Don’t let concerns of violence overshadow the need for creating a truly safe environment in your home.
Anyone who lives or works around firearms should strive to remain just a little bit paranoid about gun safety. The Irish attorney John Philpot Curran originated the quote, “The Price of Freedom is Eternal Vigilance” in 1790. While Curran was then referencing the election of the Lord-Mayor of London, this timeless truism applies to firearms in the Information Age as well.
It has been said that the American system of justice is the second worst system of justice in the world. It is simply that everybody else ties for first. Our legal system is indeed an inexact science, but it strives to assign liability in cases of injury or death for the advertised purpose of making the world safer. When it comes to firearms, however, there is more to the equation than court costs and legal jeopardy.
War Story
It was just before 9 p.m. on a Friday night in the pediatric ER at the Level 1 trauma center where I worked. It had been a busy shift, but nothing horrible had happened just yet. Perhaps my next challenge would be a skin rash, an ear infection or something similarly recreational.
A quick glance at the chart told me the patient was a 4-year-old with a gunshot wound to the face. My blood ran cold, but the kid was in an exam room, not the trauma bay. That meant it could only be but so bad.
Still, I pushed into the room with some trepidation. The kid was one of those adorable little blonde-headed scamps who wore glasses. He was happily occupied with a toy he’d brought from home. Mom was sitting quietly in the chair alongside him, but she didn’t look right. She wouldn’t meet my gaze.
I introduced myself and plopped down on the stool. I quickly made the kid a balloon out of a surgical glove and turned it into a chicken with a Sharpie marker I carried for that very purpose. Distracting him with the makeshift balloon gave me a chance to study the young man. He looked perfectly normal save for a long red crease tracking up the left side of his face. His glasses seemed a bit small and shopworn. They were apparently his spares. I turned my attention to his mother. She struggled to speak.
The boy’s mom was a cop, and she had been at home visiting with a friend. Her son had disappeared into her bedroom along with the friend’s son of comparable age in pursuit of mischief. Little boys are the agents of chaos. Anyone who believes otherwise has clearly never been the parent of one.
Mom could hear the kids jumping on her bed, but this infraction was a household misdemeanor at worst. She made a mental note to castigate them later. Then the gun went off.
The weapon was a heavy Smith & Wesson Model 66 .357 Magnum revolver. Mom kept it in her bedside table for home defense and personal protection. At some point her son had been digging around in the furniture looking for whatever he could get into. He found the gun and crawled onto the bed with it.
As the two little friends bounced happily, the kid got his thumb inside the trigger guard. The muzzle was pointed upward when the vagaries of physics caused it to fire. The heavy 158-grain hollowpoint bullet tracked across his face, pulverized his little glasses and imbedded itself harmlessly in the ceiling. That’s when the screaming started.
The kid was thankfully fine. Mom, however, would never be right again. Even half an hour after the incident, she still could not carry on a coherent conversation. Of course, put yourself in this woman’s position and it’s easy to see. She had just seen her entire life—and her child’s—as she knew it pass before her eyes. And she was one of the lucky ones.
Focus on What’s Important
Anyone who has ever bought a firearm, typically enjoys shooting—even if they don’t get out as often as they’d like to do it. While many of us shoot recreationally or for competition, personal defense is a fundamental reason millions of Americans own a firearm. Maintaining one for personal protection is a huge responsibility.
A remarkable amount of engineering know-how is imbedded within your typical handgun. Modern defensive ammunition seems to incorporate as much technology and scientific knowledge of physics as is built into the space shuttle. However, despite the efficiency and capability of these components when used together to stop a threat, the point in using a firearm at such time is ultimately not to take human life. The goal is really to dissuade bad behavior in a timely fashion. The tragic endings are simply the unfortunate result when someone bent on doing harm, refuses to heed these forces aligned against them.
The rub is that once a gun is used there is no taking that bullet back. It behooves us all to approach the subject of defensive firearms soberly, particularly when you add kids in your home or in your car to the mix. How you manage firearms in a household with children is potentially the most important thing you will ever do.
My Ballistic Philosophy
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6
When my kids were young, I owned enough military ordnance to outfit a SWAT team. Our little town was adjacent to the crime-ridden city where I worked, and occasionally some of that chaos spilled over into our neighborhood. However, when it came right down to it, I would much rather find myself defenseless, than see one of my kids or their friends needlessly hurt because of any carelessness in properly locking away and storing my guns and ammunition.
As a result, the weapons and ammo were all stored separately in locked containers. Should a defensive need arise, I kept one handgun accessible in a quick-access lockbox high on a bedroom shelf, but even that was stored with the magazine removed. I practiced accessing the weapon and making it hot in the dark. The extra time it took me to arm myself was virtually negligible. It took mere seconds. And that was the price I was willing to pay for being a dad.
Humans are inexorably drawn to stuff they aren’t supposed to have. That axiom is as old as the Garden of Eden. One of my first missions was to excise the mystique from the gun collection.
