Parenting Resources

Gun Safety Tips for Parents

• know the positions of elected officials
  • local, state and national
  • Are they committed to passing legislation to insure effective gun control and the safety of all children?
  • require manufacturing of guns with locking devices, safe storage of guns in the home
• guns are unsafe in any home in which children are present
  • if in home, must be stored properly
  • risk to children
    • 5 x normal rate for child suicide
    • 3 x normal rate for child homicide
  • gun should be removed entirely when a child in home is depressed
• questions of neighbors/friends
  • is not the child's responsibility to report or know how to behave around guns
  • children, including adolescents, cannot appreciate or anticipate the real and potential dangers of a gun
  • is the adult's responsibility to provide a safe environment in which children can be
  • My child really enjoys playing at your home. However, with all the recent shootings involving children I am worried about my child's safety wherever he/she is. I can't feel comfortable anymore until I ask if there is a gun in your house.
  • if so, Are the gun and the ammunition in separate areas of the house? and "Have the key and/or the lock combination been shared with any children in your home?"
• Tina Johnstone, The Bell Campaign (NY)
  • (212) 674-3569
  • "living in a polluted environment"" best to avoid and prevent
  • study documented that women claim to be unaware that a gun is in the home when in fact one is present
  • don't know why this occurs
  • Tina feels, mother to mother, a woman might be more likely to share the truth about the presence of a gun
  • San Francisco, CA office, 1-800-746-4464
    

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