Does Society Have a Responsibility to Educate Children on Guns?

[karrie]

In this video, an NRA News spokesperson makes the argument that, in much the way that we train children to swim to mitigate their risk of drowning, we also have a responsibility to, as communities, push for gun education for children to prevent accidental gun deaths.

Billy Johnson for NRA News: Just Say No To Firearm Ignorance - YouTube



He makes an impassioned case for why the two are comparable. But his argument rings completely hollow on more than a few points.

The biggest thing that strikes me, is it takes the onus off gun owners, and puts the blame for accidental shootings, on children. Nowhere else would this happen. If you have a pool, you are required to gate it. Even my hot tub is required to be locked. If I leave bleach out, and my kids drink it, the government puts the onus strictly on me. Protecting our children is put strictly on our shoulders, and swimming lessons come about not just to protect children from water, but also to give them access to cheap and healthy exercise. It is not in any reasonable way, comparable to gun ownership. Telling society at large that we should all start footing the bill to educate our children about something they are not supposed to come into contact with, so that gun owners can be lax, is ridiculous.

 

[Goober]

How mnay of the children killed are due to improperly secured weapons.

If you have chemicals in your house, they are moved and secured when the baby arrives, or well before for those that are thinking people.

Same with childproofing the electrical outlets and doors.

Yet when it comes to guns how many owners secure their weapons improperly.

Each State has differing rules on this as they are from what I understand a States responsibility to permit, restrict, storage and security of weapons etc.

 

[B00Mer]

Nah, just give'm the Darwin Award.

Dumb Kid Looks Down Barrel of Potato Gun - YouTube

 

[Machjo]

In this video, an NRA News spokesperson makes the argument that, in much the way that we train children to swim to mitigate their risk of drowning, we also have a responsibility to, as communities, push for gun education for children to prevent accidental gun deaths.

Billy Johnson for NRA News: Just Say No To Firearm Ignorance - YouTube



He makes an impassioned case for why the two are comparable. But his argument rings completely hollow on more than a few points.

The biggest thing that strikes me, is it takes the onus off gun owners, and puts the blame for accidental shootings, on children. Nowhere else would this happen. If you have a pool, you are required to gate it. Even my hot tub is required to be locked. If I leave bleach out, and my kids drink it, the government puts the onus strictly on me. Protecting our children is put strictly on our shoulders, and swimming lessons come about not just to protect children from water, but also to give them access to cheap and healthy exercise. It is not in any reasonable way, comparable to gun ownership. Telling society at large that we should all start footing the bill to educate our children about something they are not supposed to come into contact with, so that gun owners can be lax, is ridiculous.

Hmmm... seems the youtube link isn't working... anyway, going by what you're sayng, I don't see the point wasting time teaching a child whose parents don't even own one about gun safety. However, it could make much sense to a hunting family for example, or other circumstances where the child may very well have access to and use of a firearm. But the idea of making it universally applicable would be a waste of time.

 

[karrie]

Hmmm... seems the youtube link isn't working... anyway, going by what you're sayng, I don't see the point wasting time teaching a child whose parents don't even own one about gun safety. However, it could make much sense to a hunting family for example, or other circumstances where the child may very well have access to and use of a firearm. But the idea of making it universally applicable would be a waste of time.

Precisely... parents who know their kids will be around guns have a responsibility to educate their kids.

Frankly, parents who know their kids will be around _________, have a responsibility to educate their kids about the hazards associated with _______. You can fill that blank in with pretty much whatever you want. I think when we start discussing when and where society should be the ones shouldering the cost and responsibility of education on any subject, there ought to be a universality to what's being taught, or at least a pressing regional need. We simply can't educate children on every single hazard, parents need to know what their specific kid needs to be aware of.

 

[taxslave]

I think the idea has merit and should be looked into farther. Certainly better for kids than some of the other things that are forced on them in school like studying dead poets.
It is too late to educate the parents so maybe we can educate the kids.

 

[Machjo]

I think the idea has merit and should be looked into farther. Certainly better for kids than some of the other things that are forced on them in school like studying dead poets.
It is too late to educate the parents so maybe we can educate the kids.

So there ought to be no literary education whatsoever?

 

[L Gilbert]

How mnay of the children killed are due to improperly secured weapons.
't to
If you have chemicals in your house, they are moved and secured when the baby arrives, or well before for those that are thinking people.

Same with childproofing the electrical outlets and doors.

Yet when it comes to guns how many owners secure their weapons improperly.

Each State has differing rules on this as they are from what I understand a States responsibility to permit, restrict, storage and security of weapons etc.

Our house didn't need gov't assistance in gun storage, safety, or usage. Same as sex ed, we didn't need gov't assistance for that either. We sent our kids to driver training. etc. etc. etc. One reason for the above is that we don't like or need nannying. Another is that we prefer gov't to spend money on lawn order, road maintenance, and the stuff that gov't are for rather than micromanaging people's lives.

 

[taxslave]

So there ought to be no literary education whatsoever?

There is lots more to literacy than a few dead poets. Like ones that are still alive for starters.

 

[L Gilbert]

There is lots more to literacy than a few dead poets. Like ones that are still alive for starters.

Yes, there is more. That's why there is a Lit. class and a class for grammar and other such aspects. lol

 

[DaSleeper]

Parents with no firearms in the house should at least teach their children to stay away from them should they see a firearm anywhere.

 

[SLM]

I don't see how safe storage requirements infringe upon one's right to own a weapon. It's not a ban nor really a restriction, it's putting the responsibility on the gun owner to ensure his property is as safe as is reasonably possible.

Parents with no firearms in the house should at least teach their children to stay away from them should they see a firearm anywhere.

In the same sense that parents should also teach their kids what to do and not do should they find a discarded needle on the ground. But I think the onus should be on the gun owner to ensure that loaded weapons are not left within easy access of children.

I don't want to take anyone's gun away from them but, just like any other piece of property, it's the responsibility of the owner of that property to ensure it's not a hazard.

 

[Goober]

Our house didn't need gov't assistance in gun storage, safety, or usage. Same as sex ed, we didn't need gov't assistance for that either. We sent our kids to driver training. etc. etc. etc. One reason for the above is that we don't like or need nannying. Another is that we prefer gov't to spend money on lawn order, road maintenance, and the stuff that gov't are for rather than micromanaging people's lives.

It is about assigning responsibility and ensuring the person receiving a weapon knows the full legal implications of a child dying due to personal negligence. I see to many news reports of kids killed by weapons not secured properly in the US. This is not about a nanny State, this is about children, child dies, weapons unsecured, life imprisonment.
Part of the paperwork as I believe this is about the US and not Canada.