Many homes in America has a least one gun present, and the number of those homes grows each year. In homes where children are also present, it’s essential to make sure you are paying attention to safety. As a gun owner, you are responsible for your weapons.
If you are raising children, you want them to understand why safety is important. In fact, each member of your family should not only understand the importance of gun safety, but the rules for gun use in your home as well. Following this tips is a good starting point for your gun safety discussion.
Gun and Ammunition Storage
- Keep guns out of reach and out of sight of your children.
- Store guns unloaded, with the ammunition stored elsewhere.
- Be mindful of your combination information. You can now buy safes that are fingerprint enabled, rather than remembering a combination of numbers.
- If you are carrying your weapon, it should be on you, under your control.
- Carrying your gun in your car? Make sure it is in a locked container.
- If you have visitors to the home that carry weapons, they should follow your safety rules as well.
- Your gun cleaning supplies should also be kept up from the children, just as you would store other cleaning supplies.
Educate Your Family Members and Anyone Who Visits Frequently
- Have an honest conversation with your family about guns and gun safety.
- Teach your children to immediately get an adult if they see a gun.
- Help your family undestand the importance of safe gun use.
- Consistent visitors to the home – grandparents or the babysitter, should know there are guns present and be mindful of safety.
Don’t Hold Onto Guns and Ammunition You Don’t Need
- Consider taking old guns and ammuntion to a frends house if they will use them.
- Continue to store these items separately while they’re in the home.
Options For Storage
- Make sure your choice is solid and durable.
- If the storage unit has a code or password, do not write it down.
- Change the code or password regularly.
- Do not give you children the password or code. If your children often use the guns, they should still come to you first. This ensures they will not get into the cabinet without your knowledge.
- Consider fingerprint enabled storage.
- Check storage regularly to ensure all guns are still there.
- Check additional storage to ensure you are not missing any ammunition.
Gun Safety Education
As a parent and a gun owner, you have a responsibility to make sure the guns in your home are stored and handled in a safe way. If you regularly shoot as a range, ask the owner if they provided gun education courses for children, and/or at what age they suggest having conversations with children about gun use.
When your children have friends over, be mindful that other parents might not have had these same discussions with their children, for a variety of reasons. You should never assumed that other children are as educated as yours on any topic, let alone the topic of guns.
In the end, do your best to make sure to follow the tips above. As your children grow up you can reevaluate what you have in place in your own home with the utmost goal of safety in your mind.
