The 17 deaths at Parkland High School in Florida last month re-ignited the gun control debate throughout the country, pitting those who argue for tighter restrictions on guns against those who view any move in that direction as an assault on Second Amendment rights.
But even in the highly-charged debate there is one gun control measure that we should be in universal agreement on: In any household where children are present, it is an absolute imperative that guns must be secured and that children should not have access to them.
We were reminded of this Saturday, when a nine-year-old Monroe County boy shot and killed his 13-year-old sister after a dispute over a video game control. The investigation into the shooting is not complete and among the many unanswered questions is how the boy was able to access the handgun in his home.
But there is no ambiguity about the tragedy of this incident, nor is the fact that children are all too often the victim of needless gun violence.
According to the Center for Injury and Prevention, 7,000 children ages 17-and-younger are killed or injured by shooting each year, most of them from accidental shootings. Eighty-nine percent of those shooting occur at home.
Of all the shooting deaths, these are the most tragic and most preventable.
When a person buys a firearm, they assume an awesome responsibility, and this is especially true in a home environment where children are present.
The safeguards are not difficult. Keeping firearms and ammunition locked away is no encroachment on anyone’s rights. It’s a common sense measure that can prevent tragedies such as the one we continue to see all too often.
Anyone who is not willing to make that commitment to secure their guns has demonstrated they are not responsible enough to own them.
It really is that simple.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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