anti-disarmist
Inactive
From the Sept. 16 Orange County Register (yes, Southern CA):
Potentially lifesaving question often goes unasked by parents
The question never occurred to John Johannessen back in 1997.
It seemed rude to ask that of another parent, even though their children played together at the other family's home.
But had the Irvine resident asked it, things might be dramatically different today.
His only daughter might not have that jagged, one-inch scar on her right cheek.
His marriage might not have broken up.
And his family might not have ended up on tabloid TV shows or become advocates for gun safety.
Had Johannessen only asked, 12-year-old Shanelle might not have been shot and nearly killed by a girlfriend.
The question?
"Do you have any guns in your home?"
Had Johannessen asked it, he might have learned that the girl's mother's fiancé kept a 9 mm pistol in his briefcase.
And had he known that, he wouldn't have let Shanelle go to their house on that day in July 1997, when the girl took the gun out and pulled the trigger because she thought it wasn't loaded.
To many, the question is a breach of etiquette. Only 30 percent of parents dare to ask.
But a new campaign began recently to make the question acceptable.
Dubbed the Asking Saves Kids (ASK) campaign, the drive is sponsored by PAX, a group fighting gun violence. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also support it.
Four out of every 10 homes with children have guns in them, many of them left unlocked and loaded, according to the ASK campaign. More than 300 children are killed in gun accidents each year.
In Orange County, 13 children were killed in accidental shootings between 1991 and 1998, coroner's figures show. None has been killed since then.
Guns need to be stored where children can't get them, the campaign says. The ammo should be locked up separately if kids are present.
The ASK Campaign, which is aligned with gun opponents, gets support from an unlikely source.
"The NRA doesn't have a problem with that," said Trish Gregory, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association. "We certainly don't see any problem with a parent talking to another parent."
The NRA advocates that firearms should always be stored where children can't get them - either in a gun safe or with a locking device.
Shanelle Johannessen turns 16 on Monday, recovered but facing more plastic surgery.
She speaks at schools about the dangers of guns. Her father formed an advocacy group, Stop Our Shootings.
And he never hesitates to ask the question.
"Just because you don't have a gun," Johannessen said, "it doesn't mean that your kid won't get shot."
For more on the ASK campaign, see www.askingsaveskids.com.
Jeff Collins, Register Columnist
jcollins@freedom.notes.com
------------------------------
My response:
Ask this.
The number one killer of children is car accidents. Ask your neighbor if they drive a safe care…if they are sober…what their accident record is…how many moving violations they got in the past year.
The number two killer is drowning. For children under 3, more of them drown in buckets each year than are killed by firearms. Ask your neighbor about buckets left unattended. For all children, ask about unattended pools.
HIV/AIDS was the eighth-leading cause of death in 1996. Ask your neighbor if anyone is HIV/AIDS-positive at the house.
Ask your neighbor if there are any registered (or unregistered) sex-offenders in the house or neighborhood.
If you ask all of these questions, your child will be safer. However, your child probably won’t have many friends.
Don’t forget to ask one last set of questions. Ask if the neighbor is a disarmist (traitor) that is unfamiliar and paranoid about firearms. Ask them if they are trying to disarm the population of the United States. Ask them if they have ever read the Bill of Rights. Ask them…you get the idea.
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I probably should've left off the last part, but I couldn't resist.
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Next response by Jeff:
The NRA agreed with the ASK campaign.
------------------
My response:
According to your article, one woman from the NRA said she did not have a problem with it. That is not the same as its 4 million members agreeing to it. That is not the same as the 80 million gun owners in this country agreeing to it. As you guessed, I do not agree with it. Also, the NRA would be badly perceived if it said the idea of talking was bad.
I notice that you forgot to mention in your article that HUD is the same agency that is suing the gun manufacturers in this country. It’s not a surprise that they would support anything against guns.
This may come as a surprise to you, but guns are not evil. Potentially dangerous?…absolutely. Why not support the NRA’s gun safety programs? Why not have gun safety classes in school? There is no reason to start additional paranoia.
How would you feel if a friend or neighbor started asking you if you were a:
1) pervert
2) drug user
3) convicted felon
4) bad credit risk
5) unclean person
6) etc.
I believe you would be offended. You would think that you are a responsible adult with children. If your home is safe enough for your kids, then it might be safe for your neighbor’s kids.
Why focus on guns? You even said there were no deaths since 1998 in Orange County.
Don’t you realize that in the past, kids brought guns with them to school every day? They would shoot before and after school. It’s only recently that a few kids are shooting in school. It’s not the guns. It’s the people. Find out why some people are different and try to change them.
By the way, I too like to feel that I am a reasonable, responsible citizen. I’m just tired of the “guns are evil, guns are bad” mentality that most of the media spits out on a daily basis.
I do appreciate your response. Good luck with your next column.
----------------------
His response:
Fine. So now I have one man who disagrees with it.
Thank you for your comments.
----------------------
If anyone else wants to disagree with him, feel free to send him a cordial response. At the moment, he thinks it’s just me.
