Holiday Greetings and Gun Safety
By Ron Mullins and Thom Bolsch
We’ve survived the Thanksgiving weekend and are driving hard towards Christmas and Hanukah. Bring on the holiday spirit; and those holiday gifts!
The year 2020 was a record year for firearm sales and with the holiday season upon us; we are likely to continue building on that record.
Whether you are a new firearms owner or have a safe full of guns; the safe operation of those firearms is paramount to the safety and security of our families and friends.
As gun owners, we regularly meet people that have no experience with firearms. They are not ‘anti-gun’; but they were never introduced to firearms. As a result of a lack of introduction; we hear stories where children ‘find’ a gun; and thinking it a toy, wound or kill another child.
Whether it’s a familiarity, or the safe respect for the gun; the attitude comes from the knowledge and understanding of the safe operation of a gun. That introduction should come early in life; but sometimes it doesn’t.
There are two issues to address here; one we’ll touch on, the other we’ll delve into…
Let’s first discuss the ‘find’ part of the scenario above. It should not need to be mentioned; but as a reminder – each one of us, as responsible gun owners, need to be aware of where our firearms are located in the house. We also need to understand that if there are children in the house; extra precautions MUST be in place to keep our guns out of untrained hands.
Second; and this is probably most important: as soon as a child becomes curious about firearms, we – as responsible gun owners – must begin to introduce the safe operation of firearms to that child.
My grandfather introduced me to pistols while teaching me to fish. He carried a revolver on his hip to protect against the snakes along the river banks in Florida. While teaching me how to fish, he also introduced me to firearms and gun safety.
Getting that introduction as a child sets the stage for responsible respect for guns; as well as imbedding that respect for anything that could potentially cause harm to another.
Of course, getting that introduction from a parent or grandparent is ideal; but if not available, other sources of introduction include: Youth firearms programs, scouting programs, the local range instructor, other family members and family friends can be sources for a child to learn about firearm safety.
The training should not be cavalier; however, it should not be overly restrictive. A gun is nothing more than a bunch of pieces of machined metal and molded plastic. But it can do damage; and respect for what the gun can do, and how it does it is the understanding everyone needs to have to promote gun safety.
Introduce firearm safety early. Student drivers learn how to control a two ton missile on our neighborhood streets before being released with the family car. Do your children a favor and provide them with an introduction to firearms training course along with the new firearm Santa will be bringing them this Christmas.
If 2020 was the year you bought your first firearm; congratulations. Now it’s time to learn how to safely operate that firearm; schedule a class or private instruction and include the entire family. If there is a gun in the house EVERYONE needs to know how to safely operate that gun.
Stay Aware, Stay Safe,
www.saddleriverrange.com
© Copyright 2020 Ron Mullins and Thom Bolsch
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