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Home > Blogs > Adventures in Motherhood > Archives > 2009 > October > 15 > Entry
News stories prompt talk about gun safety
A couple of recent news stories, one local and one not, have brought gun use by private citizens to the forefront, and got the parent in me thinking even more about gun safety.
One of the stories showed the benefits of having a gun in the house, while the other story had a more tragic end.
The local story documented how four Dayton-area residents, in a four-week period this year, defended themselves by shooting at armed individuals.
Three of these four cases ended with either the arrest or death of the alleged offender, while none of the citizens who did the defensive shooting are facing criminal charges.
That would be the more positive domestic gun story.
The other story was about a Pennsylvania mother, Meleanie Hain, 31, who first made news last year for carrying a loaded, holstered handgun to her 5-year-old daughter’s soccer games.
According to published reports, she said she was within her rights, but the county sheriff disagreed. He said she showed poor judgment by wearing the gun to a child’s game and revoked her permit to carry a gun.
A judge later reinstated the permit.
Then, last week, Hain was shot and killed by her husband in their home. Her husband then shot himself to death. Their three children were in the home at the time.
This second story was an example of the extremely negative side of having a gun in the house.
Personally, it is not my concern if people choose to exercise their right to keep a licensed gun in their house.
That is, until my kids are invited to play or sleep over. Then it becomes my No. 1 concern.
Being the parent of two young boys, I have found myself asking parents who invite my kids over if they own a gun, if safety measures are taken and if it is kept locked away from the kids.
It is not a question I enjoy asking; it feels intrusive and nosy. But it is one I feel needs to be asked to help ensure the kids’ safety.
I also have talked to my sons about what to do if they are at a friend’s house and they encounter a gun.
I told my 8-year-old before a sleepover this summer, “If (your friend) asks you if you want to see his dad’s gun or if he wants you guys to play with it, just run and tell a grown-up. Or, if there is not a grown-up around, just run the other way. Do whatever you can to get out of there fast. Guns can kill you.”
But I quickly saw I might have talked past my intended instructional line and crossed over into inciting panic when the little guy said, “Now I think I am too scared to go to the sleepover!”
So I looked to some experts for advice on what to say and how to talk to my kids about gun safety.
Through Children’s Medical Center in Dayton, I found Safe Kids USA, which is part of a global network whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury.
Safe Kids advocates asking other parents whether there is a gun in the home, and says to tell the kids not to touch a gun, and to tell an adult if they find one.
The National Rifle Association also has good tips for children when they come across a gun.
Through their kid-friendly representative Eddie Eagle, they tell children to: Stop! Don’t touch. Remove yourself from the area and tell an adult.
So, I see I was on the right track, but maybe just a bit too intense about it.
The bottom line is, it is important to remember that guns are out there and that kids need to know what to do if they encounter one.
Arming our kids with knowledge is one thing we can do to help protect them.
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