I recall a broadcast news program I watched back in the early 90s (could have been late 80s) that featured a story on gun safety and children. It was the story of a study that took place in a day care setting. There were two groups of children who participated: One group consisted of children whose parents didn't own guns, hated guns, etc, leading to children being raised in gun-free homes with little to no gun safety education. The other group came from families that owned guns, etc. Inside the day care play area, they hid a bunch of allegedly inert handguns. They brought the group of children who were being raised with guns around first. Shockingly, when the children encountered a handgun, most of the time they left it alone and ran and told an adult. Of the group who was raised in gun-free households, there was sheer surprise and joy when they found the guns. Something new. There was gun handling, gun pointing - basically the type of gun handling that we teach our kids not to do.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else recalled seeing that piece. And even better, knew if it was online somewhere. I believe the news show was Dateline, but it could also have been 48 Hours. My take on it at the time was, that the results that were aired were not the results that the broadcast company had hoped to show. That might explain why no one seems to recall the piece.

Yes. Indeed. I do remember seeing this. I don't know where you find this now, or if it was in fact Dateline, but that sounds accurate. It was fascinating. As I remember it, they created multiple scenarios/locations where the kids would 'find' these 'hidden' guns, while surreptitiously videoing the different results/behavior when they did.

I should add that the results made perfect sense to me. I was one of those type kids born and raised in a completely gun-free (and non-firearm friendly) home. Massachusetts Catholic, lol. Not to assign any religious or geographical stereotypes to gun-ownership or lack there-of unfairly, it's just how it went for me in my childhood and the VAST majority of friends/families I knew. Even BB guns were on the taboo list; hell, my folks frowned upon the idea of playing cowboys & indians with toy guns/cap guns. That said, I can GUARANTEE you that if I had been one of those kids who 'found' one, like in the program, my first course of action with it would NOT have been responsible behavior, informing an adult, etc. Sad, but true. It was not until many years later, in college, and developing friendships with some folks from the south who had been raised much differently, that I became enlightened and educated to the proper respect, care, and safety in the presence & handling of firearms. Tonfraw a parallel that may or may not be entirely appropriate, it might be like European children being more accustomed to the presence and/or responsible consumption of alcohol; from growing up with wine on the dinner table? Something like that.

I believe there may have been a program whereby Diane Sawyer was to reporter.

ABC's 20/20 titled "Young Guns".

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

I don't remember the program, but it makes perfect sense.
I was raised in a home with guns and was taught as early as I can
remember to respect guns. I still do.

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In Omnia Paratus

I recall watching the program too but recall things differently (likely wrong). What I recall is when a child picked up the gun they always put a finger on the trigger AND looked down the barrel @ the same time. Very freightening.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Knowledge is power and education trumps legislation.

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Freedom isn't free.

In a similar vein, years back there was a show hosted by Peter Jennings about the pros and cons of gun ownership. The show had the usual group of gun control advocates, chiefs of police, etc. on the con side. I think the network was really surprised when most of the audience made calm, sensible, rational arguments on the pro side. It was the most even handed show on the subject I have ever seen from one of the major networks.

You would think that would be on the internet somewhere, but I can't find it. I guess the network didn't like what they produced.

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You're shy a few manners.

As an ER nurse with many years of service, I have unfortunately seen more than one or two self inflicted gun shot wounds - usually fatal - by young children, and usually with a revolver. I think that if a semiauto pistol has a frame and/or slide mounted safety, and the safety has been properly applied, most young children won't be able to fire the piece. With revolvers, unfortunately, the youngsters seek a mechanical advantage, and coupled with their curiosity, leads them to look down the barrel and depress the trigger with their thumbs while gripping the butt of the revolver.

When my children were old enough to start walking, I had the gun safety talk with them - frequently. I went over what I expected them to do if they found any firearm that was unsecured, and we would go over scenarios such as what to do if they were by themselves, or with one another, or at someone else's house, etc. Next, I would leave unloaded handguns and realistic looking toy guns laying about where they could find them and wait to see what would happen. My kids did exactly what they were taught to do, and received both recognition and reward for same.

Once while in a large store, one of my kids came and told me there was ammunition in the toy aisle. Thinking it was toy ammo for a toy gun, I still went with my kid to verify (my other child was staying by the ammo and "guarding it" so others wouldn't get hurt by it). I was very surprised to find live .22LR ammo laying loose on the floor in the toy aisle - just as my kids had said. We summoned the manager, and he said that this was impossible as he had the only keys to the ammo display, and he hadn't sold any ammo that day. Well, he was soon eating his words when we showed him the loose ammo, and my kids found more loose ammo further up the aisle. He immediately called staff to search the entire store for any other loose ammo, and he thanked and praised my kids for their prompt and correct actions.

