This week saw 17 people die in a mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
As many are saying, this is the time to offer more than “thoughts and prayers?”
We’ve covered school shootings and other tragedies for a while but with every single report, the impact of these tragedies remains the same.
We get nervous about sending our kids to school the next day.
Politicians offer their thoughts and prayers, debates about gun policy are sparked and then—nothing—until the next tragedy begins the cycle starts all over again.
But despite all of all these tragedies, gun control laws are getting laxer.
Almost one year ago, President Trump rolled back President Obama’s executive order that made it harder for people with mental illness to get their hands on guns—a regulation which might have saved the 17 teachers and students who lost their lives in Parkland, Florida, yesterday, given the shooter’s violent and troubled history.
And the Concealed Carry Reciprocity bill, which would allow people from states with fewer gun regulations to carry their weapons into states with stricter laws, has already passed the House and is onto the Senate.
Based on Trump’s statement regarding Parkland, which did not even mention guns or gun control, we can likely expect more of the same, unless we actually do something about it, as several of the students who were caught in the shooting yesterday is begging.
Student David Hogg who survived the school shooting looks directly in camera, sends message to Trump and lawmakers:
“Please, take action. Ideas are great… But what’s more important is actual action… saving thousands of children’s lives. Please, take action” https://t.co/jWPkZyoBfY pic.twitter.com/YpsgbBE6cX
— CNN (@CNN) February 15, 2018
The 18 school shootings this year includes 8 shootings where no one was injured, 2 suicides, and 7 attacks resulting in injury or death.
They took place at elementary schools, at high schools, and at colleges.
We are just 2 months into the new year and already, 403 children have been injured or killed in gun violence. 403 children.
Important Gun Safety Tips All Parents Should Know
More than one-third of U.S. households have guns, whether it is for sport, protection or hunting. Whether or not your home is among them, it’s important to teach children the basics of gun safety and what to do if they do find one.
Unfortunately, locking up guns alone isn’t enough to ensure a child’s safety. Here are some important tips provided by Kidshealth.org that all gun-owning parents should know:
- Explain to children that actual guns, unlike toy guns or guns they might see on TV or in video games, can critically injure and even kill a person.
- Teach kids the following steps to take, if they ever come into contact with a gun: 1) Stop what they’re doing. 2) Don’t touch the gun. 3) Leave the area where the gun is. 4) Inform an adult about the gun immediately. All of these steps are crucial, especially leaving the area where the gun is. This is because other children might not know about gun safety, and even very young children are capable of pulling a trigger and accidentally killing someone standing nearby.
- Be sure to never have a loaded gun in the house. Always take out the ammunition.
- Parents should always lock the gun and make sure it is out of reach from children. Simply hiding the gun is not good enough.
- Lock up the ammunition and store it separately from the gun itself.
- Be sure to store the keys to the guns and ammunition apart from where house and other keys are kept. Keep these keys out of kids’ reach.
- Always lock up gun cleaning supplies, too. These can be poisonous if accidentally ingested by a child.
- A gun should never be left unattended by an adult when cleaning or handling it.
When children are armed with gun safety information, and when parents take all of the necessary precautions, guns can safety exist inside family homes.
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