section on the law and the first paragraph made that statement and then the following paragraphs(may have been sub-titled) got in to detail regarding putting ammo in a separate locked location from the firearm, removing non-critical firearms from the home, etc. started confusing me a bit.

2. I thought a gun vault(mounted somewhere out of reach of the little ones at least) would be sufficient as well but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

[joepamjohn]

This is a "touchy" subject for many on this forum, and if the rest of the gun owners in America are like the gun owners here (which I would say is accurate) then there is a problem with security in many homes when it comes to unsecured guns. When I hear of an innocent child getting shot at home, I remember back to some of the things I have read in these forums and then tell myself "if doesn't surprise me" based on what I have read.

Far too many times I have read on the forums about guys that "have guns stashed in every room and every car" or "have my HD defense shotgun loaded with 10 rounds of 00 buck under the bed or behind the door", but my 4 year old knows not to touch it without my permission. If you think any kid will obey your wishes 100% of the time you are fooling yourself and are playing with their lives and the lives of others. Just remmember back when you were a kid, did you do EVERYTHING your parents said 100% of the time? If you answer yes then you should be in the ministry, or you are full of it.

There is a fine line between wanting to protect yourself and being blatently negligent with not securing firearms from others.Training is another issue, going to Big 5 and buying your Mossberg 590 with a cool flashlight, and a box of shells is not going to do you or anyone else any good if you actually do need to use it. You have a better chance of shooting someone for the wrong reason or having that gun used on you. Get training on how to react and control your emotions in that situation. Anyone can pull the trigger, knowing when and if you need to may keep you or a loved one alive, and you out of jail.

Yes, educating your kids is a necessity so the curiosity is not as much an issue when they see a gun, but kids with still be kids. Your kids also have friends and they come to your house too, so having your house set up this way is just asking to have trouble. Sooner or later you will have your day "in the spotlight" when a gun related incident happens at your house.

It is absoulutley essential to keep ALL guns locked up in a matter that unauthorized people are kept away from them at all times.

If you need a recent example for reference, remember the incident in Fairfield where an 8 year old boy found a loaded handgun and shot his 2 year old sister in the head, killing her. Is this what you want to have happen at your house?

[locosway]

You're preaching to the quire here...

Unfortunately, with anything, this is just another form of population control. Stupid people doing stupid things. If you can't keep an item from a youth, then you need help.

I think we all agree that firearms training for kids is the number one answer.

[ChrisTKHarris]

I have done the same thing with my daughter who is only 5 years old. I bought her a Cricket .22 LR, and I take it out of the safe on a regular basis so I can review safe gun handling techniques with her. Frequently I ask her what are the three things she is to do if she is handed a firearm, and she always answers; 1) hold the firearm so that it is pointed at the sky, 2) not to put her finger on the trigger and 3) to open the action and make sure it is unloaded. I have taken her shooting two times and she has enjoyed both sessions. I have bought some of the red plastic 22 LR snap caps and we go over how to load, unload and determine if a gun is loaded.

I have also taught her to run away from any place where there is a firearm and no adults. A couple of times, I have intentionally left an unloaded firearm in an area where she is playing to see if she reacts properly upon discovering the firearm, which is to come and get me or her mother. I also visually watched her. Whenever she asks to see a firearm, I take one out of the safe. She is not afraid of firearms nor is she overly curious about them.

Later, when she gets older, I intend to teach her the more detailed instructions on firearm safety.

Not necessarily the best direction to be pointing the firearm say for instance she was on the ground floor of a two-story house.