The paradox. The place where a child should feel most safe is often filled with dangers, especially for toddlers and young children.
The typical home has all sorts of things that can be dangerous to children, from household chemicals to tools, matches, kitchen knives — even furniture, which can crush a child when overturned.
In Mississippi, there is another potential danger for children: guns.
Our state ninth in the nation in gun ownership (guns are found 54.3 percent of households) and third in the nation in the rate of gun deaths. For every 100,000 Mississippians, 17.8 will meet their end by gunshot.
Each year, 1,300 children will die from gunshots and another 5,790 will suffer non-fatal gunshot injuries.
Of those gunshot deaths among children, 38 percent are suicides and 6 percent are accidental shootings.
Sometimes, those numbers hit close to home.
Last month, 12-year-old La’Garius Morris died when he was shot by a 13-year-old friend at the Morris home in what law enforcement ruled was an accidental shooting.
Five years ago, a New Hope 2-year-old, using the drawers of a dresser as a ladder, took a gun from a gun case on the top of the dresser and shot himself through the hand.
These cases serve to remind us that while gun ownership is a right, having a gun in the home carries with it tremendous responsibility.
Parents must take necessary precautions to make their home safe. “Child-proofing” a home is a common practice. Making certain that young children do not have access to guns should be part of that preventative measure.
As a child matures, many will begin to hunt or participate in shooting sports. But that does not continue to mean that there should not be well-defined rules about how guns are handled in the home.
Parents must make sure their children know what is and is not allowed in their home, not only for themselves, but for visitors to the home who may not be familiar with guns or the rules.
Gun ownership carries with it great responsibilities, particularly for parents.
This most recent shooting drives home that point.
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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