How Being A Part Of This KHQA Story Opened My Eyes To Gun Safety
Gun safety is not something my husband and I have ever really talked about with our girls. Since neither of us are gun owners, we never really thought to have such a conversation about firearms. So when I was asked to be a part of a hidden camera experiment for an in-depth KHQA segment on kids and guns, I didn't really know what to expect. Let's just say, I was really shocked by the results.
A few weeks back, David Amelotti of KHQA came to me with the idea. Basically, he'd set up hidden cameras in my house and--with the assistance of a police officer--place a disabled and unloaded handgun in the house to see how the girls would react when they found it.
I'm gonna be honest I was hesitant at first, but I was actually pretty curious as to how this would play out. So I agreed. They placed the cameras in the kitchen and the gun on my table. When the girls got home, they were asked to clean off the table where they'd come across the gun.
When they found the gun, they were a little shocked to say the least. They know we don't have guns in the house. As I watched on a monitor from a different room, I saw them look at the gun. My littlest (age 5) said that they should come find me (which they did not). And that's what shocked me the most. While they didn't touch the gun, they also didn't come get me either to tell me about it. It opened my eyes for sure.
Later that night, my husband and I sat down with the girls and had a very serious conversation with them. Even though we don't have guns in OUR house, that doesn't mean that their friends' parents don't have guns. We told them that if they ever find a gun, they should tell an adult immediately. Accidents can--and do--happen all of the time.
So thank you David for not only opening my eyes to gun safety, but hopefully top other parents to have the conversation with their children. To watch the full story and to find out more about gun safety laws in your state, go to KHQA.com