Reply #32: Child Access Prevention (CAP) laws work mostly after the fact [View All]

[slackmaster]

I don't have a problem with CAP laws as long as they only assign liability for negligence and don't dictate specific storage requirements. We have a CAP law in California, but it's only rarely enforced because too often the kids who shoot themselves by accident did so with a gun belonging to a parent. Prosecutors are reluctant to prosecute someone who just lost a child through his or her own stupidity.

IMO the only truly effective way to protect kids from guns is education. Teach gun owners to do the right thing, and when kids are old enough teach them gun safety. Sooner or later most US children are going to encounter a gun that was stored in a negligent manner, discarded in haste by a criminal, etc. The older they get the less control you have over their movements. Parents MUST teach their children survival skills for all environmental hazards they are likely to encounter. Here in Southern California we teach kids how to be wary of black widow spiders and rattlesnakes. Improperly secured guns are another danger in their environment in spite of all of California's tough gun laws.

I learned gun safety at 10, my brother at 6. We were both ready. Neither of us have ever had a problem with ourselves or our children and guns.