This year has been one for the record books, 2020 has shown us all the importance of the Second Amendment. We have seen a pandemic, natural disasters, and societal unrest. According to the NSSF, so far this year has been nearly 5 million new firearms sold across the country. Of that 5 million new firearms, nearly %40 have been purchased by first time gun owners!! This is really exciting for all of us gun rights advocates. Parents that have never owned a firearm for protection have finally seen the importance of a firearm for the safety of their families.
I want to start off by saying WELCOME!! We are thankful that you have made a conscious decision to protect yourself and your family. That being said with rights, do come responsibilities. Your firearm is useless if your child is hurt or killed with it. These are scary times for everyone right now. It’s time that we all unite to protect our children. I will share a few tips on how to keep your children safe.
Bringing a new gun into the home is an exciting and terrifying experience. You have a “tool” in your hands, if used improperly, can cause a serious injury or even death. It’s important to establish rules inside of your home, rules create order and accountability. Under no circumstances should your child ever have access to an unsecured Firearm, period! Kids at a very young age are very inquisitive, they can find a firearm in the most unassuming places. Here are a few important rules to follow:
4 Basic Safety Rules for Adults
1 – Treat every firearm as if it were loaded. (This means you assume there’s ammo in it at all times and that it could fire).
2 – Keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction. (This means keep the muzzle pointed up or down, never at someone).
3 – Keep your finger straight and off of the trigger until sights are on the target. (You should make a command decision to fire. Consult your local use of force laws).
Make sure of your target, backstop, and what is beyond. (A backstop is anything that will stop a bullet. There are few backstops inside of your home).
4 Basic Safety Rules for your Kids
1 – STOP!!
2 – DON’T TOUCH!!
3 – RUN AWAY!!
4 – TELL AN ADULT!!
These rules are designed to help create safe habits through repetition. 1000 repetitions create a safe habit. It is also important to have a conversation with your kids about your new firearm. The goal is to “Normalize” your firearm with your family. Respect, safety, and discipline should be taught from a young age. Respect will go a long way to ensure their safety and give you a bonding experience. The shooting sports are a way to reinforce safety, enjoy the outdoors, and spend time together.
The last component to your family’s safety plan is secure storage. Education and secure storage go hand in hand. That being said as a safety organization we will never support any new secure storage legislation. We believe in individual liberties, not unenforceable government mandates. We believe education will take us further as a country than any new regulation, restriction, or potential confiscation, will. This is merely a pipe dream for those who want to disarm the American people. In all reality, there are an estimated 450 million firearms in the United States. They aren’t going anywhere. So we have to be responsible with the ones that are here. This is where storage comes in. There are a few gun vaults that we recommend. The first one is made by Vaultek, it features a fingerprint, code, or key back up, to open the box in seconds. There is also an App that allows you to monitor the safe, if the box is moved it will send you a text alert. This is a really cool feature. Another safe storage option we like is The Gun Box, this one features a code entry and RFID technology. You can keep the card in your wallet or there is a token you can put on a keychain. Please be careful that your kids don’t find out how you open this box. Quick access can be a vulnerability for them here. My point is with advances in modern technology there’s literally no excuse to leave a Firearm unsecured especially if you have young kids in the home. Both of these options for storage solutions offer instant access. I will attach the links. Until next time thank you for reading my thoughts. ZERO firearm accidents are the only acceptable goal!!™
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