Giving young children access to guns is child abuse. And when that child or someone else dies as a result of that access, it’s murder.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem proudly proclaimed at last Friday's National Rifle Association convention that her almost 2-year-old granddaughter already owns firearms. Noem stated “Now Addie, who you know—soon will need them, I wanna reassure you, she already has a shotgun and she already has a rifle and she’s got a little pony named Sparkles too. So the girl is set up.” Noem's right ... Addie is set up to be killed or kill someone.
The only thing more outrageous than the fact that this happened is how often it does—and how little we do about it. In fact, the gun industry is marketing more guns specifically to children. CNN reports "Guns are the leading cause of death for US children and teens, since surpassing car accidents in 2020."
As parents and guardians, we are responsible for the safety of our children. We can help prevent these accidental deaths by making sure our kids don't have access to guns—and that includes taking steps like keeping them locked away from curious hands.
