Children and Guns

Let me start off by saying that I respect the 2^nd Amendment of the Constitution, and I am not an advocate of hindering anyone who is legitimately eligible to possess a firearm. However, I strongly oppose introducing guns to children. Like the license to drive, a certain amount of maturity is required to possess and properly use a gun to assure its safety. We don’t let children drive, and I don’t believe we should introduce guns to children either.

On Sunday, January 27, The New York Times featured a story, “Selling a New Generation on Guns,” that provided an exposé on the efforts of the firearms industry to introduce guns to children. Why would we encourage this? The use of guns requires not only some basic skills, but because of the lethality of the gun, it also requires some discretion. The developmental capacity of most children and adolescents to responsibly use a firearm is greatly diminished because of their age and any number of factors that make placing a gun in the hands of children inconceivable to me.

Recently, I was involved in a discussion involving one of our adolescent residents who had been introduced to guns by his father on a recent home visit. Although we were not concerned that the boy would have a gun in his possession, we were concerned that he did not possess the self-control or reasoning capacity to assure that he could use a gun appropriately. With proper support, this resident has increasingly seen his ability to manage anger and impulses. But until he is able to master these issues, providing him with access to firearms is not advised. Luckily our staff had enough of a rapport with both parent and child that we were able to address the issue and identify ways to bond other than at the shooting range.

Some would say that restricting access to guns for children is only common sense. It does not require any additional legislation; it just requires that we take responsibility for safeguarding our children as we do with so many other things. However, parents and families need to be supported in their efforts; and an environment that encourages access to guns for children can undermine the efforts of any well-intended parent.

What concerns me about the strategy that is being employed by the firearms industry is the insidious way recreational shooting is introduced into the lives of children. The firearms industry has demonstrated little consideration of the children’s ability to understand the potential for deadly impact of the sport.

Now is the time!

One of the most disturbing revelations I have heard in the 25 years of working with very vulnerable children was from a young boy in a residential program who mentioned to me that he had been abused at gun point. This encounter led me to ask: what drives someone to be so abusive? Why is a child the object of such violence? How does someone so disturbed have access to a gun?

The answer to the last question is that guns of all sorts are easily accessible in our society. As a nation we have lost Presidents and, most recently, innocent children to gun violence and we have yet to effectively address this issue. Perhaps the senseless act of violence in Newtown, Connecticut just a month ago will prompt some action. I can only hope that this is the case and that we can muster the resolve and courage as a nation to insist that our elected officials act. 

Violence is part of our human experience; it is a reality that we confront daily on our street corners, in our homes, in places near and far. For those we serve at Hillsides such violence is the cause of the trauma that they experience and the root of the disturbances that they display. The mental health issues that we address are typically based on this trauma.

Understandably the Newtown deaths have called attention to the mental health of the perpetrators of gun violence. While it is a concern and must be addressed as part of a comprehensive solution to such violence, it is just one element of an overall approach.  It is important to understand that the vast majority of those who suffer from some form of mental illness are, more often than not, the victims of violence and not the perpetrators of it.

More than anything else, it is important to address mental illness as any other health issue. Health is restored when ailments are quickly identified and treatment is sustained. The same is true with regard to mental health. The issue really is that mental illness is often denied and minimalized with the hope that it will pass. As a result, the vast majority of people with mental illness do not receive treatment. The lack of resources to effectively address the demand for care only makes the situation more critical.

The tragedy in Newtown has prompted all us to take seriously the role we have to play in supporting members of our families and community who may be suffering from mental illness. This is a time for us to be attentive to those among us who are vulnerable and need some assistance. This is a time for us to be supportive of measures to increase access to mental health services. This is a time for us to insist that the appropriate resources are made available to effectively treat those who are experiencing some form of mental illness. This is a time for us to do everything we can to eliminate gun-related violence.