DANGER! Look What I Found!
By Edward A. Robinson

I've been a licensed gun dealer for the last 20 years. In my experience, if you have children in your household and you take on the responsibility of buying a gun, you must take the responsibility of keeping the gun locked up.

Also, every child should know what to do if they find a gun. It doesn't matter if you own a gun or not. It could happen whether you live in a big city, in a small town or out in the country.

If they ever come across a gun:

• STOP!
• DON'T TOUCH!
• LEAVE THE AREA!
• TELL AN ADULT!

Let's go over these one by one.

STOP -- Don't move any closer.

DON'T TOUCH -- It's tempting to pick it up, but don't. They've seen their favorite video game hero get shot or shoot the bad guy. Then all they have to do is press the restart button and their lives begin again, but your child's life is no video game. Real guns use real bullets that hit real targets. If the target is a person, the bullet can permanently cripple or kill someone.

LEAVE THE AREA -- Leaving the area will keep them safe.

TELL AN ADULT -- Speak Up! Tell a parent, teacher, police officer or any adult you know.

Most kids in gun accidents say they didn't mean to hurt anyone. Yet someone got badly hurt or, worse, killed.

Edward A. Robinson is a freelance writer, self-employed businessman, and a husband and father of three. You can visit and contact him at www.writingfored.com