My homeschooled kids could play with the guns anytime they wished…on my terms. That meant that I was always present, the weapons had been thoroughly cleared and there was no ammunition anywhere nearby. By their seventh birthdays my children could field strip and reassemble a Kalashnikov rifle blindfolded.
But we also had a series of gun rules in the house. Anyone seeing a weapon unsecured was to immediately stop what they were doing, seek out a parent and report it. Every now and then I would clear a handgun and leave it on the dinner table as a test. Inevitably, the first child passing by would track me down with a helpful, “Dad, there’s a gun on the table.”
That usually earned them a hug and a bowl of ice cream. Your mileage may vary, but my kids are all healthy, productive, tax-paying adults today.
Balancing Safety and Risk
Life is a series of compromises. Establishing residence in a surplus bank vault and taking your food through a slot is an undeniably safe way to live. However, the resulting quality of life would not be the best. By contrast, homesteading astride an active volcano, while admittedly exciting, would perhaps not be conducive to a long fruitful retirement. The happy medium is somewhere in between. So, it is with firearms in America.
If you carry a handgun, either with a concealed carry permit or constitutionally, there was an undeniable mystique associated with the first time you went out in public armed. Don’t deny it. We’ve all been there. In my case on that first trip to Wal-Mart, I was expressly concerned that somebody would notice the telltale bulge and freak out about my defensive handgun. That was three decades ago. Now I could care less. Strapping on my pistol is no longer unlike slipping into a fresh pair of boxers. However, there is great danger to be found with that familiarity.
A friend once invited me to his SUV to check out his new defensive handgun. Gun guys are ever admiring each other’s favorite carry weapons, and I looked forward to a spirited discussion. This man had only recently received his concealed carry permit. Carry life was all new and exciting to him.
He crawled into the driver’s seat, and I took shotgun. Tossing aside the scrap of cloth he used to conceal the gun from prying eyes, he retrieved his pistol from between the driver’s seat and center console. I pointed the Smith & Wesson M&P in a safe direction, removed the magazine and jacked the slide, retrieving the ejected 9mm hollowpoint round that had been in the chamber. I glanced back to see the matching car seats for the man’s two pre-school children. The fact that his hot pistol had been riding unsecured in a vehicle alongside his kids made my skin crawl.
It’s easy to convince ourselves that the world is dirty with homicidal psychopaths. After all, that’s pretty much the pervasive theme of most mainstream news sources. However, we always need to view the world through a realistic lens and balance our need for self-protection against the relative risk of catastrophe. The odds of his kids stumbling upon that firearm unexpectedly and possibly hurting themselves was far more likely than his need to stop a would-be carjacker from snatching him from the car. Consider all of the dangers you and your family face and balance your need for protection with your true need for security.
Ultimate Responsibility
The cop mom in the ER at the beginning of this story took her son home later that evening. Hers was a happy ending. Sadly, I have another dear friend whose similar situation didn’t end so well. Gun ownership represents arguably the apex of civic responsibilities. Not unlike driving, voting, parenting or sex, undertaking these practices responsibly must be balanced against the ultimate benefit.
I carry a gun whenever I’m not asleep or in the shower. Standing next to me is invariably the safest place in a crowd. However, we must always weigh security against relative risk. The possibility of a child or irresponsible adult gaining access to your firearm has got to be zero. We Americans enjoy legitimately unprecedented liberty. Managing our guns responsibly and safely is the price of that freedom.
(Story courtesy of U.S. LawShield)
I home schooled my children also. There were loaded firearms all over the house. Still are. My children knew they could handle any firearm any time they wanted to. As long as I was present. Same for their friends. Their parents knew my house rules. Live with them, or stay away. Never had a problem. If the fruit isn’t forbidden; where’s the fun? When I was working I would hang my duty rig on the back of my desk chair in the den, put my radio in the charger and crack open a Budweiser. Once a friend of my wife dropped by for a visit. She asked my wife if I could put my gun belt away. It made her “uncomfortable.” She didn’t even have her daughter with her. I said, “No. If you’re uncomfortable let me show you something that will make you feel better.” Katie, “Really, what?” Me, “The door.” That went over like a fart in church,. I will not be dictated how to live my life in my own home. Oh, the daughter grew up. She developed bulimia and got into self mutilation. I understand she is still disfunctional. My son and daughter are productive members of society. Jobs, homes, friends, family, etc.
You cannot kidproof your guns. You MUST gunproof your kids.
THIS ^^^^x1000.
Yes, thank you! “Safe Storage” of lifesaving gear – guns, fire extinguishers, medication, etc. – is accessible storage.
Anyone saying “I want a law to micromanage adults like small children because I’m too weak, lazy, or ‘nice’ to micromanage my small children like small children” should be kept in a safe.
STOP RAISING DUMB & UNDISCIPLINED KIDS..NUFF SAID..
KEEP YOUR LAWS OUT OF MY BUSINESS!!!
