Earlier today, I asked your opinion of a public service announcement produced by the National Crime Prevention Commission. The McGruff the crime dog folks produced this ad too. I reckon it’s the better of the two on a lot of levels. But what do I know? Is this PSA OK with the PoTG? Specifically, you?
Better than the other. But “why do you keep a loaded gun in the …” Simple, because an empty one is just a paper weight. But at least it’s not the whole “GUNS/GUN OWNERS ARE EVIL INCARNATE CHILD KILLING MONSTERS” clap trap we usually hear.
Thumbs down.
More kid centric pap, plus continuing the Progressive narrative that kids are entitled to “tell” adults what to do. Rubbish.
Exactly. It’s all emotion. They would have us believe kids are banding together across the nation in a spontaneous cry to “lock it up.”
i will give them just a smidgen of credit for adding the caveat “if it’s not in use” (they said this in both videos). It’s *almost* an admission that guns can be useful tools.
Holstered on body carry qualifies as use. Also in the first few seconds of the video they inadvertently implied that too many parents neglect to teach their children basic gun safety while teaching how to be safe in everyday life.
More of the same crap.
Teach a child gun safety and its not an issue.
It’s an “AND” not an “OR”. Teach your children proper gun safety AND lock them up when you’re not using them. Firearms are high-value targets for burglars. If they find them lying around they’re going to disappear. Your typical snatch-and-grab burglar isn’t going to waste time trying to bust into a safe.
I should clarify this. Every ones situation isn’t the same. In my case no kids or children around now or ever in my home. So for me a locked up gun is a club I cant get at.
As for theft………It happens to enough, but also not a big concern in my situation,. Most guns are locked up . There are also strategically placed items where one might need it to be. Theft isn’t a large concern where I am.
“Teach a child gun safety and its not an issue.”
Exactly. Kids can learn about not touching guns at a very early age. They can also be taught gun safety about as soon as they can hold a gun. But then, there’s the matter of trust. If you can trust your kids, then locking up the guns is more dependent on what you want to do then it is on them. But what if you can’t trust your kids? Sadly, there are dysfunctional families where parents can’t trust their kids, sometimes their spouses, and sometimes their relatives to be around unsecured guns. In that case make them as secure as you possibly can.
This video is pure anti-gun twaddle in that it assumes that all children can’t be trusted around guns. That’s simply not true, although it probably is true for the people who made the video.
Right or wrong. I have always felt show a child what a gun can do as soon as he/she is old enough to know better. To me that removes curiosity and stupid things a kid might do.
If ones child isn’t a responsible critter.
Then act accordingly.
I actually half-expected them to follow “you teach me this/that” with “then why don’t you teach me about gun safety”. FAIL. I agree with others that it is an AND not an OR situation. Lock ’em up when not in use and teach your kids.
My boys will be taught that when they are old enough to understand. I’m not worried about them, I am worried about other people’s kids who haven’t been taught gun safety who will be coming over to play with my kids. That is why my carry gun stays in a lock box next to the bed when it isn’t on me. I would rather not take the risk.
Not a bad rule of thumb, but I reject it as a general rule. Depends. Both my teens know exactly how to handle firearms safely. They are both decent shots. And both know where the nightstand gun is. I may come home to find that a criminal has hurt them, but at least I won’t find them dead on the floor in front of a locked gun safe.
Ding Ding Ding.
Winner.
I once saw a video where two 10 year old boys were alone in a room with a handgun. One of the boys was from a family that didn’t own guys and was militantly against guns. He’d never even seen a real gun. The other boy was from a gun-owning family and knew about gun safety. On seeing the handgun the first kid excitedly said “wow a real gun” ran to the table, picked it up and started waving it around. The second kid said “put the gun down that’s dangerous” and backed away from the first kid. When the kid ignored him and continued playing with the gun, he left the room.
Was the smart kid named Eddie?
Neither of these have been the worst.
But neither of them actually accomplish anything.
Neither of them asks for adults to analyze their life, who they interact with, what level of possibility it is for a minor to get a hold of one of your firearms.
Neither of them asks to have adults teach children to act if confronted with a firearm without adult supervision.
