Best Solution to Increase Gun Safety - Education?

Gun control/safety is a pretty hot topic these days. Everyone has their own opinion about who should have access. Some feel the gun laws should be very strict, while others feel the firearms laws should be more “relaxed”. Whether you feel strongly one way or the other one topic most people can agree on is that education about guns could help increase gun safety.

What does Gun Safety Education entail?

Again, there is much debate over what firearm safety should include. However, most people can agree that many times in life, the danger is in the not knowing. For example, if a person, who has never driven, got behind the wheel of a car there could be awful consequences.

In essence, the car could become a deadly weapon. That is why the law requires a person wanting to obtain a driver’s license to go through and pass a driver’s education course. If a person cannot do that then he or she is not allowed to get behind the wheel.

One of the differences, in this case, is that usually, a younger person is not going to have the ability or the opportunity to get behind the wheel. While a younger person could see and have access to a firearm.

The old saying, “Knowledge is Power” could definitely apply here. We talk to children about being safe when crossing the street and about not talking to strangers. We teach them to be careful, to avoid dangerous situations, like running after a ball into the street. Perhaps giving children/people some knowledge about firearms could help avoid dangerous, accidental discharges of firearms.

There are of course different levels of knowledge that can be given. It is up to the firearm owner and/or parent to decide how much knowledge to share. Just like any other safety talk, it is important to give the information before a person comes into contact with a firearm.

There does not have to be a specific discussion about how to load or shoot a firearm. The most important part is to teach them not to touch or handle any firearm they come into contact with and to treat it as though it is loaded.

If a parent, guardian or person is uncomfortable with having a discussion about firearms specifically, an alternative is to educate about unknown objects. If they ever see something and they do not what it is they should get an adult immediately.

Gun safety is a difficult topic because people have such strong feelings about gun control. However, most people can agree there needs to be some type of education when it comes to gun safety. How that is done can vary from family to family. The most important concept to get across is that anyone coming into contact with any type of firearm should assume that the firearm is loaded.