“In the middle of the night on Dec. 30, 2011, I received a call that my son, Noah, 13, who was sleeping over at a friend’s house, was in trouble,” Ashlyn Melton writes at today.com.
I drove over to check, but the call didn’t really alarm me. I assumed the boys were out knocking on doors or toilet-papering houses. They were young boys on Christmas break. What else could it be?
It wasn’t until we got closer that I realized something was wrong. Cop cars, an ambulance, fire trucks, and caution tape surrounded the house. I jumped out of the truck. Someone asked if I was Noah’s mother. Once I said yes, I was given the horrible news. Noah was shot by his friend, at his friend’s house, with an easily accessible gun.
Noah died from his injuries. The story marks today, National ASK Day. It was created by The Brady Campaign to Prevent Violence in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics.
I’ve got no problem parents asking me about my gun safety (the real kind). But I do have a problem with parents who don’t teach their kids The Four Rules of Gun Safety.
I’m not blaming the victim or his parents in this horrible tragedy. But I am saying that all parents should understand that gun safety may begin at home, but it doesn’t end there.
If your child or children know The Four Rules that may be able to intervene when one of their uneducated friends brings out a gun. When they’re young, in an Eddie the Eagle kinda way (stop, don’t touch, tell an adult). Later, DON’T POINT THAT GUN AT ANYONE!
Given that there are gun-less parents and parents who don’t educate their kids about gun safety, schools should give this instruction — which can be done in less than an hour.
If the Brady’s and docs were really concerned about saving young lives from “gun violence” they’d be on my side on this. They aren’t. What does that tell you? Nothing you didn’t already know, but still . . .