These two PSAs portray a one-size-fits-all solution as the end of all firearm deaths ever. Not true, not remotely true. What both of these PSAs portray is a possible piece of your routine that could have an impact on the safety of others, only if it fits your needs.
Well, once again–Don’t really argue with the message, if you’re not using it, it should be put away safely. I probably have a broader definition of both “using” and “put away safely” than these guys, but it’s still a valid message. But like some others, I’m a bit put off by this constant “for the children” leitmotif.
meh. same for the chillun crap as before.
No gun-owner should have to be lectured to secure their firearms when they’re not under the control of an authorized person. Not only does it make sense to protect your family, you protect your valuable investments from theft. There are plenty of options for quick access, and when you’re home, it’s simple – just carry it. But to leave [loaded] firearms accessible to unauthorized, untrained people is irresponsible and short-sighted. IMHO.
I agree 100%. Locked up or on your person.
However, I also believe that nanny state laws are equally irresponsible.
No victim no crime.
The message is clear: If you tell your kids to follow common-sense safety rules, but you refuse to do the same, you’re a hypocrite. If that makes you feel bad, then stop being a hypocrite.
It just makes sense, people! If you’re not shooting or carrying it, lock it up!
I do NOT want some idiot lawmaker forcing me to lock them up. ‘Cause then they’re going to want to come check. And they’re going to fine me if my property gets legitimately stolen.
Get your shit together, or someone will do it for you.
This is definitely better than the first supposed “public service announcement”.
At least this one is much more on point anyway.
Most those kids seemed old enough to handle firearms, teach them safety and how to be responsible themselves. And to the above poster yes, if a kid has something useful or important to say or ask of an adult they can. You are not special because you are older. This PSA however is rubbish.
That was kind of my thought. Whether or not they had been taught how to safely handle firearms they did know exactly where their parents’ loaded firearms were and knew enough not to mess with it. So the fact that the children were worried about the safety of having a loaded firearm unlocked in the house meant that it was perfectly safe to keep it unlocked. Ironic, huh?
My thought exactly. +1
This video is 100% spot on. Guns either need to be holstered or locked up. Brain research on frontal lobe development indicates that your teenager will likely make a bad decision and handle your guns when/how they shouldn’t. Family’s not convinced of this fact only learn from tragedy.
Please stop citing pop science as empirical research.
By the time your child is a teenager he should know not only how to safely handle your firearm but how to take it down and clean it. Try looking up the Merced Pitchfork Massacre and see what happens when your children can’t access your firearms and there’s a naked man standing in your kitchen with a pitchfork. (I’ll give you a hint, your children are stabbed to death with a pitchfork.)
Thanks for the name–I recall that case. And a subsequent commentary to the effect that the guy was able to continue killing people with a pitchfork until the cops got there. And shot him. With their GUNS.
My cousin wanted me to test his seven year old daughter. Me and his daughter had discussed gun safety and how to load/unload my handgun. I went over all the safety rules with her and what she should do if she found a firearm by itself with no adult near by. My cousin told me to test her the next time he came over. So a couple weeks later I go to pick her and her little brother up. I left my pistol (unloaded) on a table and acted like I was leaving the room. My cousin’s daughter thought I had left, saw her brother going toward the pistol, firmly told him “No!” and she dropped the magazine and locked back the slide and ran the pistol to me. She kept her finger off the trigger the whole time I watched. She then yelled out me for leaving it out with her little brother around. Of course I apologized and said it would never happen again. Raise a child right and they can handle many “adult” things at ages where people think they can’t do anything.
*APPLAUSE*
So then you advocate not letting teenagers drive? After all, they kill WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more people using cars than guns.
Further: http://kfor.com/2014/09/24/okc-police-child-calls-911-saying-mother-was-stabbed/
Yeah keep em locked up if you have kids but it shouldnt be mandated by law, demanded by others, or reported to school admins/ officials. Like I said to the last one, it is no different than other things that are “good ideas” when you have kids. Safe car is a good idea when you have kids given more are killed in car accidents but no one is telling people with Porsches to stop driving their children. Can you be safer? Yes. Is it anyones place to tell you or mandate that to you as a free adult? No.
Keep guns in a safe spot, “check”. Just don’t try to legislate what safe spots are and I am fine with any “advice” you want to give.
