My last post shared some statistics on the amazing reduction in automotive-related deaths we've experienced over the last several decades.  Think about it:  way more people, more cars, more miles driven, more in-car distractions, and significantly FEWER deaths. 

How can we take the lessons learned from this and apply them to the problem of gun violence? 

Clearly, there are some different challenges here, since the whole purpose of a gun is to cause injury or death.  But, as I noted in a post last week, an alarmingly high number of gun deaths are the result of accidents.   Are there ways we can reduce the number and mortality of gun accidents, the way we have with car accidents? 

Let's start with children; in fact, let's start with the very youngest children.  When a baby is born, her parents are not allowed to leave the hospital by car without having the baby in a car seat.  Some hospitals will accompany the new parents to their car to ensure that the car seat is installed correctly.  Many hospitals, OB/Gyn practices and pregnancy support groups offer prenatal classes specifically on this topic.  And this emphasis on child-car-safety certainly doesn't end when the baby is born.  When my kids were tiny I read all about car seat selection and use in parenting magazines, heard lectures from safety experts at our monthly "Mom's Club" meetings, and went to the local police HQ to have a trained officer check whether our seat was installed correctly (and when we got a new car seat, I went back again.)  At each well-baby visit, the pediatrician reinforced the importance of strapping the baby securely and completely into the car seat EVERY time we traveled anywhere. 

Do new and prospective parents get the same lectures about gun safety?  Do obstetricians bring it up with the moms-to-be?  Do hospital nursery attendants ask new dads about whether they have guns in the house, and if so, where are they kept and are they out of reach?  Do pediatricians' offices have funny-but-serious posters on the wall like the one that shows a bunch of children in adult clothes and hats with seat belts that don't fit, followed by the tag-line, "Children are not just small adults"?  If not, why not?!? 

Just as importantly, when you drop your four-year-old (or 6 or 8 or 10 year old) off at your friend or neighbor's house so you can run some errands in peace, do you make it a point to ask some key questions? 

Do you have any guns in the house?
Where are they stored?  
Is the storage location locked? 
Are any guns kept loaded?  
Where is the ammunition stored?

I admit I have never asked these questions, even of friends and relatives who I know are hunters and presumably do keep guns in the house.  I suppose I was embarrassed to bring it up, afraid a friend would think I didn't trust her or I was questioning his parenting skills.  I didn't want to seem like a nag, especially towards someone providing free babysitting!  

Even though my children are now 10 and 12, I vow, going forward, to start asking these questions.  Simply asking the question may raise the other person's awareness of the issue.  People who don't have young children of their own may have simply not even thought about the possibility of a child getting hold of a gun.  And a gun owner who does have children should be able to assure you that the maximum precautions have been taken. If she can't give you that assurance, you both have something to think about. 

What else can be done to reduce the odds of a child being shot accidentally in someone's home?  Please comment and share your ideas!