Educate don’t legislate
A Cocke County grand jury has recommended firearm safety training at school, as a result of the Interstate 40 shootings.
I think this is a good idea. I had (and taught) hunter safety and marksmanship in high school ROTC. And to this day, I haven’t shot anyone. The system works!
Seriously, I have several friends who refuse to even acknowledge guns exist in front of their children. They don’t talk about them at all. When one of these children finds one, it could be devastating. Their only exposure to guns is seeing them glorified on TV. A child educated in the basics of firearms safety will know:
Don’t touch.
Leave the area.
Tell an adult.
They will also know:
Treat all guns as if they’re loaded.
Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to pull it.
Never point a gun at anything you’re not willing to destroy.
Be sure of your target and what’s behind it.
Knowledge is power and it may save a child’s life.
July 18th, 2003 at 6:03 pm
Too true.
I wonder where the whole idea of “don’t tell kids about something and they’ll never do it” came from?
The “right” version:
“Don’t educate them about sex and they’ll never try it.”
(The scare quotes around “right” were because they are wrong. I love the English language, we’ve got double meanings everywhere.)