So far, gun-owners' rights groups don't appear to be open to the Family Fire campaign. The National Rifle Association didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
But Jordan Stein, director of communications for the organization Gun Owners of America said via email that locking up firearms is not a panacea for keeping children away from danger.
True. They almost certainly don't equal the number of children injured or killed by improperly stored guns, but there is a body of cases in which children under the age of 16 (the age under which my state requires guns in the home to be locked or locked up) have used firearms to defend themselves and the home against intruders. Locking up all guns removed the ability to do that.
Being a certified dinosaur, I continue to believe that education is the answer (absent known psychological issues). I grew up in an extended family. Within half a mile on one road we had our house, my maternal grandparents house, and the houses of two uncles. Of the four, the only one that did NOT have firearms was ours. All of us cousins were in and out of each others houses frequently. Everyone knew that the houses had guns, and everyone knew where they were stored. We also knew that we didn't touch them unless one of the adults brought it out and supervised any shooting.
Period.
It's mind-bending (as well as instructive) that groups like the Brady Bunch claim to be so concerned about "gun violence" and "finding common ground" yet they won't even acknowledge (let alone publicize) the Eddie Eagle program. Why not? Because it's a program of the dreaded NRA ... no other reason. That sort of tells us what their real motive is ... and isn't.
