Radio Commentary
Sadly, firearms
are second only to motor vehicle accidents in their claim on young lives.
Research
indicates that educational efforts aimed at persuading young people to behave
responsibly around guns are limited in their effectiveness.
Parents
must monitor children’s exposure to guns and protect them from unsupervised
use. Any stored guns in a home should be locked, unloaded, and separated from
ammunition.
Community
leaders can also help. They can promote young people’s safety by sending
unequivocal messages that gun violence is not an acceptable way to resolve
conflict.
It’s
also been shown that requiring safety features on guns can reduce unintentional
shootings among children and youth.
In
addition, emerging technologies will enable manufacturers to personalize guns
and prevent unauthorized users from operating them.
Most
important, as a society we must limit the flow of illegal guns to youth.
Federal and state laws regarding gun sales should be tightened so that fewer
weapons are accessible to young people.
The
physical, economic, and emotional toll of gun violence against young people is
unacceptable, regardless of one’s position on adult ownership and use of guns.
