Guns are now the leading cause of death for children and teens in Alaska and nationwide. In what could be any summer scene, two children were playing with Nerf guns at a home in Southwest Alaska when one picked up an actual rifle and shot the other child, Alaska State Troopers recently reported. The child was pronounced dead at the scene in Mountain Village.
As a parent of curious, active young kids, this story breaks my heart, and I grieve with the community that is mourning the loss of this child. These situations should be wake-up calls for us all because they are preventable through secure firearm storage.
We can keep kids safe by securing guns and ensuring that others do the same. Kids shouldn’t have to guess whether a gun is real or not; it is always an adult’s responsibility to store guns safely where children cannot access them.
As a volunteer with Be SMART for Kids and Moms Demand Action, we encourage communities to normalize conversations about gun safety and urge people to take these “SMART” steps:
• Secure guns in homes and vehicles;
• Model responsible behavior;
• Ask about firearms in other homes your child visits;
• Recognize the role of guns in suicide, and
• Tell your peers to “Be SMART.”
I invite you to learn more at BeSMARTforkids.org.
— Rochelle Parker
Anchorage
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.