School shootings, what can we do? Is there anything... I think so.

This month we had a school shooting at a high school in Washington state. The boy shot 6 of his friends and family in the school lunchroom, these were some of his closest friends and family. He was the home coming prince, on the high school football team, and one of the most popular kids in school. After killing his friends, he then killed himself.

Why, why did this happen? It appears that it was over a breakup with a girlfriend. This happened over the emotions of a teenager. This happened because of normal, growing up, teenage heartbreak, over losing a girlfriend. This is absolutely crazy!

WHAT CAN WE DO!

This seems to be becoming a growing trend... kids, killing kids... at school. And, yeah, I feel bad for the parents, they lost a child, and their child took the lives of others in the process. So confusing and troubling, to them and to all of the people involved, all the lost lives.

again... WHAT CAN WE DO!

Stop kids from dating? Stop kids from attending school? Maybe boarding school's the answer? Maybe online schooling? Okay, so all of these things seem a little extreme. But on the serious side, I don't want tomorrow morning to be the last time I drop off my little girl at school either.

And today, I got an email from my daughters school that said that there was a tip off that a student had brought a gun to school. It turned out to be false, but it makes you stop and think... this could easily happen at my child's school!

It seems that this is something that cannot be simply predicted. There weren't any signs in this case. So, how do we prevent it. I like the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I think the key is prevention. Prevent your kids and their friends, no matter the age, from gaining access to your weapons at home. In so many cases the weapons used in the shootings belong to the parents, or to the parents of a friend.

Here is one thing I think we could do, LOCK THEM UP!

I think that those of us who own guns have a responsibility. We who choose to own guns also choose to take on this responsibility... to make sure that we keep them safe from doing unintended harm. We should, no MUST, be more responsible with them. I am not against having or keeping weapons, that is not my stance, nor will it ever be. I am also not against teaching your kids to use them and respect them. But I do think that we need to Lock Them Up, put a trigger lock or gun cable on each weapon. Put them in a gun safe. I can think of very few reasons that your children would need to have immediate access to the weapons.

Another thing, retailers could provide them with each weapon sale for free or at a deep discount. If a person has one, even if they never intended to get one, may just use it since they have it.

If you think that your gun's safe because your child doesn't know where it is, think again. Your kids are not stupid, and if they know that you have one and want to find it, they will. And threatening them with grounding or bodily harm for touching it makes little sense considering what the weapon is capable of.

If we want to own guns, we need to take ownership of them, period. It's our responsibility as gun owners to make sure that they are kept safe, and DO NOT fall into the wrong hands.

Please understand, I'm not blaming the parents for the tragedy, but locking up your weapons is both cheap and easy to do. If it would prevent just one tragedy it's worth it. Do it, buy a trigger lock and lock them up whenever they're out of your sight. Protect your child, their peers, and your family from a tragedy!



If you know friends, family, or anyone that owns a gun, ask them if they keep theirs secure and locked up. If not, give them a trigger lock and ask them to use it for the sake of their child and yours.