If they are going to talk about safety rules, why not talk about the 4 rules? Why not talk about the Eddie Eagle rules? Adgitprop.
So it starts with a bunch of “you told me to never… or you told me to do…”. SO HOW IS TELLING YOUR KID NOT TO TOUCH ANY GUN UNLESS YOU ARE THERE ANY DIFFERENT? Tell your kid to wear a bike helmet but you can’t tell them not to touch your gun or any other gun if they find one? Isn’t that like locking up their bike when it’s being stored? I mean that’s obviously the conclusion here. Might as well not teach them about not running with scissors because we can just lock those up too.
My thoughts exactly.
I refuse to watch that video its just another EXPLETIVE DELETED propaganda video using emotion as its sword to make me think that I am a disgusting piece of EXPLETIVE DELETED that kills children when I am not eating puppies.
Much better than the last one.
Better than the first, but my comment there applies here as well. The message is wrong because the emphasis is wrong. Education is the key to safety.
Well, it’s just more of the same crap and FUD.
Yes, we teach kids to wear helmets. Usually in school.
Yes, we teach kids not to run with scissors. Usually reinforced in school.
Yes, we teach kids to stay away from drugs. Usually in school.
Yes, we teach kids they should always buckle their seat belt. Reinforced in school.
Yes, we teach kids to follow the swimming rules. Sometimes even in school.
Yes, we’re always looking out for and trying to keeps kids safe. Usually in school.
HOW ABOUT WE ACTUALLY TEACH KIDS ABOUT FIREARMS AND SAFE HANDLING AND PROCEDURES, instead of betting (a suckers bet) that they will never ever actually encounter one of their own?
How about we teach some respect (and dare I say, admiration) for the TOOL, the INANIMATE OBJECT, instead of teaching fear and irrational behavior?
Absolutely agree! This PSA is somewhat better than the first. Nevertheless, I’m not willing to make common-cause with an enemy who won’t make common-cause with me.
If there is someone who has no desire to have a gun but is interested is gun safety I’ll join with him to promote gun safety. Unfortunately, the Antis have poisoned the well for cooperation on shared goals.
Any “gun-safety” advocates: If you want cooperation from PotG you will have to acknowledge that Anti hostility has bred skepticism in us. You will have to join with us in promoting gun-safety training – especially for children – if you want our endorsement.
I noticed they use some magician ‘sleight of hand’ at the end. Throughout it is “be safe” and store “safely”….only at the very end do they then demand you “lock it up”. Those are synonymous!
Also, which is better…trying to keep your kid away from all bodies of water in which they might drown…or teach them to swim? Which is a better strategy for you kid…trying to keep all guns away from them (or them away from all guns)…or teaching them handle them responsibly. Why, I have to wonder do them make no mention of training. Actually, I don’t wonder.
I love it. On me or in the safe… Just like the 2A, the message is simple, but the crap people heap on it pretty much guarantees it will fall on deaf arrogant ears.
Meant to type NOT synonymous above. Being safe and locking it up are not always identical.
Just more emotion with kids who do not appear to understand anything other than “guns bad.” Teach them to be secure, then it’s not a talisman. Or paperweight.
Come on Eddie! Where is the joy of learning and becoming proficient?
Hate the tone, hate the hectoring children, but the basic message is sound – if there is any potential for kids to be around, then guns are on your person or locked away. I don’t care how smart and safe your kids are, one day they will have a friend over who isn’t.
I didn’t grow up with guns, but I have a lot of friends who did, and most of them can tell me stories about finding their parents’ unsecured firearms and handling them when they shouldn’t have. Fortunately none of them had a bad outcome, but the experience actually made some of them very anti-gun, which is not how we want the next generation to be.
NCPC you can FOAD. An unloaded firearm is just weird rock.
What the clueless libtards can not figure out is the next obvious line – “You taught me not to touch a gun unless an adult was supervising. Now I’m as safe gun owner and can defend myself against criminals of a lawless government.”
I am OK with it. I think it sends a good message. I think this aspect of gun safety needs to be dealt with. The idea of the Eddie Eagle “four rules” would be a good one also and perhaps TTAG should recommend that to them.
I think it is a limited solution, though. I had a personal as a kid where another kid pointed a loaded revolver at me and cocked the hammer. He was a smart kid, he knew the rules. He just was too cool to follow them and he wanted to see me squirm. I don’t think we can always depend on kids to follow “life and death” rules.
