This page was last updated on June 4, 2012.
Guns should be locked up; Josh Metcalf; Beaver County Times; June 3, 2012.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“I was overwhelmed to read how a man I knew my whole life could pull a gun on his family (‘State police: man pointed gun at wife and son,’ May 8).
“Why did Mark keep his loaded gun in a tool box which was unlocked? The issue here is gun safety.
“Some reasons why people buy guns are for hunting, personal protection, sport shooting and to collect them. When people have a gun in the house they might forget they have children in the house and forget to lock the gun up. If a kid saw the gun, he might think it is a toy gun and play with it, and the kid might pull the trigger and kill himself.
“It would be the parents’ fault because they did not lock the gun up and were not watching their youngster. In my opinion, I think the only time you should have a gun is when you go hunting. They need to keep the gun in a gun safe and lock the safe in a secure shed.”
[RWC] “Some reasons why people buy guns are for … personal protection …” If you “keep the gun in a gun safe and lock the safe in a secure shed,” the weapon won’t do much for the “personal protection” of its owner or his/her family.
Mr. Metcalf was right when he wrote, “The issue here is gun safety.” The key is a balance between accessibility when needed and safety, plus education of everyone in the household, even the kids. The only way to make a gun 100% safe is to make it useless.
© 2004-2012 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.