GUN SAFETY TEEN TALK 2018, WHAT TO SAY

via all4shooters.com

What can you tell teens about guns that they haven’t already heard? Don’t worry about embarrassing yourself by repeating an old message like, “Don’t shoot anyone.” If you’re a certain age there’s little to do that won’t make you an embarrassment.

It may feel like you’re speaking a foreign language.

So what is the right approach to gun safety teen talk in 2018? What are the right words, and who should say them?

Here’s a start:

If one teenager asks another, “Hey man, want to see my guns?”

The right answer is, “No thanks.”

If you’re in a room and a friend of a friend wants to show off his gun? Leave the room.

It’s that easy and that hard. Then what?

Gun safety for teens begins with the notion that it takes intent to fire a gun. Finger on trigger sort of intent. No finger on the trigger means the gun won’t fire. If you don’t drop it, it won’t fire.

Laying on a table, a gun is no different than a potted plant. Neither is killing anyone, but one has more potential. Is it important to explain how a plant and gun are different? Then show how to handle a gun.

Emphasis to embarrassment the need to check the chamber as often as you like, more often.

If someone hands you a gun and says it’s unloaded, be polite and check the chamber. But first say thank you to show the other person you’ve got the gun in hand.

After you check the chamber for a bullet and it’s empty, look at the gun with the muzzle pointed away from anyone, then hand it back.

Does the owner say thank you? Do they check the chamber? If they don’t, leave the room. They are bad gun owners.

For the sake of gun safety for teens, drop the clip out of the handle and let them feel the weight. Break the gun down to parts and pass them around. Let them see the process. Take the mystery out of what guns can and can’t do.

When the pieces come back around, reassemble the gun and crank a round into the chamber. Don’t pass a loaded gun around.

Now drop the clip out, eject the round, check the chamber, and dry fire. Look at the gun safety teens and say these words:

“This thing won’t go off on it’s own. Gun buyers who need an arsenal for home protection are not protecting the right thing. More guns mean more threats? What are they worried about, the zombie hoard, end of days, jackbooted thugs? If trained gunners show up and you whip out a gun, you’re going down.

“Instead of ‘protection’ as a reason for ten guns, ask if the owner has one person in mind for buying so many guns. If they have one person in mind, why so many guns? Then ask if the person they named lives nearby. No sense getting caught in a shootout.

“The most important part of gun safety is knowing the gun and how to keep it pointed the right direction. A correct gun owner is one who doesn’t talk about it, or show it off. For them the only person who needs to know about a gun is the person it was bought for. That guy. You don’t need to see any gun from any teen friend, and if they insist on showing, they are not your friend.”

Share your gun safety take in comments. Readers around the world check in here and might find inspiration from real gun talk.