Handguns in Households with Children

Handguns in Households with Children

Guns in America are a problem as bad as the drug problem: 43% of households that have children have handguns in them; 10 children die every day from handguns, approximately one every 2 Ð... hours. That is the same of a classroom of children every two days. Parents do not realize that children get the physical capacity to reach and discharge a firearm long before the ability to understand the potential consequences of these actions. Parents who insist on keeping guns in the home should be urged strongly to store their firearms unloaded and locked in a secure place. Actions like these will reduce the probability of children being killed by a firearm. The presence of handguns in households with children frequently leads to fatal accidents, suicides, and murders.

The majority of handguns kept in homes are NOT kept safely locked up, simply because people are stupid enough to believe that they need to be able to access that gun as fast as possible in case of emergency. These people keep their guns in bedside drawers, closets, under mattresses. Most of the children who are involved in fatal accidents are older children. In 1999, the most recent year which data are available, 34 children under the age of 5 died in gun accidents. Among children aged 5-9, there were 56 fatal gun accidents; and among children aged 10-14, 146 fatal accidents. For instance, on July 21, 1999, in Lakepark, Florida, a 6-year-old boy fatally shot his 5-year-old brother Corey Andrew Wilson, as the boys played with a shotgun they found under a bed in their grandparent's bedroom. The best way to reduce gun risks is to remove guns from home.

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Children suicide has truly become a problem of outbreak proportions in America that must be addressed from every direction. As numerous studies have shown, children use guns in roughly two out of every three-suicide attempt, and handguns are used in 70% of these. In 1998 alone, 1200 youth in America committed suicide with a gun, the same of one every seven hours. Children suicide attempts are usually impulsive acts, and the easier it is to carry out. Using a firearm in a suicide attempt drastically increases the likelihood that the attempt will be fatal. Simply having a gun in the home actually increases the chances of suicide by a factor of 5 for all residents in that house, including children, and the number of children in America who readily have access to firearms is outrageous. Plainly speaking, if guns were not so readily available, the number of children suicides in America would decrease significantly.

The number of American citizens concerned with children gun violence is rapidly increasing. Nearly a million U.S. students took guns to school during 1998. It is important to note that many school shootings are committed by children who have stolen their parents' legally owned guns. Columbine is just one example of what can happen. Over the two years ending June 30, 1999, violence in and around schools happened in 25 states resulting in 105 deaths. Nearly two thirds of the victims were primary and secondary schools students, another 11 percent were teachers or staff, and the remainders were community members slain on school property. Firearms were used in 75 percent of these deaths. For example, take the case of a nine-year-old girl who took a Glock semiautomatic pistol to school. The girl, who told officials she found the gun in an unlocked drawer in her mother's bedroom, said she wanted it for protection against gang

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members who had threatened her at school a week ago. Therefore, rather than relying on teaching children principles of a gun safety, parents should learn how to more constantly prevent firearm injuries. Anticipatory guidance is vital to give parents the information that they need to make smart choices for themselves and their children. In light of the fact that many gun owners acquire firearms primarily for protection, parents should learn the true balance of benefits and risks that are associated with keeping a gun in the home. With all the recent occurrences of school violence in the news, the safety of the nation's children is on everyone's mind. There are several ways that parents can improve their child's safety at school. They should not have blind confidence in the child's school. If there is something worrying the parent, then they should ask questions to the school and find out their high safety rank with school officials.

Firearms in the home are an increasing concern for parents and health professionals alike. A number of professional groups have begun to speak out about firearm safety and children. Both the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) and the Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN) have position statements on the issue. The SPN has suggested that pediatric nurses, employed in a variety of settings, have the opportunity to educate parents and children about gun violence and prevention of firearm injuries. As the AAP recommends for pediatricians, nurses can address the issue of firearms in the home both through history-taking questions and in anticipatory guidance. Since studies have shown that many times both parents do not know how a gun is stored in their home, nurses should encourage the non-gun owning parent to find out and to discuss safe storage with the gun owner.

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