Tfred,
Yes, . . . but (and isn’t there always a big “but”?). Yes, I feel that ONE of my obligations as a gun owner is to make sure those around me are either (i) trained in at least the basics of gun safety, or (ii) know to “keep their meathooks off the damn things”. But that doesn’t always work for little kids.
While I firearm-safety-obsessed, I’ve some to believe that, not the “Rules,” themselves, but perhaps how they are applied, needs to vary somewhat on the circumstances. And adult, not otherwise mentally-impaired, needs to follow “the Rules”. My son adopted a practice I heartily endorse – he and his friends, after a range day, for a party, etc., will usually indulge in an adult beverage or two. While he is very open to people carrying in his house, he has an ironclad rule – “when the booze comes out, the guns get locked up”. He and I have discussed the risks of the “what if” scenarios, but his conclusion (and I agree) is that the balance of risks favors that modification.
No matter WHAT I tell a dyed-in-the-wool Leftist/fascist gun-fearing wuss, I can’t count on them to pay attention to or follow the rules. Their bone-deep ignorance of and antipathy towards firearms renders them incapable of being educated. With kids, of course you do the “Eddie the Eagle” type training ASAP, but . . . that isn’t really practical for an 18 month old, yet they can still usually pick up a small gun, and if it has a sensitive trigger, bad sh*t can happen.
When I’m alone, I sleep with my 1911 “cocked and locked”, within arm’s reach, but I would never do that with other people around. But, since it’s in a fitted holster, that covers both the safety and the trigger, for myself, I feel comfortable.
And I have to echo Umm . . – “safe storage” is INDEED “accessible storage”. Guns intended for home/self defense that are stored without ammunition or magazine, with the magazines/ammunition stored in SEPARATE locked storage (the KKKalifornia standard for “safe storage”), are the opposite of “safe storage” for home/self defense. Under no credible circumstances could you access, load, rack, and deploy such a weapon in time to do any good.
maybe.
anyhoo, why did your friend hand you a loaded pistol for you to examine? clear it; loaded at the range.
yeah, yeah, more experienced and intimately familiar with its operation. don’t care.
Thumb in the trigger loop is a huge risk – throw your UNLOADED handgun on the bed, then try to pick it up in a hurry – in the dark. It is amazing how often your thumb goes into the loop. If it is a Glock clone, it can easily go “click!”. Hey, you did unload it first, right?
“The weapon was a heavy Smith & Wesson Model 66 .357 Magnum revolver. Mom kept it in her bedside table for home defense and personal protection.”
OutSTANDING! She obviously has sound judgement in firearms. Six .357 magnums beat fifteen weak sauce 9mm weak any night of the week.
However, one thing I’d like to know — where’s the father??
I taught a woman and her young son how to shoot and saw to it that they had a revolver for protection some 45 years ago. Her husband, the boys father, had been killed in a car wreck. She was nervous about being alone and since I was the ‘gun guy’ in the group she asked for my help.
I never assume a single mother is divorced or was never married to the father of her child. I’ve known too many families were a father or mother has passed through accident or sickness.
After spending the last 20-some years meddling in foreign entanglements and wars there are more than a handful of soldier fathers who never came home to their families.
Also, when I’ve been married, both times, my wife and I were both armed. Shit can happen when the father is not around.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study that showed the number of unintentional gun deaths reached a 20-year high in 2021, the last year for available statistics.
The CDC also concluded that most of the victims were shot at a house or apartment.
In most cases, the guns were found on a nightstand or on top of a bed — similar to the three-year-old girl who shot here herself with a gun she found on a sofa while her family was reportedly watching football.
“Where is your gun?”
Hope beyond hope you never need to find out for yourself, Leftist Scum ™… 🙂
Where is your brain?
Thank God I live alone with four dogs. What I put down stays there….except for my new puppy. Besides that, my daily carry is ALWAYS close by, even if I’m trimming roses in front, my daily carry is on me or within a few feet. As far as the all the other weapons, very easy access but secured.
Of course we should be responsible with firearm ownership–especially when we have small children or irresponsible adults in our home–just like we should be responsible with EVERYTHING ELSE in our homes where our children could injure or kill themselves.
Half of that responsibility equation is proper storage. The other half of that responsibility equation is properly raising and training our children.
The article and comments have already covered pretty much all the bases. Safe storage is a must when children are very young. And then demystifying firearms and training are a must as your children get older.
Since medical malpractice is a leading cause of death I propose safe storage of physicians where they ste locked up and stored separately from the rest of society when they are not employed at work
Lock up firearms? Do we lock up our gas stoves/ovens? No! Do we lock up our kitchen knives, our ice picks, our saws, our hammers, our machetes, or our screwdrivers? No we don’t! Why the hell would we lock up any other tool? Firearms are tools, tools are meant to be used responsibly, teach your children how to use these appliances/implements/mechanical devices including firearms properly and there will be no need to lock them up.