Bad Parent: Packing Heat
Why we keep a gun in the house.
by Shelley Abreu
December 4, 2008
At a recent pediatrician's visit, the nurse asked me — as part of a series of standard questions — if we had any guns in our house. Like I always do, I answered with a quick, emphatic "no." I'm not sure why I lie, because we do, in fact, have a gun. My husband keeps one safely stored in a closet. It's unloaded and completely inaccessible to our daughters. Yet even though we are responsible gun owners, I guess admitting the truth makes me feel like a bad mother.
I understand the implication behind the question: owning a gun may pose a danger to my child's health and safety. The American Academy of Pediatrics concludes that although one may feel safer by owning a gun, it's actually safer to maintain a gun-free home. In their official policy statement regarding firearms, the AAP points to some pretty compelling research against gun ownership. They state, "Guns kept in the home are forty-three times more likely to be used to kill someone known to the family than to be used to kill in self-defense." I understand this, but nevertheless I'll still keep a firearm.
Related Resources
"The best way to keep your children safe from injury or death from guns is to NEVER have a gun in the home." — The AAP
"Keep guns in locked storage cabinets out of the reach of children. Store ammunition separately." — The CDC
"It is critical for your child to know what to do if he or she encounters a firearm anywhere, and it is the parents' responsibility to provide that training." (Ideally through the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program.) The NRA
I grew up in a house with guns. My father kept a small collection of hunting rifles and shotguns propped up against the wall in his bedroom closet. I could open that closet at anytime and look at those guns. Of course, I would never be as lackadaisical as my dad was back then, but by having them around, I did learn to respect firearms. It was very clear that I was to never touch those guns unattended. And I understood their power. Watching an animal fall to its death from a bullet wound teaches you the power a gun yields far better than any anecdotal lesson about gun safety ever will.
That being said, I'm not a hunter and neither is my husband. We keep a gun, one, because my husband is in the military, and two, for safety. I understand the statistics, and yet, they do not sway me. Instead I trust myself and my husband to determine how to protect our daughters. I trust our ability to safely store that firearm more than I trust the statistic that says there's only a small chance someone will enter my home and try to harm my family.
©2008 Shelley Abreu and Babble
About the Author
|
|
Related Articles
|
|
Shelley Abreu is a freelance writer and mother of three. She lives on Cape Cod. Visit her blog about faith, family and finding happiness at www.shelleyabreu.com. |
|
|
-
by Marisa Cohen
I wouldn't hurt a fly. Then I had kids.
-
by Erin Blakeley
I'm not securing any cabinets.
-
by Korinthia Klein
At long last, my husband is back from Iraq.
|
