SC must protect children from guns
Fewer issues are more divisive than the subject of gun laws, but one particular measure would make sense for protecting South Carolinians without infringing in any way on the second amendment.
South Carolina is not one of the 27 states with a child access prevention law — a law that holds adults liable if they fail to store their firearm properly and a child is able to access it.
Gun rights advocates often talk about “responsible gun owners” and we can all agree one of the requirements of meeting that description is safely storing firearms and ammunition in a manner that prevents children from easily accessing them. Doing so would prevent numerous deaths — both accidental and otherwise — without infringing upon the right to bear arms.
As the parent of a 7-year-old and 4-year-old, the thought of my children being in a home in which they or their friends might be able to access a gun is terrifying. Equally chilling is the fact that we have averaged a school shooting every other day so far in 2018.
We will likely never agree on much regarding gun control legislation, but I would hope we could agree that it is imperative that we do something to protect our most precious and vulnerable assets — our children. Passage of a child access prevention law seems like a common-sense starting point, and we should encourage our representatives to give it serious consideration.
Justin Jarrett
Bluffton
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This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 4:04 PM with the headline "SC must protect children from guns."