Three simple ways we can all help prevent gun violence

We are coming up on the fifth anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, in which a young man opened fire on a classroom of first-graders, killing 20 of them and 6 adults — after having killed his mother at home. While nothing can eclipse this tragedy, since then there have been many more tragedies, such as the shooting in Las Vegas, the church shooting in Texas and the recent shooting in Northern California where, thanks to the quick actions of the staff of a local elementary school, the shooter’s attempts to enter the school were foiled. He shot through the windows instead, injuring a child. In 2014, more than 33 thousand people in the United States died from firearms. For comparison, that’s the same as the amount who died from motor vehicle accidents. Just as we are tirelessly working to keep people from being killed in or by cars, we need to work tirelessly so that fewer people die from guns. In the wake of Sandy Hook, it looked like we were might have legislation to help prevent gun violence. But quickly we got mired in politics — and a lot of very strong feelings. Clearly, for many people gun ownership is a precious right — and clearly, death from firearms is a complicated problem without easy fixes. That’s why we need to look for simple ways that we can all work together so that fewer people die. Here are three suggestions. Keep guns and ammunition safely stored. This one really is simple. Guns should be locked up, and the ammunition should also be locked upâ€...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Ask the Expert Kids' Safety Claire McCarthy MD Gun safety Source Type: news