Gun Safety: Providing a Safer Environment for our Children
Years ago a friend of mine lived next to a neighbor with a fierce dog that was ready to bite every living thing that passed by his house. One day that dog got free, came into my friend’s yard and attacked his dog. In anger, my friend decided to kill that fierce dog. He got his gun from a locked safe, retrieved his bullets from separate storage, and started toward the door. He had time to reconsider and returned the gun and bullets to their separate, safe storage. A gun should be locked up safely, and the bullets stored separately, so that children won’t use them for play and so that gun owners have time to reconsider their use in an infuriating situation.
Safe Storage of Guns at Home: Massachusetts is the only state with a law requiring that gun owners lock their gun(s) in safe storage. Eleven states require that there be locking devices on guns when they are sold or transferred by licensed gun dealers. A similar federal law was passed in 2005, but this law doesn’t apply to private dealers.
Death and Injury by Gun Shots: In the United States there are many more school shootings than in any other industrialized nation on earth. In 2017, gun deaths reached their highest level in at least 40 years with 39,773 deaths that year alone. Here are more alarming gun shot statistics:
- Every year, 15,000+ children are killed by gun shots.
- So far in 2019 there have been 22 shootings at U.S. schools in which someone was hurt or killed.
- In total there have been 319 mass shootings in 2019 with 11,300+ deaths and 22,510 injuries.
- Each year, 600 women in America are shot and killed by an intimate partner, and millions of women have been non-fatally shot or threatened with a gun by an intimate partner.
Surely our democracy can provide a safer environment for our children. Surely business leaders can think about more than money for themselves and returns for their shareholders. These people assist in the death and injury of children, parents and others by selling weapons and bullets that were made for war and not for use in a peaceful, advanced society.
If you have an opinion about these issues, make sure you vote for those who agree with you. We also encourage you to speak with the elected officials in your state.