We have acquaintances who thought what I did bordered on child abuse, but then later asked if I would teach their children as I had taught mine.

Regards,

Dave

I've always believed that the worst thing you could do with a child was create an air of mystery around a gun. When my daughter was 4 or 5, I started her out helping me clean guns in the middle of the floor. She would go to the dove fields and stand between my legs and shoot my shotgun (with me holding it, of course). Whenever she shot with me, she felt some of the recoil and I let her go until she was tired. I do not believe in starting a child out with a .22. By 12, she was helping me reload shot shells and was already a fair hand at skeet. I never had to worry about her. My 2 grand monsters (11 and 12) are well on their way.

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

I remember the show, it was filmed at the USF campus in Tampa Florida. I think it was a professor testing his ideas about gun safety and kids. Hope this helps.
SEMPER PARATUS

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NRA Life Member
CPO

I do remember the segment. I wonder how today's mostly anti gun media would present/slant it?
Steve W

Thanks for the responses. I think that it showed that when parents do not gun-proof their kids, bad things happen. I was "gun- proofed" at age three when my dad, a rookie cop at the time, took me out and let me fire his brand new Model 36 with no hearing protection. While I wasn't discouraged from pursuing an interest in firearms, it did make me realize everything in the house was likely loaded and wasn't to be loaded.


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Here's the full episode, "20/20 Young Guns" on YouTube.

Thanks. This wasn't the one I remember. The original was based on similar lines, but broke the kids down into two groups - those with gun owning parents, and those without. I don't recall any mention of the Eddie Eagle program during the earlier show.


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More gun control=More crime. More Helmets=More head injuries. Subsidize it=Price goes up. Simple economics (study of how people are motivated.)

Steve Landsburg (not Landesberg RIP) wrote a book about it...
More sex is safer sex: The unconventional wisdom of economics.
ISBN: 978-1416532217

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Certified Curmudgeon

Maybe this one? ...

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Colt 45 M1911/S&W M&P Shield 9

My dad was a gun man we had guns leaning in corners and behind the furniture all the time. Most everyone in our area had
a shotgun and 22 rifle if nothing else. They were kept in handy
places to grab one if needed. The kids from these type house holds paid very little attention to guns. They saw them every day
and had been taught how to use them and they weren't toys. You
never picked up a gun that wasn't yours without permission. The
cowboy code. The adults were very aware of kids coming into the
house that had come from families that didn't hunt or shoot. The
guns would be policed up and hid with the candy dishes. If we
brought a new friend home they would be briefed on the gun
situation if it was needed. Guns and ammo were not left together
and loaded guns in the house didn't exist. I can't recall any gun
accidents ever happening in any home.

When my kids and later grandkids were very young (around 5 years old) I took them out to shoot a handgun. That's really all it takes. The report and recoil is terrifying. A Glock turns into a single-shot when fired by a little kid. After that, they all simply ignored the guns laying around the house. No exceptions. All of them had BB guns at 8 years of age. Two of them are currently in the military and one is LE. All of them love and own many guns. It's kind of like a stick of dynamite. Once you see what it can do, you decide to leave it alone until you are old enough and wise enough to learn how to handle it.

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Dr. B

When I was young, we had no guns. Not an anti-gun family, just no real reason to have them. Not hunters and not sport shooters. I was always fascinated by cowboy movies and TV shows.

When I got older, I went shooting with some friends out in the woods. I'm sure we did a lot of unsafe stuff, but I don't remember mostly due to my ignorance at the time.

Now that I'm older and wiser, I understand the concerns around kids. I still believe education trumps legislation. My son has little interest in guns, but has been around them since small. He can safely handle every gun I own and knows how to clear them all.

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Freedom isn't free.

As many of you may perhaps know, I've been around guns nearly all of my life, and raised four girls to adulthood knowing that I had guns. I satisfied each curiosity with honest answers, and often a shooting session so they could see the power and danger involved - only after drilling the safety rules into them. They were cautioned to never tell their friends that I had guns, and if they encountered one in another house to leave immediately and tell an adult.

Oddly, none of my girls developed an interest in guns or shooting, but two of my grandkids, a boy and a girl, were rewarded for their interest by my presenting each of them with a Model 69A Winchester - again only after learning the safety rules by heart, passing a quiz to my satisfaction, and sighting in under my instruction. Each has also been taught how to take their rifle apart and clean it properly.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -