Copied, without permission, from Associated Press
Police: Boy accidentally shoots younger brother in thigh
(AP)
State police in Indiana County say a 4-year-old boy accidentally shot his younger brother in the thigh with a handgun.
Police say the family was moving and the boys found the loaded gun in a box at their Plumville home. The shooting happened about 2:45 p.m. Thursday.
The 2-year-old's injuries aren't life threatening. He's been taken to a hospital for treatment.
Police say they won't file charges.
//Article ends. Jdude Begins.//
We live in an armed society. Often, those of us who own guns, have children. The question then becomes "How do we protect our children from things that they are to young to understand the danger of?" Children learn from what they see. They learn from sesame street how to count to 13, and they learn from movie night that guns go bang. What is not taught to them is the real pain and suffering that is involved. A guy gets shot on tv, and 2 seconds later they are seeing something else. The corpse just fades away.
The problem here is not the television. The problem is that children, being who they are, simply do dumb things. Parents must lock up the anti-freeze so that children don't drink the cool-aid flavored poison. Firearms cannot be left alone, unattended.
How do we apply this to our guns? For starters, there must be a child proof method of preventing the device from being fired. A trigger lock, locking barrel cable, or safe would do all of these things well. The locking devices cost less than 20 dollars. If you can't afford that, which is less than a box of ammo, you can run a bike chain through the magazine well in your pistols. You can remove the bolt from your rifles.
The second possibility is to limit access to the guns. While your children are still in the crawl phase, the top of the closet would probably work very well. Once they learn how to walk and climb, you will probably need to get a locking case, safe or box. Little children are like little monkeys. They are very curious and very good at getting into places they should not be in. A key lock box or a digital number lock box would challenge even the most precocious youngster.
The third possibility is to sell your guns. This may seem wrong to many of you out there. But if you cannot afford the few dollars for a safe or a lock device, you probably cannot afford formula or pb&j. That would mean you have more serious problems than what any gun of any kind can solve.
A concern is that when a person needs a gun, having a lock on it will make it too hard to use. I think that this is incorrect. Most gun locks can be removed in less than a minute. Digital safes can be opened in seconds with the proper code. As a side note, think about your children. None of them were born with a doctorate in physics. Like all children, they were born stupid. The likelihood of your children doing stupid things is exceptionally higher than a break in. Play the odds here. Get a digital safe, accept those few extra seconds you need to stop a bad guy.
Once you have chosen your method of protecting your children, you must educate them. The NRA's Eddie Eagle program, which emphasizes "Stop! Don't touch! Tell an adult!" and constant reinforcement of this lesson will help keep your children safe. When they are old enough to understand, taking them shooting will enhance this education with reality which will cement gun safety firmly in their minds, forever. So long as the parent acts in a responsible manner, your child will also.
Protect your kids. Lock your guns.
Jdude, The Unstoppable Madman
Edited: put in paragraphs
Police: Boy accidentally shoots younger brother in thigh
(AP)
State police in Indiana County say a 4-year-old boy accidentally shot his younger brother in the thigh with a handgun.
Police say the family was moving and the boys found the loaded gun in a box at their Plumville home. The shooting happened about 2:45 p.m. Thursday.
The 2-year-old's injuries aren't life threatening. He's been taken to a hospital for treatment.
Police say they won't file charges.
//Article ends. Jdude Begins.//
We live in an armed society. Often, those of us who own guns, have children. The question then becomes "How do we protect our children from things that they are to young to understand the danger of?" Children learn from what they see. They learn from sesame street how to count to 13, and they learn from movie night that guns go bang. What is not taught to them is the real pain and suffering that is involved. A guy gets shot on tv, and 2 seconds later they are seeing something else. The corpse just fades away.
The problem here is not the television. The problem is that children, being who they are, simply do dumb things. Parents must lock up the anti-freeze so that children don't drink the cool-aid flavored poison. Firearms cannot be left alone, unattended.
How do we apply this to our guns? For starters, there must be a child proof method of preventing the device from being fired. A trigger lock, locking barrel cable, or safe would do all of these things well. The locking devices cost less than 20 dollars. If you can't afford that, which is less than a box of ammo, you can run a bike chain through the magazine well in your pistols. You can remove the bolt from your rifles.
The second possibility is to limit access to the guns. While your children are still in the crawl phase, the top of the closet would probably work very well. Once they learn how to walk and climb, you will probably need to get a locking case, safe or box. Little children are like little monkeys. They are very curious and very good at getting into places they should not be in. A key lock box or a digital number lock box would challenge even the most precocious youngster.
The third possibility is to sell your guns. This may seem wrong to many of you out there. But if you cannot afford the few dollars for a safe or a lock device, you probably cannot afford formula or pb&j. That would mean you have more serious problems than what any gun of any kind can solve.
A concern is that when a person needs a gun, having a lock on it will make it too hard to use. I think that this is incorrect. Most gun locks can be removed in less than a minute. Digital safes can be opened in seconds with the proper code. As a side note, think about your children. None of them were born with a doctorate in physics. Like all children, they were born stupid. The likelihood of your children doing stupid things is exceptionally higher than a break in. Play the odds here. Get a digital safe, accept those few extra seconds you need to stop a bad guy.
Once you have chosen your method of protecting your children, you must educate them. The NRA's Eddie Eagle program, which emphasizes "Stop! Don't touch! Tell an adult!" and constant reinforcement of this lesson will help keep your children safe. When they are old enough to understand, taking them shooting will enhance this education with reality which will cement gun safety firmly in their minds, forever. So long as the parent acts in a responsible manner, your child will also.
Protect your kids. Lock your guns.
Jdude, The Unstoppable Madman
Edited: put in paragraphs