I don’t like it.
It says:
Teach a child bicycle safety.
Teach a child about drug use.
Teach a child about swimming pools.
Teach a child about seat belts.
Teach a child scissor safety.
But teach a child gun safety? Oh no. Lock your guns up!! Don’t teach them gun safety! Lock’em up! Unloaded. Ammo and gun separate. In different safes even. But don’t teach them safety in regard to guns! Because Guns!
I do agree if you have curious toddlers, infants, etc who cannot yet learn the four rules or the danger a firearm presents to the ignorant, then yes – lock them up or otherwise make them impossibly inaccessible to the curious toddlers. However….
Personal responsibility is the responsibility of the parent and guardian. PSA is not my child’s guardian – so their opinion is noted. That’s about it.
Some of the “children” in the video were quite old enough and completely capable of learning the four rules and with parental guidance and practice, subconsciously apply them.
Yes (on the curious toddlers) and the better analogy would be power tools; put the little kids next to a circular saw and a better message would have gotten through to me.
In a vacuum, this ad would be just fine. The level of trust we have for (and the patience for lectures from) anyone outside the NRA, NSSF, SAF, or their supporters is near nil. Fortunately, all of us advocate safe storage, so the lectures are unnecessary.
“Fortunately, all of us advocate safe storage, so the lectures are unnecessary.”
I call bullshit. When chatting with other guys I meet at the range, I usually ask what kind of safe they use. It’s about 50/50 split between those who lock ’em up and those who don’t.
Some of them feel their range bag is all the security they need. Others are like, “I know I should, but…” Almost everyone agrees they should secure their guns, but not all actually do it.
Do these folks read TTAG? That’s who I mean by us. And do they have kids in the house?
A few months ago, an 11 year old girl got her mother’s gun and shot the man stabbing her mother to death.
Would it have been better if the gun was locked up?
http://kfor.com/2014/09/24/okc-police-child-calls-911-saying-mother-was-stabbed/
And she had a protective order against him. Fat lot of good that piece of paper did. That child with gun saved her life.
But guns don’t save lives. If they did the US would be the safest country in the world – Charles Rowland (Naples, FL freedom hating statist)
When I was a kid the guns were locked up, in my room, because they were mine. I was responsible for cleaning and locking them up and managing the keys. These things were regularly checked by my father, and I did not want to get caught screwing up because that would mean no more guns for me (at least temporarily). My father wasn’t interested in guns much, but he taught me gun safety, took me shooting nearly every weekend, and I think we both enjoyed it a lot, I know those are some of my best memories at least. However, I did almost kill myself playing with a chainsaw from the garage. My parents were divorced, and while my father believed it was important to teach me gun safety, my stepfather thought that guns killed people and were evil. He had no such issues with other, similarly dangerous tools. So, of course, he never did bother to have a discussion with me about power tools either, safe use, proper safety equipment, and the types of tools I just wasn’t ready to handle yet. Guess who owned the chainsaw that was left fueled up, within my reach? Yeah, my idiot stepfather. That thing was awesome to play with, until I slammed it into my leg. Kids need to be taught about safety, just locking things up and pretending they don’t exist does NOT work. All that being said, I have absolutely no objection to locking up firearms when they are not in use, but I see it as more of a precaution against burglars, and a way to limit, not fully prevent access. You would be surprised what kids might see and understand, I knew my grandfathers’ safe combo for his cash safe when I was 9, but that’s another story. A little bit of education goes a lot further than some might think, and some kids are actually capable of taking serious things to heart, some are not. Make your best judgements based on the maturity level, intellect, and responsibility of your children, and maybe try combining limited access with education. there is no one size fits all solution for this stuff.
Another appeal using emotion and ambiguity. The only specifics are where they do not want firearms stored. Listen to this child (saying something scripted by an adult) is just a variation of look at this baby. While most may agree that it is wise to store firearms safely there is significant room for disagreement about what exactly that means. Some obviously don’t think that it can mean different things for different people when it absolutely can. If the appeal is to store/lock it up as safely as each individual decides is reasonable for their situation then, gee thanks a lot. Without specifics I am not sure what more they can be suggesting.
