May Saubier
posted in Mom Stories
I just got back from a week long media blackout in the Adirondack Mountains. No television and spotty cell phone and Wi-Fi. I forgot all about the news for several days and spent time with my family.
I’ll take this view over politics any day.
But I haven’t forgotten a news story I read about right before the holiday.
On June 22, four siblings were home alone in their Phoenix, Arizona neighborhood. A woman they did not recognize knocked on the front door and the children chose not to answer. The oldest child, a 14-year-old boy, brought his siblings ages 8, 10 and 12 upstairs when they heard banging noises on the door. He also grabbed his father’s handgun. The front door opened and a man entered with a gun. The boy shot and critically wounded the intruder, who was later released into police custody after spending a week in the hospital.
Police officer James Holmes said:
“The police and indeed our community does not ever want to see a situation where a teenager of that age has to take a weapon to protect his family … but this young man did exactly what he should have done.”
The topic of whether to mix guns and families is something that is debated frequently in the BabyCenter community, especially now as gun sales skyrocket. Here are a few recent comments from the August and February 2012 boards, as well as the Marriage and Relationships board:
JennyH11: HATE guns. They terrify me, especially hand guns. I don’t want to be around anything that has no purpose other than to kill people. No way. I will always choose alarm systems and big dogs over something that could be used against me or that my child may somehow get hold of.
CarolMacca: I’m against guns because I grew up in Ireland where we didn’t need to keep guns in the house. Even our police don’t carry guns, only the army. I think it’s very sad that there is a need for people to own guns where you live. I don’t know anyone who owns a gun.
AVPM: IMO too many accidents happen with people having guns in public and even at home where their kids get hold of it for a moment and end up dead or seriously injured. You don’t need a gun to be safe.
MissSparrow: I always said I’d never get a gun to protect myself, UNLESS I had a child to protect. Now I’ve got one and one on the way, and I’d shoot someone to protect them in a second. I love having that option if it ever became necessary.
Jersey6: At first I was very nervous about having a gun around, but it was part of [my husband’s] job. Over the years, I have learned to love the second amendment.
Mayday11404: We have a bunch of firearms in our home. They are all locked up in a safe and the clips are not stored in them. Before babies I would just keep one of the hand guns in the night stand with a clip next to it no questions asked, now we lock them up.
2012Lilpeanut: My girls and I have about a dozen guns, some for hunting, some for sport, some for protection. We live on a farm and in an area where it is necessary. Education is key to owning a gun and having one in the home, especially as a single mommy.
I know for sure guns do have a place and a purpose in many homes. Aside from spending time in the Adirondacks, I also visit relatives in Vermont frequently and see first hand how guns can be used safely. Having a gun in your truck is just as common as a map in your glove box. Through the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, children are trained with unarmed mentors as they learn to hunt safely. In turn, my children understand why we dress in blaze orange and play in the fields instead of the woods during hunting season.
That said, having guns with young children in the home is a huge responsibility. The National Rifle Association recommends storing guns unloaded and in a security device so they are inaccessible to children. Many of the BabyCenter parents who praised the Second Amendment also echoed the NRA by stressing safety is essential.
I feel for the teenage boy from Phoenix. I am sorry he experienced such a nightmare, but I’m not sorry he shot an armed intruder and protected his younger siblings so heroically.
Are you a gun owner with small children? How do you ensure their safety?
President Obama has remained “under the radar” on gun control/rights throughout his term. In fact, I could not find a statement on the subject on his election home page. Do you worry (or hope) this might change if he were awarded a second term?
Do you agree (as I do) with Mitt Romney’s statement on gun rights?
To order a Parents’ Guide to Gun Safety please call: (800) 231-0752 or visit http://www.nrahq.org/safety/eddie/
Don’t forget to visit my colleague, Amy Bradley-Hole, as she blogs about politics from a liberal point of view.
Photo: Courtesy of ChickenBilly – Art and Illustration by Billy Hayes
Read more from source:“babycenter-com-baby”
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