by Brendon Morris,that he recommendedhttp://www.handguncontrol.org ,reading for EVERYONE
10 children are shot and killed every day
1 child will die every day from an accidental gun shot.
43% of households have guns.
Just think about that number for a moment.
Let's say your young son has 10 friends that he regularly plays with. At least 4 of those friends live in a house with a gun. Some may say that it does not sound like a large number; after all, just because there is a gun there does not mean that the child knows where it is right? WRONG.
When was the last time you successfully hid a Christmas present or birthday present in your house?
Remember back when you were a kid?
How easy was it for you to find things all over the house?
Remember finding Dad's secret stash of Playboys?
What about that time you found your older brothers piggy bank?
Do not make the mistake of thinking a kid will not find something you have hidden. "Surely it's kept locked up, right?" Errrrr...think again. The majority of handguns kept in homes are NOT kept safely locked up, simply because people are stupid enough to believe that they need to be able to access that gun as fast as possible in case of an emergency. These people keep their guns in bedside drawers, closets, under mattresses.
"My child has been taught the rules about guns and would never ever touch one"
Yeah, right. Educate a child all you like, but you will never overcome a child's natural curiosity. As they grow through their teenage years, they do become more aware of the consequences, the risks and all the other things you teach them (MOST do, anyway), but younger kids ignore all safety warnings. After all, it's just a gun, it's not dangerous, right? A child who has been well educated about guns and the do's and don'ts associated with them will, in a majority of cases, still pick up a gun. Most will act out a play-fight scene or something similar, pretending to be their favourite hero.
The ABC network conducted an experiment a couple of years ago. They went to a child care centre, and put the kids through a gun safety talk. Then, a couple of days later, they hid a couple of guns in the centre, all totally disabled of course. These kids, aged 4 to 8 years, found the guns easily enough, and then proceeded to do all things imaginable with them; looking down the barrel, waving them around the room, pointing them at their friends, getting involved in the old "cops and robbers" games. There was even one kid who said to his friend with the gun, "shoot me".
Some of these kids were not well educated in guns, thats true, but some of them have parents who would swear black and blue that their child would never, EVER touch a gun, let alone play with it. Yet one of those well educated kids found the gun and said "Ohh, a gun. I'm not allowed to touch guns". He then picked the gun up and waved it around the room proclaiming "I'm touching a gun, I'm touching a gun". The boys mother was absolutely horrified when she saw the footage. Education is no guarantee of safety.
So, which of your child's 4 friends live with guns?
Which of those 4 know where the guns are?
Which of those 4 would, in an inspired moment of imagination, decide to use the gun to play a game or show off?
10 children die every day from handguns, through suicide, crime or accidents. How many kids died each year from guns in other countries? I believe these stats are for 1999; in Japan, not a single death was recorded, Great Britain had 19, 57 in Germany, 109 for France, 153 in Canada. I believe Australia was in the 30s or 40s. What about the home of the free? In the United States of America 5,285 CHILDREN died by gun. The only other countries that have figures like that are countries that are in the midst of war or are ruled by despots intent on ethnic cleansing.
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