When too many guns are available at the whim of an impulse

I once worked for 21 years at a state inpatient program for children ages 5 to 12 at John Umstead Hospital. I saw tragedy in that place, but nothing more pointless than two cases involving firearms.

The first was a child, a 5-year-old who killed his 11-year-old brother with a gun they found in their father’s bedside table. The father believed that the gun provided protection for the home. Children are curious. “I told them to leave that alone,” he said.

I knew a second family. They could have been in a poster for the National Rifle Association. Everyone was a shooter trained in marksmanship and firearms safety. They owned an array of weapons ranging from long guns to handguns. Reacting to a welter of stresses and family issues, a 12-year-old boy shot and killed a parent and wounded several other family members. Their guns did not save them. They had placed lethal force at the whim of an impulse.

Children, especially boys, have a special danger regarding household guns. He wants to be like his father. It’s called “identification.” Boys make it their business to know where the guns are, and they will handle them. That’s just what boys do.

Teenagers are vulnerable to depression. Depression is one of those psychiatric conditions that walks and talks. It can cause one to see the world through mud-colored glasses – “You are no good, you are unpopular, a loser. The world will be better off without you.” Given that many suicides are impulsive acts, the availability of a firearm can turn thoughts into lethal actions.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research reports that American children ages 5-14 have 11 times the probability of being accidentally killed by a gun compared with similarly aged children in other developed countries. They find that women, children and older adults are more likely to die by gunfire (accidental shooting, homicide and suicide) from a legally acquired household gun than from illegal guns. Before your kids go for an overnight, it is good to ask whether there is a gun in the house.

People buy guns for a variety of purposes. The usual reasons are home protection, hunting, recreational target shooting and collecting. Other, darker reasons are fear of government and running weapons for profit from low regulation states to states or cities that have more restrictive gun regulations. American gun sales have armed drug cartels in Mexico.

Here in the USA about 25 percent of people own guns yet we have 88.4 firearms per 100 people. The next country is Yemen, a war zone. They’re not even close. They only have 54.8 guns per 100. We have had a million gun deaths in the past 30 years. This is more than the totals of all the wars in American history. We cannot function as a society with this kind of carnage. The NRA’s goal is universal concealed carry. Their answer to guns is … more guns.

A public safety issue

Public safety must be the issue rather than an unstinting right to buy firearms. We must have federal regulation on background checks, even of private gun sales and Internet sales, and magazine size must be limited. There is no reason for civilians to own military-style, semi-automatic assault weapons. Concealed carry must be for a specific need rather than carry on-demand. We will need a federally funded buy-back program. Gun owners need to utilize trigger locks and gun safes. Guns and ammunition should be stored in separate places.

We need strong federal regulation to strengthen an ineffective patchwork of state and local laws. Many of our North Carolina U.S. congresspersons receive an A+ grade and contributions from the NRA solely to block gun regulation. They have blood on their hands. That is not good for them, and it isn’t good for us. If they are unwilling to change, they must be replaced.

The idea is not to get rid of guns. They have their legitimate uses. But we must reduce the numbers. Our present policies have placed guns in the hands of terrorists, criminals, adolescents, the severely and persistently mentally ill, anti-government cranks and the angry.

Children are the light of the world. This may be the only thing that conservatives and liberals can agree upon. We can further protect children through a change in parental attitudes toward guns.

If you still feel a need for in-home protection, consider a dog. There are breeds that are territorial, loyal and able to distinguish between an intruder and a family member. Unlike a gun, it will be on guard during the day when you are away and will be happy to see you come home at night.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "When too many guns are available at the whim of an impulse."