Gun Fantasies

On CSI, there was a story that started with a little boy shooting himself in the foot with a gun he claimed he found. When the investigator asked the mother if the little boy could have gotten the gun from anyone in the house the mother replied, "Oh, no. My husband and I don't believe in guns." Huh? I don't believe in the tooth fairy; there's no proof such a creature exists. But I can assure you that guns do exist and residing in a state of disbelief will not make them go away. In fact, living in a state of denial is exactly what precipitated the little boy's injury. If the parents had a clue they would have taught him respect for firearms not ignorance. They would have taught him that if he were to ever see a gun, not in the hands of a competent adult, that he should leave the gun alone and immediately report it to the closest authority figure. Of course this is the message of the National Rifle Association's Eddie the Eagle program, but someone who doesn't believe in guns wouldn't believe in gun safety either.