As a Firearms Instructor, I have many discussions with local parents who desire to buy and keep a firearm in the home for personal protection. It is not rare in my community for households to be victimized by armed robbers, rapists, and home-invaders. Accordingly, many Detroit area residents are exploring self-defense alternatives as opposed to just calling the local police department and hoping that help arrives before it is too late. It is no secret that many local law enforcement agencies are woefully understaffed and lack the resources to protect citizens. In fact, Forbes Magazine just announced about a month ago that Detroit was once again named as the "Most Violent City In America" based on 2010 FBI Crime Statistics.
As such, some parents undergo angst and mental anguish weighing whether it makes sense for them to have both children and guns in the home. During the Concealed Pistol License (CPL) class that I teach, I inform my students that guns and children are not a mutually exclusive proposition; proper preparation will enable households to safely have both in the home.
To begin, the biggest concern that parents have about firearms in the home is that their children will find them and play with them. Obviously, this scenario can have disastrous consequences, as the children could cause significant harm to themselves and others.
Thus, it is imperative that safeguards be put into place to keep guns away from children. This requirement is no different from a myriad of other potentially dangerous items found in the typical household. For example, small children should not be allowed to have unfettered access to the following: unattended swimming pools, bleach, rat poison, sharp knives, electrical outlets, and hot stoves. Guns in the home should not be any different.
One way to balance accessibility to firearms while keeping them away from small kids is to investigate the purchase of firearms storage devices. There are several units on the market - available at most gun shops - that allow adults to quickly acquire a loaded gun while restricting access to others. Some devices have keypads requiring a numerical password and others use high-tech gadgetry utilizing fingerprint recognition.
Another option to keep parents' guns away from their children is for the parents to always wear the firearm while at home. The firearm would always be close when needed and would not be accessible to children. This option is not as drastic as some non-gun owners usually speculate. A gun in a holster is comfortable to carry, does not impede movement, and can't be possessed by others.
Further still, the best way to "gun-proof" children is to have a frank dialogue with them about firearms when they are emotionally ready to discuss it. There are no fast and hard rules about a specific age; each child is different. Parents know the maturity level of their children and are best qualified to make that determination.
In fact, children should be taught facts about guns whether or not they are currently in the home. It is pure folly for a parent to think that just because there aren't any guns in his specific home that his child could not either come into contact with a gun or related info outside of the home or learn myths about guns from other sources.
Whether some parents like it or not, children are going to hear info - both true and false - about guns. All segments of our society "teach" children about guns: rap videos, TV shows, popular music, movies, video games, and other neighborhood kids. So, if children are going to be exposed to info about guns, it should be balanced with a talk from the child's parents.
Above all, parents need to educate their kids that there may a gun in the home. The purpose of that firearm is to provide protection against bad people who present danger and harm to the house-hold. As such, it is not a toy and should not be touched if it is located. Furthermore, the danger of wielding a firearm should be made known; the kids should be taught that they can hurt themselves. If the children are not mature enough to abide the wishes of the parents, then safeguards need to be adopted.
There is no credible reason why children and guns can't safefully coexist in a home. It will require training, education, and a frank conversation with the children but it is well worth the effort if it means that the family can be protected from pedophiles, rapists, and home-invaders.
To learn more about educating children about guns in the home, you should consider taking a firearm safety class with a credible trainer.
About The Author
Rick Ector is a National Rifle Association credentialed Firearms Trainer, who provides Michigan CCW Class training in Detroit for students at his firearms school - Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit.
Ector is a recognized expert in firearm safety and has been featured extensively in the national and local media: Associated Press, NRAnews, Gun Digest, The Politics Daily, Fox News Detroit, The Detroit News, WJLB, WGPR and the UrbanShooterPodcast.
For more info about Detroit Michigan CPL Classes, please contact:
Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit
Contact: Rick Ector
Web: http://www.detroitccw.com
Email: info@detroitccw.com
Phone: 313.733.7404
I do most of my blogging and article writing in coffee shops because there are too many distractions at home.
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