| The Need For Safety Education |
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| Written by Daniel White | |
| Thursday, 26 January 2006 | |
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Ignorance kills. As our children grow, we watch over them to keep them safe. We teach them to look both ways before crossing the road, to not play with fire, to not talk to strangers. We send them to school, where they learn to not run with scissors, to not eat the paste, and how to seek shelter in a storm. Children are not born knowing such things, and it is up to parents, relatives, teachers, and other authority figures to be sure they have the knowledge to avoid the many dangers in life. Imagine if a child was never taught that eating a bottle of pills could cause death. How would he know not to do it? We shelter young children from harm when they are very young, and teach them how to be safe as they grow up. Why, then, is it not the same for millions of children when it comes to firearms? (Click 'READ MORE' to continue...) Monday, a 17-year-old Ohio girl died from a gunshot wound to the chest. Her boyfriend has been arrested in what was believed to be a tragic accident caused by horseplay. The question remains, why were a group of kids involved in horseplay with a handgun? It is most likely because they were never taught not to. For years, the NRA has offered the Eddie Eagle program to teach young children that guns are not toys, and that they can be dangerous. Why isn't this a mandatory program in public schools? Gun safety used to be taught at home. Many children received their first firearm at a young age, and were taught to use them safely. Unfortunately, such training is no longer as ubiquitous. There are many parents out there who believe that insulation is the best policy. They seem to believe that since they don't own firearms, there is no danger. They don't want their kids to learn about guns because their afraid that the knowledge will hurt them; or worse, that their kids will actually learn to enjoy the shooting sports. The obvious downside is that the kids never learn gun safety, and behave in a careless manner when they do come across a gun; whether at a friend's house or abandoned in some field where is was disposed of by a career criminal. The NRA's Eddie Eagle program does not preach about guns in terms of good or bad. It simply teaches about the dangers they can pose in untrained hands. Young children are taught "Stop! Don't touch! Leave the area! Tell an adult!" There are numerous stories about such training saving the lives of young children. So, why isn't it as big a part of public education as the anti-drug campaign or fire safety awareness? Recently, a bill was introduced in Ohio that would create an elective course in public schools for children to learn about firearms safety. I hope it passes. In many school districts, there are funds already set aside, which are currently going unused, that would pay for programs such as Eddie Eagle. Hopefully, more schools will get on board. If it saves the life of just one child, we must be sure that they are taught to be safe around firearms. A safe and responsible child grows up to be a safe and responsible adult. |