Potentially lifesaving question often goes unasked by parents
The question never occurred to John Johannessen back in 1997.
It seemed rude to ask that of another parent, even though their children played together at the other family's home.
But had the Irvine resident asked it, things might be dramatically different today.
His only daughter might not have that jagged, one-inch scar on her right cheek.
His marriage might not have broken up.
And his family might not have ended up on tabloid TV shows or become advocates for gun safety.
Had Johannessen only asked, 12-year-old Shanelle might not have been shot and nearly killed by a girlfriend.
The question?
"Do you have any guns in your home?"
Had Johannessen asked it, he might have learned that the girl's mother's fiancé kept a 9 mm pistol in his briefcase.
And had he known that, he wouldn't have let Shanelle go to their house on that day in July 1997, when the girl took the gun out and pulled the trigger because she thought it wasn't loaded.
To many, the question is a breach of etiquette. Only 30 percent of parents dare to ask.
But a new campaign began recently to make the question acceptable.
Dubbed the Asking Saves Kids (ASK) campaign, the drive is sponsored by PAX, a group fighting gun violence. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also support it.
Four out of every 10 homes with children have guns in them, many of them left unlocked and loaded, according to the ASK campaign. More than 300 children are killed in gun accidents each year.
In Orange County, 13 children were killed in accidental shootings between 1991 and 1998, coroner's figures show. None has been killed since then.
Guns need to be stored where children can't get them, the campaign says. The ammo should be locked up separately if kids are present.
The ASK Campaign, which is aligned with gun opponents, gets support from an unlikely source.
"The NRA doesn't have a problem with that," said Trish Gregory, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association. "We certainly don't see any problem with a parent talking to another parent."
The NRA advocates that firearms should always be stored where children can't get them - either in a gun safe or with a locking device.
Shanelle Johannessen turns 16 on Monday, recovered but facing more plastic surgery.
She speaks at schools about the dangers of guns. Her father formed an advocacy group, Stop Our Shootings.
And he never hesitates to ask the question.
"Just because you don't have a gun," Johannessen said, "it doesn't mean that your kid won't get shot."
For more on the ASK campaign, see www.askingsaveskids.com.
Jeff Collins, Register Columnist
jcollins@freedom.notes.com
------------------------------
My response:
Ask this.
The number one killer of children is car accidents. Ask your neighbor if they drive a safe care…if they are sober…what their accident record is…how many moving violations they got in the past year.
The number two killer is drowning. For children under 3, more of them drown in buckets each year than are killed by firearms. Ask your neighbor about buckets left unattended. For all children, ask about unattended pools.
HIV/AIDS was the eighth-leading cause of death in 1996. Ask your neighbor if anyone is HIV/AIDS-positive at the house.
Ask your neighbor if there are any registered (or unregistered) sex-offenders in the house or neighborhood.
If you ask all of these questions, your child will be safer. However, your child probably won’t have many friends.
Don’t forget to ask one last set of questions. Ask if the neighbor is a disarmist (traitor) that is unfamiliar and paranoid about firearms. Ask them if they are trying to disarm the population of the United States. Ask them if they have ever read the Bill of Rights. Ask them…you get the idea.
------------------
I probably should've left off the last part, but I couldn't resist.
------------------
Next response by Jeff:
The NRA agreed with the ASK campaign.
------------------
My response:
According to your article, one woman from the NRA said she did not have a problem with it. That is not the same as its 4 million members agreeing to it. That is not the same as the 80 million gun owners in this country agreeing to it. As you guessed, I do not agree with it. Also, the NRA would be badly perceived if it said the idea of talking was bad.
I notice that you forgot to mention in your article that HUD is the same agency that is suing the gun manufacturers in this country. It’s not a surprise that they would support anything against guns.
This may come as a surprise to you, but guns are not evil. Potentially dangerous?…absolutely. Why not support the NRA’s gun safety programs? Why not have gun safety classes in school? There is no reason to start additional paranoia.
How would you feel if a friend or neighbor started asking you if you were a:
1) pervert
2) drug user
3) convicted felon
4) bad credit risk
5) unclean person
6) etc.
I believe you would be offended. You would think that you are a responsible adult with children. If your home is safe enough for your kids, then it might be safe for your neighbor’s kids.
Why focus on guns? You even said there were no deaths since 1998 in Orange County.
Don’t you realize that in the past, kids brought guns with them to school every day? They would shoot before and after school. It’s only recently that a few kids are shooting in school. It’s not the guns. It’s the people. Find out why some people are different and try to change them.
By the way, I too like to feel that I am a reasonable, responsible citizen. I’m just tired of the “guns are evil, guns are bad” mentality that most of the media spits out on a daily basis.
I do appreciate your response. Good luck with your next column.
----------------------
His response:
Fine. So now I have one man who disagrees with it.
Thank you for your comments.
----------------------
If anyone else wants to disagree with him, feel free to send him a cordial response. At the moment, he thinks it’s just me.
