Love your children? Teach them how to safely handle guns

May 8, 9:25 AMGun Rights ExaminerDavid Codrea

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Courtesy Oleg Volk, A Human Right

A Utah teenager died after apparently shooting himself with a revolver loaded with blanks.

Tucker Thayer, 16, was a sophomore at Deseret Hills High School when he died. Police said he took the gun out of a locked cabinet hours before the play in November and it discharged.

This is a common theme perpetuated by "Authorized Journalists." By using phrases such as "it discharged" or "the gun went off" or "the gun discharged in his hand," human operator responsibility is ignored. Negligence is then presented as an "accident."

It may be comforting to some to blame the gun, but denying reality keeps solutions from being explored. Barring the discovery of a defect, the boy must have had his finger on the trigger. He must have pulled it.

The "solution," as presented by those who wish guns to disappear, is to teach children to avoid them. They must be locked up in safes, separated from ammunition, we are told, so that children cannot access them. And parents must be asked if there are any guns in the home before play dates are allowed.

The unintended consequence of the avoidance approach is it ensures ignorance, so if a child does encounter a gun, they will be clueless as to what to do next. And like it or not, all the theoretical admonitions in the world are no substitute for knowledge and experience.

That means giving your children development-appropriate gun training. Notice I did not say "age." It varies, and it's up to the parent to be in tune enough with their child to know when they're ready to give things a try.

This means, at some point, you need to teach your child how to handle a gun. You need to teach them safety rules. You need to teach them how to identify the parts and explain how they work. You need to teach your children how to fire them, to see what they're capable of. And if you're incapable of doing any of these things, you're being negligent on a basic parental responsibility and need to get yourself trained without delay.

This doesn't mean you need to become a gun owner or a shooting enthusiast (although chances are you'll have some perceptions changed). It is simply a realistic observation that we are better prepared to deal with things--all things--if we have become educated about them. Ask yourself what kind of rational person would disagree with that, and recommend the best and safest course of action is ensuring perpetual ignorance.

Educating yourself and your children is the best way to minimize the chances of suffering a similar unendurable tragedy.

Col. Jeff Cooper's four rules of gun safety:

1. "All guns are always loaded".
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
4. Always be sure of your target.

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Nightmare Update

From Gun Owners of Nevada:

ATTENTION NEEDED -- URGENT

Our current alert has been updated. If you have not contacted all Senators, it is very important to do so now. And if you have, please go here to get the update.

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Brady Expansion

From Oregon Firearms Federation:

House Bill 2853 is now scheduled for a hearing in the House Rules Committee.The hearing is scheduled for May 13th at 3PM.

This bill, which we have warned you about before, was moved to the Rules Committee to allow it to stay alive after deadlines in other committees would have killed it.

The bill would vastly expand the failed Brady Law and send thousands of "mental health" records to the radically anti-gun Obama administration.

Click here for details.