I’ve long advocated that people secure their guns when they’re not in use. I think simply leaving guns laying around all willy-nilly, particularly if there are kids in the home, is a bad idea.
I also oppose mandatory storage laws.
Why? Well, part of it is that I don’t like the government telling us to do something. When laws dictate action, they lack the flexibility for someone to determine what’s actually best for them and their family. For example, a mature teenager having access to a gun when Mom and Dad are out might be lifesaving and mandatory storage laws make it illegal.
But there are a lot of people who really want to try and pretend that it’s not just a good idea, but that it’s really in keeping with the Second Amendment.
As a pediatrician, a mother and a proud gun owner, I find myself at the unique intersection of two crucial aspects of American life: the right to bear arms and the imperative need to safeguard the health and well-being of our children. In the two states where I have lived, worked, and raised my children — Utah and Georgia — gun ownership is cherished and common. At the same time, we must confront the harsh truth and uncomfortable reality that the widespread and irresponsible presence of guns profoundly damages the physical safety and mental health of our children.
We often hear our leaders talk about the United States’ gun violence epidemic as being secondary to mental health issues — that addressing the latter will fix the former — but I counter that gun violence is fueling mental health issues.
And from here, we already know that while the author claims to have at least a firearm, she’s not what we generally think of as a gun owner.
While violence can cause mental health issues such as PTSD, she also knows that people who tend to shoot up schools and concerts aren’t victims of so-called gun violence in the first place. This is an attempt to try and deflect the issue and put everything on guns, which invalidates any attempts she might be trying to make to pretend to be one of us.
Then again, her bio makes it clear that she’s an ambassador for GIFFORDS Gun Owners for Safety, which is just a way to say they’re anti-gun Fudds pretending to be part of our community.
Because we can’t promise our kids that they will return unscathed every time they head out the front door, it makes sense that anxiety and depression are rising among youth. But rather than prioritizing common-sense solutions to address gun violence, such as requiring guns to be securely stored and background checks be conducted on all gun purchases, parents and kids are just told to prepare for mass shootings — like they’re inevitable.
Honey, no one can promise our kids they will return unscathed every time they head out the door. That’s never been a new thing. Car accidents alone account for thousands upon thousands of deaths every year. I grew up in an era when kidnapping was the big concern, and that still happens today. Hell, a tree limb could fall and hit a kid on the head.
Safety cannot be guaranteed no matter what you do. This idea that guns created this is beyond insane
The stupidity continues:
One of my top concerns as a doctor is that parents leave their guns unattended, unlocked and loaded in the presence of their kids. Guns are the leading cause of death for American children, and 4.6 million children in the United States live in homes with at least one loaded, unlocked gun.
This is a lie.
I’ve looked at the data and it’s really not. Especially when that data includes 18- and 19-year-old adults as “children.” These are also the ages where people are most likely to be involved in criminal activities themselves, making it more likely they’ll meet a violent end.
If you have to lie to advance your narrative, then maybe your narrative is the problem.
If we can reduce gun violence, we can reduce the mental health stress our kids face just by living their lives. I firmly believe in the right to own firearms. This right is not in tension with the responsibility of making smart decisions to ensure the safety of our children and our communities. Gun laws like secure storage don’t infringe on our Second Amendment rights — instead, they go hand-in-hand and help prevent unnecessary tragedies. To protect our kids, we need our representatives to prioritize public safety, treat this nation’s gun violence problem as the public health crisis that it is, and pass secure gun storage laws.
These laws do not go hand-in-hand with the Second Amendment. They’re a restriction on my right to keep and bear arms by telling me where a gun has to be in my home at any particular point. They also put my children at risk should they need access to a firearm when I’m not at home.
In fact, at no point during this rambling screed does she make a case about how it’s not really an infringement on the Second Amendment. She simply makes the assertion knowing that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s editors wouldn’t challenge her in the least.
She also claims that in her role with Giffords, she knows just how popular these laws are in Georgia.
Well, as a native Georgian who has grown up here my entire life but who associates with people who aren’t active with a gun control organization, I can assure her that they’re not nearly as popular as she wants people to think.
Then again, she’s trying to sell this to the people of Georgia. She needs people to be so stupid that they can’t see through the lies, distortions, and half-truths and decide that if everyone else supports this, then maybe they’re in the wrong.
Frankly, if this pediatrician were my kids’ doctor, I’d be looking for a new one.
