A common-sense conversation about guns and kids

by Shannon Watts,

There’s a reason why automatic weapons like Uzis are so regulated in America – they are not child’s play. Don’t misunderstand me: I appreciate the long tradition of gun ownership in this country. Many of the moms and dads involved in Moms Demand Action are gun owners. Responsible gun owners and non-gun owners alike were horrified to hear a 9-year-old was given access to an automatic weapon.

Even Charles C.W. Cooke, the conservative National Review columnist, said plainly, “We shouldn’t be giving nine-year-old girls automatic weapons.”

Two million American children live in homes with unsecured guns. We know how curious kids can be. It’s not surprising that very often when these kids find a gun that is unlocked and loaded, the results are deadly. Studies have shown that children will touch a loaded gun even if they’ve been trained not to.

Additionally, our research shows that nearly two children a week die of unintentional shootings. And more than two-thirds of these deaths could have been prevented had the guns been locked away where children could not find them. All it would take to save these children’s lives would be for families to store their firearms responsibly: locked, unloaded, and safe from children.

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