Even if you don’t have guns, I think it’s important to talk to your kids about guns. – Miriam Walkingshaw
HOLLADAY — The recent incident in which a Brighton High School student died in a gun accident is raising concerns about gun safety.
The teen died after being accidentally shot when friends passed around a gun Wednesday night.
According to research published in JAMA Pediatrics, 22 percent of children with gun-owning parents have handled a firearm despite their parents reporting otherwise.
“When you choose not to lock up a gun, you don’t know whose hands it can get into,” said Miriam Walkingshaw, with Utah Parents Against Gun Violence.
In Utah, at least five children under the age of 18 have been accidentally shot and killed within the past six months, Walkingshaw said.
“Even if you don’t have guns, I think it’s important to talk to your kids about guns,” she said.
RAIN6 is a firearms training company at 4227 Highland Drive that teaches what it says every teen should know, including proper firearm handling and storage. RAIN6 co-founder James Story said preventing a nightmare begins with locking up the gun.
"This would come off of my hip, would go into my safe, and I’d make sure it’s secure,” Storey said of his gun.
But if a teen gets his or her hands on one, Story breaks down gun safety into three rules.
“Rule No. 1: Keep it pointed in a safe direction. Rule No. 2 would be keep your finger out of the trigger well … until you’re ready to shoot,” he said. “The third thing is keep it unloaded until you’re ready to use it."
Email: ddolan@deseretnews.com