3 years, 2 months.
Dear Jack,
Last Friday night Mommy and I watched a segment on 20/20 called “Young Guns.”
It really got us thinking.
The episode wasn’t about the tired, polarizing, passionately political, and seemingly fruitless (?) debate about gun control.
Instead, it demonstrated how even children who are well-educated and familiar with guns still get curious enough to touch and play with guns anyway; when those same children are unsupervised and when those guns are not securely hidden and locked up.
I am referring to those findable, reachable, unlocked guns as “loose” guns.
When the episode of 20/20 was over, it sparked a conversation between Mommy and me about how we’ll forever be mindful of you visiting friends’ houses, as you get older, regarding whether there are guns in that house.
Granted, I have no problem at all with you staying at a house where a law-abiding parent has registered guns.
But after watching that 20/20 episode, I do care about whether that parent has securely hidden and locked up their guns.
Of course, it’s not something I’m too worried about now, considering we don’t send you overnight anywhere at this age.
But at some point, you will be sleeping over at friends’ houses…
It seems like an awkward conversation to have with another parent, whose house you will be staying at:
“So, if you have guns in the house, do you keep them hidden and securely locked up, so my son and your son won’t accidently discover and play with them?”
However, I’m too passionate about this now to not consider bringing it up. This isn’t something I’ve had a lot of time to really think through yet, but as that time gets closer, I will need to have a plan.
I don’t want you hanging out at a house that has guns that you could have any possibility of discovering and playing with.
It’s funny, or maybe I should say scary, actually, that I never thought about this until now.
Love, Daddy
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