In an ideal world, kids would learn about things like gun safety at home. Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and so on, would all take time to show the proper handling of firearms to such a degree that it only feels natural.
Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. So, what we get instead are kids who don't know better playing with guns, and someone getting injured or killed.
This doesn't have to happen. In fact, this is one rare point of agreement between the pro-gun and anti-gun sides.
It's how we address it where everything breaks down.
For anti-gunners, the only possible solution is to enact laws that will punish parents who fail to store their guns securely, regardless of what other situations might be in place. It's making life worse for people who just had their lives shattered. That's not exactly the best way to handle things.
Besides, not every gun encountered by kids was in a parent's bedroom. Someone trying to dump a gun before being caught by the police isn't exactly worried about your precious baby finding it and screwing around with it. They're just worried about their own skin.
Which is why a better approach is what Oklahoma may be trying to do.
A proposal at the Oklahoma State Capitol wants to bring firearm safety education into classrooms from kindergarten through high school, sparking debate about when and how children should learn about guns.
House Bill 3312 passed its first committee hearing last week, but is getting mixed reactions from parents and lawmakers.
The bill develops a program with the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) to teach safe storage practices and what to do if children encounter firearms.
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Some parents worry the program could backfire and believe firearm education should remain a parental responsibility.
"I think that we're igniting something when we do that, and I think that education from guns should come from the parents and not shunting from school," said Sandra Goff, a parent who lost her son to gun violence.
It probably should be up to the parents, but the truth is that too few parents even realize they need to offer that education. If they don't have a gun, or they have one that just stays locked up, they might not think it matters.
And that's where we have a problem. That's why things like this occur in the first place, because too many parents out there don't understand they need to teach their kids about this sort of thing, even if they don't have a gun.
Hell, a lot of these parents, even in a place like Oklahoma, don't know how to handle a firearm safely, either. How can they teach their kids something they don't know, either?
It's easy to tell a kid to walk away or to tell an adult--and that's often the best step, particularly for younger kids--but there's more to passing that along than a simple instruction, because we all know that kids aren't exactly known for listening to their parents or other adults.
This is a good thing, no matter what anti-gunners try to tell people.
