Kathleen Anderson

to the point where they can understand the risk. Um, and you know, children as young as two and three can pull a trigger, um, often with fatal results. And so a big part of our training, when I do my presentation, my free presentation in the community is, um,

to the point where they can understand the risk. Um, and you know, children as young as two and three can pull a trigger, um, often with fatal results. And so a big part of our training, when I do my presentation, my free presentation in the community is, um,

Time permitting, I actually like to start with a grounding exercise where I ask everybody to imagine, think back to their own childhood and teenage years and think about a time when they did something that their parents had explicitly told them not to do. And, you know, Dr. Kaki's nodding his head because he's got his own story, right? And we hear all sorts of things.

Time permitting, I actually like to start with a grounding exercise where I ask everybody to imagine, think back to their own childhood and teenage years and think about a time when they did something that their parents had explicitly told them not to do. And, you know, Dr. Kaki's nodding his head because he's got his own story, right? And we hear all sorts of things.

When I ask people to share back, you know, we hear about playing with broken glass, playing on railroad tracks. And then there's almost always a teenage boy who talks about getting into the liquor cabinet and then getting into the gun cabinet.

When I ask people to share back, you know, we hear about playing with broken glass, playing on railroad tracks. And then there's almost always a teenage boy who talks about getting into the liquor cabinet and then getting into the gun cabinet.

And, and that's, that's the thing that we want the adults in the room to start to remember that kids do all sorts of stupid stuff because of curiosity, peer pressure, impulsivity, recklessness, and that doesn't make them bad kids. It just, it's just part of growing up and it's our job as adults to prevent them from having that access and

And, and that's, that's the thing that we want the adults in the room to start to remember that kids do all sorts of stupid stuff because of curiosity, peer pressure, impulsivity, recklessness, and that doesn't make them bad kids. It just, it's just part of growing up and it's our job as adults to prevent them from having that access and

not the job of impulsive, curious kids to keep themselves from getting into get accessing a gun. You know, we don't tell we don't tell toddlers, I told you not to get into the bleach, right? Like we lock up the bleach. And that's, that's a big part of our message is just like, even children that go through gun safety training courses are

not the job of impulsive, curious kids to keep themselves from getting into get accessing a gun. You know, we don't tell we don't tell toddlers, I told you not to get into the bleach, right? Like we lock up the bleach. And that's, that's a big part of our message is just like, even children that go through gun safety training courses are

are just as likely to touch a gun when they come home from that. Their brains just aren't developed enough to keep themselves from that compulsion. So that is a huge myth that we hear, just that idea that my kids know better. And what's really upsetting to me when I hear it is the sort of backhanded,

are just as likely to touch a gun when they come home from that. Their brains just aren't developed enough to keep themselves from that compulsion. So that is a huge myth that we hear, just that idea that my kids know better. And what's really upsetting to me when I hear it is the sort of backhanded,

that a kid who does access a gun had it coming, you know, kind of this idea that like, especially when there's survivors in the room that are testifying on behalf of their child that they've lost due to an accident, non-intentional shooting, this idea that their kid didn't know better. And it's like, no, the adults didn't protect the children. That's what happened here.

that a kid who does access a gun had it coming, you know, kind of this idea that like, especially when there's survivors in the room that are testifying on behalf of their child that they've lost due to an accident, non-intentional shooting, this idea that their kid didn't know better. And it's like, no, the adults didn't protect the children. That's what happened here.

So that's my piece on that part of the resistance to that message.

So that's my piece on that part of the resistance to that message.

Generally, we try to be a little bit diplomatic that the best storage device for you is the one that you're actually going to use. But that rope, zip lines, hiding, I mean, none of those, it needs to be locked in some way. Anything that can be easily cut, isn't going to prevent a resourceful teenager from getting into it, or we haven't even touched on gun theft yet.

Generally, we try to be a little bit diplomatic that the best storage device for you is the one that you're actually going to use. But that rope, zip lines, hiding, I mean, none of those, it needs to be locked in some way. Anything that can be easily cut, isn't going to prevent a resourceful teenager from getting into it, or we haven't even touched on gun theft yet.

But the guns, unsecured guns in cars are the leading cause of guns on the black market. And it's driving all sorts of other, you know, car break-ins and then The guns get into the hands of people who are otherwise barred from having them, and then they're using those guns in crimes. I mean, the add-on effects of unsecured guns is catastrophic for our country, as we're seeing.

But the guns, unsecured guns in cars are the leading cause of guns on the black market. And it's driving all sorts of other, you know, car break-ins and then The guns get into the hands of people who are otherwise barred from having them, and then they're using those guns in crimes. I mean, the add-on effects of unsecured guns is catastrophic for our country, as we're seeing.