Gun Owners Need to Lock Up Their Guns!

With the anniversary of the Newtown, Connecticut’s Massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School now upon us and after every school massacre researchers, pundits and everyday Americans try to propose changes that will keep our children safe at school.  More often than not, these proposed changes are quick fixes that have no research support and have proven to be ineffective.  

Teaching our kids to throw erasers, books and cans of soup at an attacker or buying bulletproof whiteboards for the children to carry around to deflect the bullets shot at them are ridiculous ideas that will never gain traction.

Policies of profiling troublemaker students and so called “zero-tolerance discipline” have been widely adopted and are largely considered unsound practices by researchers.  Profiling kids experienced with hunting and shooting is simply wrong and tries to make historically significant family traditions and training the issue.

Installing metal detectors only ensure that the gun man shoots the operator first or simply avoids the metal detector all together by gaining access to the school with an alternate route (windows, fences, etc.)

Banning the sale of certain weapons and magazines because they fire at a certain rate or carry more than a certain number of bullets doesn't account for the weapons already in circulation that fit these criteria and are readily available on the streets.  Banning the sales of these guns will never stop a gunman from carrying multiple guns or reloading a magazine taking only seconds.

I am not saying that some of these ideas don’t have merit and should be scrapped altogether.  I believe the resolution is multi-pronged and there any many good ideas that need to be implemented however, I think responsibility needs to begin at home.  

When kids have difficulty coping, have experienced significant losses or have personal and sometimes public failures, parents need to be able to recognize the symptoms and get help if they are unable to address the issues themselves.

More importantly…GUN OWNERS NEED TO LOCK UP THEIR GUNS!  A good gun safe cost about the same as one good gun and a scope and will not only keep guns out of the hands of thieves and distressed individuals, it will also protect those guns and other valuables from fire and natural disasters. If your collection is extensive and you don’t already have a safe or secure environment, it is time to take responsible action and get one.