Gun Control For My Kids

Let me begin by saying “I hate guns”. It is a personal thing and not a political stand. When I am around guns I break into a cold sweat and feel very uneasy. If it were not for my husband’s job I would be hard pressed to ever let a gun into my home.

I want to be clear that what I am about to say is not from the “right” or the “left” of the topic it is from the ….well….the uterus. What I mean is not matter what your beliefs are about gun control/laws as a parent you have to look at things from a different point of view. As a parent you have to set a good example and make choices that you feel will keep your family safe.

I don’t have the time to look into the numbers of kids who injury themselves with a gun they find within their own home or a home of a friend, but I can say that even 1 injury is too many. How does this happen? Poor choices by the gun owner. A few years ago as a gift my husband got me a gun handling class at a local range and while I learned everything I never wanted to know about loading, unloading, and firing a gun I learned something VERY important, proper gun handling. Basically a gun that is loaded is only safe when in your hands aimed at something or in a holster on you. A gun should NEVER be left loaded in a night stand, in a drawer, in your closet etc. That is when accidents happen. While you think having a loaded gun readily available to you at home will keep you safe from intruders you are just opening up the door for your kids or their friends to get their hands on it. Yes, I understand the folks who say “I will teach my kids proper gun use and they will know not to …..” and I have to say if other kids can get your kids to use profanity, look at porn, try a cigarette etc. why chance that this will be the thing your kid stands their ground on?

In my house we have made the rule that we do not play with guns. Not bright blue water guns, nurf guns, not guns of any kind.  While this has been easy to maintain at home outside of the house is much harder. The pool was very hard this year as I explained over and over again “thanks for offering to share your toy but we don’t play with guns”. While the kids didn’t exactly understand the parents looked at me like I was either 1 crazy, or 2 judging them. If you let your kids play with guns that is fine with me, different families different rules. My kids get to poke at the camp fire with a stick, different rules for different families – no judging here.

What I do know is that we still have to talk to our girls about guns and that they should never touch one. I also know that as the days of them having playdates without mommy  are coming soon that I will have to begin to ask each parent prior to my kids coming over “Do you have any guns in the house and if so how are they stored?”. Then I will have to be that mom and explain that we would love to play but I do not feel comfortable with them playing in a house where a loaded gun is.

These conversations are going to be hard because when it comes to guns people think that you are going all political on them when really I just care about keeping my child safe. If your kids can find the well placed out of reach scissors and give themselves a hair cut in the blink of an eye what makes finding a loaded gun any different.

So, now the truth.  Why is this on my mind you might wonder? Well, recent I attended a house warming party for a friend. It was a family event with kiddos and adults all over the place. One of the dads that I did not know caught my eye because I noticed he had his loaded gun tucked in the waist band of the back of his pants (to paint the picture it was total TV gangster style with his shirt tucked behind the shirt so you could see the gun right above his butt). I was in shock because while I know it is his right to carry his gun he was not even handling the gun properly and was being really unsafe. So I guess in the end everyone might have the right to own, house, carry, etc. a gun and that is fine but please do not judge me when I exercise my right to ask about it so I can keep my kids safe.