I think that I’ve seen this before. Similar suckiness to the first one. Long on emotion, short on facts. Gunz R bad. Blah, blah, blah.
How about locking up your car keys when you’re not using your car? If it keep just one underage kid from dying in a car crash………
There’s a pair of kids who were hacked to death by a crazy person in California because their teenage sister, who knew how to shoot, couldn’t get access to her dad’s locked gun.
http://davekopel.org/2A/OpEds/Danger-evident-in-imposing-mandatory-gun-storage-laws.html
This is, no offense, bulls**t. Massad Ayoob has it right. Don’t kid proof your guns, gun proof your kids. Teaching your kids not to touch a gun unless supervised is different from “look both ways before you cross the street” how?
Any kid that I have, if they show responsibility, maturity, and have learned how to use a gun, will have access if left at home without parental supervision. If I can’t trust at least an older kid with that, I can’t trust them home alone.
FWIW California law only makes it illegal to store a gun where one reasonably knows or should have known that a child WITHOUT PARENTAL PERMISSION can gain access. If you give your kid permission, the law does not apply already. So this tragedy was not caused by the CA law, but by the parent’ not trusting their kid (rightly or wrongly) with access
More “bloody shirt.” Using kids in this fashion should be illegal…oh wait, in most cases it is. Both ads are disgusting.
“Hey. Kids. Don’t you ever, ever touch a firearm in this house or I’ll beat your ass”.
Brought to you by J. Fritz, HMFIC…
… and the Ad Council.
The ad really isn’t that good. The kids enumerate all the safety lessons their parents have taught them, but then, rather than asking the parents to give them a lesson on proper gun safety, ask that they be locked up and out of sight. That in itself can be a recipe for accidents, as it’s a fact that kids will want what they can’t have. Keep control of your guns, but teach your kids to be responsible with them and encourage them to come to you whenever they want to see them or have questions about them.
It is better than their other ad, which just about put as much blame on the gun owner as on the criminal who stole the gun and used it. Granted, parents who leave guns out so their uninstructed kids can cause an accident with them should be held responsible, but that’s a small percentage of gun accidents and an even smaller percentage of guns stolen and used in crimes.
I will say this, having visited the website for “storage tips” at least they do not repeat the “you have to have two safes, one for ammo separate from the guns” carnard.
AD is OK. Responsible gun owners with children should teach their kids guns safety, take them shooting, and lock the guns up when not in use.
That was even worse! Yeah, your parents tell you to follow those rules, how about adding the four rules of firearms safety and for the youngsters the Eddie the Eagle programming.
These people just used the ad to equate a loaded gun to danger and that it couldn’t protect that same family. Teach your children, and then keep them safe from harm with the firearms. That is one of the worst ads yet.
This PSA is a POS. Once again they’re blaming gun owners and guns themselves, equating them both with other dangers which we deploy safety measures against. What they’re missing, or willfully ignoring, is that a firearm IS a safety measure and it’s being deployed against various dangers that confront us.
By transforming the firearm from a means of defense, and instead into some manner of menace, they’re hijacking reality and paving the way for a redirection of the narrative. An across the board pleading for securing of firearms, because they and not an individual’s wrongdoing or negligence are to blame for injuries, sets the stage for calling for civil disarmament outright. After all, why event attempt to do something safely and responsibly, when it’s an unsafe thing it’s irresponsible to own in the first place?
Same as the last. Decent enough message, terrible delivery.
I’d like it better if the kids were more earnest and less preachy, haha. But it’s not bad.
These are just “feel good” puff pieces. Accidents are low and on the decline due to various efforts of various groups. The “feel safe” crap is just that, a “feeling.” Criminals and psychopaths don’t care. These adds probably help the gun ban lobby more than anything because of their new angles trying to act like they are about safety and the children rather than banning all guns in law abiding citizens’ hands.
This would have been better if instead of the kid asking “why is there a loaded gun in the drawer?” they asked “why do you not teach me how to safely handle a gun?”.
Turn their argument against them.
Without having watched the PSA, I must first ask: why do we even need a lock up your guns PSA in the first place?
Using children to push an authoritarian agenda disguised as ‘common sense’…..hmmmm let’s see, now this seems like a familiar tactic…..
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