Children and Guns
by Cynthia Gould
CBS 42 News
2008-05-15 20:00:00.0
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It's a thought that haunts many parents. What would happen if your child stumbled on a loaded gun? Even if you don't own a gun, Alabama has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the country. Nationwide, statistics show 40% of homes with children have guns.
In a hidden camera investigation, CBS 42's Cynthia Gould put some local kids to a gun safety test, with some frightening results.
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In video games, in the movies, and in the toy stores, guns are never far from your children. The temptation to pick one up, to play with it just like in the movies, can be too much to resist.
“You know the gun is real even at six years old.”
Parent Derrick Lassiter recalls a childhood incident where he found a gun.
“I thought it was my birthday present. Thought we had took the bullets out laid it on the bed, jumping on bed, gun fell off went off, shot my brother in both legs,” said Lassiter.
With so many incidents like that in the news, Lassiter and a group of other parents agreed to take part in an experiment to see if their kids would remember the rules when it comes to guns. The Birmingham Police Department, Childcare Resources, and the Harris Center helped set up our special test.
“The firing pin has been removed the trigger is disabled. Just to show you there's nothing in the barrel.”
Firearms expert Sergeant Janet Rhoton showed the group the gun was safely disabled. The parents watched as it was hidden in a playroom with hidden cameras and microphones. What did they expect to happen?
“Mine has never seen a real gun so they won't know the difference,” said parent Jacques Austin.
“We talk all the time about we don't even pretend to play to point at someone's head,” said Angela Banish.
The kids were then turned loose in the room full of toys and told there was an adult outside if they needed anything. Within ten minutes… “I found a gun in here. Stop don't shoot.”
The gun was picked up, waved around and played with over and over again as the parents look on stunned.
“This looks like a real gun.”
Finally, the oldest child went for help.
Sergeant Rhoton asked the children, "Did you know it was real?" "Yes, yes."
Some of the children thought the gun was unloaded seeing nothing in the bottom. She explains a bullet could have still been in the chamber.
“And if you've got it pointed at someone or yourself what's going to happen?” The children replied, “You're going to get shot.”
Rhoton then reinforces the right thing to do. Children should never touch a gun, get an adult immediately.
"We always want to let an adult know if we see it.”
Parents were alarmed their talks about gun safety were so quickly forgotten.
“He picked it up looked at it then threw it on the ground which is not safe even though he thought it was a real gun, he treated it like he was a toy,” said Banish.
Our first test was no fluke either. A second group of children went into our staged playroom and nearly identical results. The gun was again picked up with fingers on the trigger and tossed around. One mother sat speechless with tears in her eyes.
“I saw my child pick up and play with a gun. She knows better. Her father and I have drilled in her head not to touch guns,” said parent Stephanie Kirk.
While the parents were shocked by what played out here, Rhoton wasn't. She says we must constantly reinforce the rules.
"I don't think parents talk to their children enough about it, and too with the exposure of what's on the internet, what's on TV, and parents not sitting down talking to their children. That's a bad combo when it comes to having weapons in house," said Rhoton.
While this was all just a test, police remind you it's one your child can't afford to fail in real life.
We want to thank these parents and their children for being a part of this. They were all your typical "good" kids with very involved parents. If they reacted this way, there's a good chance yours would too.
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