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In today's "Neighbors" section of the Dallas Morning News appears an article written by a Pediatrician. He discusses the National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Campaign. Some quotes from the article:

-The ASK campaign urges parents to ask their neighbors if they have a gun in their home.
-ASK provides a practical opportunity for parents to protect their children from gun violence.

Their goal is to prevent children from finding and playing with guns found in homes of their friends. The goal is commendable, however, and maybe this is just me, I am concerned about people being encouraged to "ask" about who owns guns in their neighborhood. The accidental death of a child or anyone by a gun is tragic - but is that really "gun violence"? There have been some previous posts in this forum about Pediatrician's asking similar questions of children during office visits.

Turns out ASK is a program of PAXUSA which has some interesting names on its list of "advisors" - Rob Reiner, Tim Robbins, and William Baldwin are some of the names that I recognize as being less than gun friendly.

They would do more good if they asked about televisions and encouraged parents to get rid of their television and play with their kids. That would reduce the risk of childhood obesity and improve the parents life expectancy too.

ASK about minding your own business!

Haven't I seen WW II movies where the children were asked and encouraged to report guns, radios and other stuff of their parents?

Commander wrote:In today's "Neighbors" section of the Dallas Morning News appears an article written by a Pediatrician. He discusses the National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Campaign. Some quotes from the article:

-The ASK campaign urges parents to ask their neighbors if they have a gun in their home.
-ASK provides a practical opportunity for parents to protect their children from gun violence.

Teaching the 4 basic rules of gun safety would be more practical. Rule #1 All guns are always loaded. We added to this rule for our youngest: "If you or your friends find a gun, run away, and tell an adult"

bdickens wrote:ASK about minding your own business!

Oldgringo wrote:Haven't I seen WW II movies where the children were asked and encouraged to report guns, radios and other stuff of their parents?

Sadly, a whole generation of Americans have no idea what you mean.

Chas.

KaiserB wrote:

Commander wrote:In today's "Neighbors" section of the Dallas Morning News appears an article written by a Pediatrician. He discusses the National ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Campaign. Some quotes from the article:

-The ASK campaign urges parents to ask their neighbors if they have a gun in their home.
-ASK provides a practical opportunity for parents to protect their children from gun violence.

Teaching the 4 basic rules of gun safety would be more practical. Rule #1 All guns are always loaded. We added to this rule for our youngest: "If you or your friends find a gun, run away, and tell an adult"

Education is the only way to truly protect your kids. If these folks, or the American Academy of Pediatrics, actually cared about safety instead of achieving a political goal, they would recommend that parents and their children take the NRA Home Firearms Safety Course (at the minimum). It's not a shooting course, it's directed solely at gun safety, it teaches students (kids and adults) how to determine if a firearm is loaded or not and how to safely unload it. For kids too young for this course, the NRA's Eddie Eagle presentation is excellent. The cartoon-like character is effective at teaching that short simple message.

It's gotten to the point that every time someone starts off saying, "it's for the kids" I want to punch them in the nose.

Chas.

It's a lot easier to gun-proof the kid than it is to kid-proof the gun.

Education starts for kids at home about topics such as this.... and stop making these issues for society. You may as well include asking about power tools, chemicals under the sink, asbestos, if they have a knife drawer, electricity near water, pools, cigarettes, alcohol, medicine cabinets, open flame, flammables, lactose free diets, peanut allergies, religious sensitivity (draws deep breath), passing flatus in public, badgers that may live under their front porch, and lead paint chips.

Ok, that about covers it...wow it seems like there is so much parenting to do after all. Guess you need to turn Madagascar off the dual, rear dvd player of the minivan on the way to said envogue kid activity and actually do something other than avoid your responsibilities....sheesh

non specifically directed rant off....

Excellent quote High Velocity!

This campaign is a VERY bad idea, because it has the potential to literally break up child friendships. Ignorance is bliss. With so many paranoid mothers out there, all it would take is for a mother to find out that I have guns in my house, and I can see them all of the sudden stop letting their kids come over to play with my kids, because they don't want their kids around guns. This will happen as a result of this initiative.

I don't see this campaign pushing

* Ask if your neighbors do drugs
* Ask if your neighbors are homosexual
* Ask if your neighbors are <insert whatever religious sect>
* Ask if your neighbors are atheists
* Ask if your neighbors have AIDS
* Ask if you neighbors have ever been convicted of a felony

Sometimes, it is better left to not know. Otherwise, if we knew everything about our neighbors we probably wouldn't ever let our kids go anywhere besides our own house. There will ALWAYS be something that you and your neighbors disagree about, and that can be enough to cause you to disassociate yourself from them, or them from you.

I support the concept of asking the parents if there are guns in the house. And then, if they say there are none, asking how they are going to protect my child from the potential home invasion or kidnapper.

Asking can work both ways.

srothstein wrote:I support the concept of asking the parents if there are guns in the house. And then, if they say there are none, asking how they are going to protect my child from the potential home invasion or kidnapper.

Asking can work both ways.

Yes indeedy, and I like your style, dude!

srothstein wrote:I support the concept of asking the parents if there are guns in the house. And then, if they say there are none, asking how they are going to protect my child from the potential home invasion or kidnapper.

Asking can work both ways.