Gun Safety
Plaintalker left the reportage on the Clinton School gun incident to the dailies. But there are many unanswered questions to explore.
As reported, a 9-year-old boy brought a loaded gun to school. Another student alerted his grandmother, who happened to be in the school to check on his grades. She retrieved the weapon and took it to the police station, without notifying school district. No one was harmed, the boy was suspended and the investigation continues.
In looking into gun safety issues, this writer was shocked to see that it is a topic that pediatricians now have to consider. Click here to see a pediatric expert’s article on youth suicide and killings by use of guns.
The National Rifle Association has developed a program on gun safety that steers clear of political issues and is aimed purely at instructing young people on what to do if they come upon a weapon. See details here.
Years ago, another Clinton School student saw a gun and alerted adults. As I recall, the student was honored in a special assembly and praised for obeying the rules that are outlined in the NRA program.
With everything else city students need to learn in order to pass state proficiency tests, gun safety almost seems like a side issue. Perhaps the onus is on each household with guns to keep track of them. The NRA estimates that nearly half of all U.S. households have guns in the house.
Whatever was in the mind of the child who brought the gun to school, the adults in charge of the boy must bear some blame for the incident. Which one owned the gun and did not use common-sense precautions to keep it secure?
Operation CeaseFire has finally been launched in Plainfield. This incident deserves all attention possible to find out why it happened and what must be done to prevent a comparable future occurrence.
--Bernice Paglia
As reported, a 9-year-old boy brought a loaded gun to school. Another student alerted his grandmother, who happened to be in the school to check on his grades. She retrieved the weapon and took it to the police station, without notifying school district. No one was harmed, the boy was suspended and the investigation continues.
In looking into gun safety issues, this writer was shocked to see that it is a topic that pediatricians now have to consider. Click here to see a pediatric expert’s article on youth suicide and killings by use of guns.
The National Rifle Association has developed a program on gun safety that steers clear of political issues and is aimed purely at instructing young people on what to do if they come upon a weapon. See details here.
Years ago, another Clinton School student saw a gun and alerted adults. As I recall, the student was honored in a special assembly and praised for obeying the rules that are outlined in the NRA program.
With everything else city students need to learn in order to pass state proficiency tests, gun safety almost seems like a side issue. Perhaps the onus is on each household with guns to keep track of them. The NRA estimates that nearly half of all U.S. households have guns in the house.
Whatever was in the mind of the child who brought the gun to school, the adults in charge of the boy must bear some blame for the incident. Which one owned the gun and did not use common-sense precautions to keep it secure?
Operation CeaseFire has finally been launched in Plainfield. This incident deserves all attention possible to find out why it happened and what must be done to prevent a comparable future occurrence.
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 7:27 PM
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