Gun Safety - One Child is Enough - A Topic Worth Discussing

Did you know that 1 of 3 households has a firearm? Today is National SAFE Day and a very important time and reason to discuss gun safety. This is not an article or discussion on gun control - it's a reality discussion that there are a lot of guns out there and we need to take measures to protect our children.

Maybe you are "anti-gun" and feel comforted knowing that you do not have any firearms nearby for your children to get a hold of? But what about their friends or relatives homes? Or maybe you are "pro-gun" and don't secure them in a safe?

I know that some people feel as though they have taught their children about gun safety and how to either stay away from them or how to handle a gun safely and to be perfectly honest, that's how I used to think. However is the chance worth taking? What about their friends that visit your home? Have they been taught about gun safety? Will they stay away from your guns?

During my research regarding how many children die each year from firearms and wanting to post some well-informed and educated statistics - I became overwhelmed at the many different resources and numbers. So, I decided to stick to my own common sense statistic - 1 child. One child death per year is enough to think again about locking up or securing your firearms and having a discussion with them about gun safety. One child death per year is enough to open the discussion about gun safety to houses they are visiting. One child death per year is worthy of this discussion.

I'm by no means a gun expert. However as a paramedic, I have unfortunately seen a number of child deaths from guns and this is in actuality, my only "real life" expertise and experience on the subject.

In conclusion, if I have influenced one adult to secure their unsecure firearm or to re-think their "it couldn't happen in my house or to my child" view, then I'm at peace knowing that maybe gun safety will be a discussion that leads to a safety action in and outside of your household. Seeing one child die from a gun is enough.