TEACH GUN SAFETY TO CHILDREN IN SCHOOL

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 13, 1992                   TAG: 9202130544
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KAREN S. BLANK
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
TEACH GUN SAFETY TO CHILDREN IN SCHOOL
IT WAS interesting to note the Roanoke Times & World-News series on children and guns, not only because I am a teacher of this very topic, but because I, too, have a son.
When I was a young mother, it was very distressing for me to think about anything ever happening to my son. At the same time, I was also very concerned about our personal safety.
It was then that I began to explore the alternatives to having a loaded gun in my home. I explored lock boxes, locking devices for the gun itself, hiding places and methods of safely securing this firearm, and speed-loading equipment.
In my adult classes, I teach students that there is never any need to keep a loaded gun in the home. Rather, I teach them how to secure the gun in a locked box, retrieve it if necessary, and with the use of a speed-loader or magazine, immediately load the gun.
My son, now age 16, has informed me at various times throughout his life that it is impossible to hide anything from a child anywhere in the house. I believe him. It is my opinion that people who do not educate their children concerning firearms, and merely place that gun up on the top shelf of their closet in a loaded condition, are courting disaster.
I would very much like to see gun-safety programs brought into all public schools and taught to all children, similar to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in this area. It is my opinion that by educating our children in the proper way to handle firearms, protect we not only them, but other children who happen to be with them when a firearm does come into the picture.
We all care about what happens to our children; we are mothers and fathers ourselves and realize that our children are our most precious possession. We have them for only a short time before they grow up and leave home to raise their own families; and while we do have them, we want to be confident that we raise them to the best of our abilities and instill in them the rights, responsibilities and freedoms that this great country has to offer at the present.
My son is very involved in competitive shooting, often competing statewide in various matches. This sport is a privilege and right that my son and many other individuals do not want to see jeopardized.
Women come to our classes to learn how to protect themselves in their home. We hear things like, "I am divorced and now living alone for the first time in my life, and I'm afraid"; or, "I am terrified that someone will break into my home while I am asleep and I will wake up and find him in my room."
These are very real fears, and they won't be banished by restricting the sale of guns in our society. That will only restrict the people who are now afraid.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB