South Florida family takes proactive approach to gun safety
MIAMI - A local South Florida family has taken a proactive approach to gun safety.
Mom Kadion Jamieson and her husband own firearms. "My kids need to be well-versed because we have them in the home, and I don't want accidents happening," said Jamieson. "It's as simple as that."
Her son Ethan is 10, with the youngest only four years old. Ethan learned how to operate and shoot a gun two years ago.
CBS4 accepted an invite to a local gun range for mother-son bonding time, as the youngest child stayed home with grandma.
"He realizes this is a big deal," said Jamieson.
Mom tells CBS4 she worries about exposing her child to guns and teaching him to shoot. She's aware of a recent CDC report that reveals gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in the U.S. However, she believes a more proactive, hands-on approach with guns in the house is the safest.
"Less of a worry when I take that curiosity out from them by making sure they know gun safety," said Jamieson.
The manager and instructor at Nexus Shooting agrees with mom's sentiment.
"They want to sneak into mommy and daddy's closet and touch the gun," said store manager Tommy Ferrara. "They want to touch that firearm. If you expose children to firearms, it steals their curiosity."
Monday at the range with Ethan and his mom, Ferrara provides the child safety tips emphasizing the dangers and proper technique when handling a loaded gun.
"Basic rules of firearm safety is we always assume the firearm is loaded," Ferrara explains, while also teaching proper stance and other vital instructions before taking a shot at the target in front of him.
The most critical piece of advice is for the parents. Ferrara stresses that securing the weapon at home should always be the top priority.
"If you're not locking up your firearms, that's not on your kid, that's on the parent, and the parent has to take responsibility for that," said Ferrara.
"We have a routine at night," explained Jamieson, sharing the fears if they fail to do so properly.
Jamieson says if her family knew nothing about guns, she would likely wait until Ethan was much older before taking him to the range. But since they own one, her relatives who work in law enforcement advised her to teach their children how to use one safely.
Only some feel the hands-on approach is the best one. Former congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is a senior advisor at Giffords, a gun violence prevention organization. She acknowledges parents can make the best choice for their family but says we need to focus on legislation changes and educate people on the data.
"We shouldn't demystify an extremely dangerous weapon," said Mucarsel-Powell. "Just like you wouldn't give a child a car at the age of 11 or 12. We should not be giving them firearms for them to touch or handle."
"70-90 % of suicides and unintentional gun deaths occur at homes where children have access to loaded weapons," she continued. "So we know that if we pass laws like the safe storage law that would require adults and responsible gun owners to safely store their firearms, we can \prevent and lower the rates of suicide by up to 50 percent."
