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Gun Safety Programs Reduce the Threat of Fatal Firearm Accidents Among Children Gun Violence. 2011. COPYRIGHT 2011 Greenhaven Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning Full Text:

Article Commentary

National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action, "NRA Victories: Eighteen Million Safe Kids," America's 1st Freedom, July 2006. Copyright © 2006 National Rifle Association. Reproduced by permission.

"Fatal firearm accidents have been reduced more than two-thirds since the inception of the [National Rifle Association of America's gun safety] program."

Programs such as the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program reduce fatal gun accidents among children, asserts the National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) in the following viewpoint. Eddie Eagle teaches children the distinction between gun use in popular culture and in real life and how to respond when they encounter an unsupervised gun, the NRA-ILA maintains. Indeed, the program has been endorsed by many youth and criminal justice organizations. NRA-ILA is an organization that lobbies for limited gun control legislation.

As you read, consider the following questions:

How many children has the Eddie Eagle program reached?1. What does Eddie Eagle suggest children do when they encounter an unsupervised gun?2. How much money does it cost per year to maintain and deliver the Eddie Eagle program?3.

Shawna Dennet knew something was very wrong when her seven-year-old daughter Briana ran through their St. George, Utah, home screaming: "If you see a gun: Stop! Don't Touch! Leave the Area. Tell an Adult!"

Shawna raced to Briana, asking where she saw a gun—it was in a bedroom where a visiting relative was staying. There, Shawna found her four- year-old son holding a gun as her two younger children looked on.

When Paul and Kathryn Waiters of Gladstone, Mich., moved into a new house with their three children, they didn't know the previous owner had left a .22 bolt action rifle and a few rounds of ammunition in a closet corner where neither parent could fit.

Seven-year-old Michelle Waiters and twin four-year-old siblings Samantha and Christopher found the gun during a game of hide and seek. Michelle immediately commanded the younger children, "Stop! Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult."

A Groundbreaking Gun Accident Prevention Program

The Dennet and Waiters families—and countless others—credit the NRA's [National Rifle Association of America's] Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program for teaching their kids how to prevent a potentially fatal accident.

This groundbreaking gun accident prevention program for children in pre-K through third grade has reached more than 18 million children in all 50 states, as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and beyond.

The Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program was the brainchild of NRA past president Marion P. Hammer in response to anti-gun propaganda disguised as "safety" curriculum flooding our nation's elementary schools.

The NRA worked with schoolteachers and administrators, clinical psychologists, law enforcement officers, education specialists and firearm experts to develop a message that's readily understood by children and easily taught by any adult:

"If you see a gun: Stop! Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult."

Praise for the Program

Over the years, the program has been praised by numerous groups and elected officials, including the Community Service and Youth Activities Divisions of the National Safety Council, the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Sheriffs' Association and 26 state governors, to name just a few.

Among children in the Eddie Eagle age group, fatal firearm accidents have been reduced more than two-thirds since the inception of the program, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

What's more, a 2001 study published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing Online named Eddie Eagle the most effective among the more than 80 programs evaluated, drawing a distinct correlation between the Eddie Eagle Program and children's lives saved.

Statistics aside, it's the volume of testimonials that the NRA receives each year from parents that proves the true value of the Eddie Eagle Program.

Another recent example is the case of Billy Thornton, a third-grade student from Knoxville, Tenn. Billy found a security guard's loaded firearm in a credit union bathroom. He had recently learned the Eddie Eagle message, so he alerted his father to the presence of the unsupervised firearm. For this, Thornton received an award from his community.

Eddie Eagle has been honored and endorsed by various groups such as the U.S. Department of Justice, the Community Service and Youth Activities Divisions of the National Safety Council, the American Legion, the Police Athletic League, the National School Public Relations [Association], the National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers, as well as the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA).

In fact, when formally endorsing the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program in March 2002, then NSA president Sheriff John Cary Bittick said, "We are proud to partner with the National Rifle Association on this very important issue, and we would like to express our full support for this program."

The Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program has also garnered praise from 49 state legislatures and/or governors, who have urged their respective state school systems to implement the life-saving message the program offers.

And the Community Service Division of the National Safety Council recognized the tremendous contribution that the Eddie Eagle Program has made in keeping kids safe by awarding program creator Marion P. Hammer with one of its highest honors, the Community Safety Award Citation for Outstanding Community Service.

Since 1996, the program's delivery has been enhanced by the availability of Eddie Eagle mascot costumes to law enforcement agencies that teach the program, helping capture children's attention during presentations.

Officer Rolando Hinjosa of the Melvindale, Mich., Police Department, said, "I can't say enough about the Eddie Eagle Program. It is going over great with teachers, administrators, parents and kids. The costume is an absolutely fantastic asset to teaching the program."

Keeping the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program alive costs about $500,000 per year, on top of the millions NRA has invested in it from its inception through 2005. While funds raised through Friends of NRA and donations to the NRA Foundation help sustain the program, continued support is critical.

NRA membership is not required to teach the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program, and the lessons can be adapted from one- to five-day formats. Materials include workbooks, an animated video, instructor guides, brochures and student-reward stickers, all of which are available in Spanish, too.

Answering the Critics

Anti-gun groups continue to be harsh critics of the program, apparently because it's preferred over their anti-gun "safety" curricula. But the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program makes no judgment call as to whether guns are good or bad. And Eddie himself never touches a firearm.

In a recent example, an organization called PAX attempted to block efforts by District Attorney Edward Jagels to introduce Eddie Eagle to all kindergarten students in Kern County, Calif. PAX attacked the program in a letter to the school board, and anti-gun zealot Dr. Arthur Kellerman criticized it on Fox News. But Jagels and School Superintendent Larry Reider countered the criticism and put the safety of children over political gain. Today, all the district's principals have received Eddie Eagle program materials for use in their schools.

The NRA holds that all children—especially those who don't grow up around firearms—need to know what to do if they come upon an unsupervised gun. By drawing this distinction between guns on TV or in movies, and guns in real life, Eddie Eagle teaches children they should never touch a firearm without adult supervision.

As the program's creator Marion Hammer said, "The NRA is committed to helping keep America's children safe. This program also instills in our youth the important values of leadership, discipline and personal responsibility that will help our children throughout their lives." That's not indoctrination. That's an NRA commitment that can benefit every child.

Books

Amnesty International The Impact of Guns on Women's Lives. Oxford, England: Oxfam International, 2005. Joan Burbick Gun Show Nation: Gun Culture and American Democracy. New York: New Press, 2006. Robert H. Churchill To Shake Their Guns in the Tyrant's Face: Libertarian Political Violence and the Origins of the Militia Movement. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2009. Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig The Social Costs of Gun Ownership. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2004. Saul Cornell A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Wendy Cukier The Global Gun Epidemic: From Saturday Night Specials to AK-47s. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006. Barna William Donovan Blood, Guns, and Testosterone: Action Films, Audiences, and a Thirst for Violence. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010. Arnold Grossman One Nation Under Guns: An Essay on an American Epidemic. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2006. Bernard E. Harcourt Language of the Gun: Youth, Crime, and Public Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2006. David Hemenway Private Guns, Public Health. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2004. Douglas Kellner Guys and Guns Amok: Domestic Terrorism and School Shootings from the Oklahoma City Bombing to the Virginia Tech Massacre. Boulder, CO: Paradigm, 2008. Caitlin Kelly Blown Away: American Women and Guns. New York: Pocket Books, 2004. Gary Kleck Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America. New Brunswick, NJ: Aldine Transaction, 2005. Abigail A. Kohn Shooters: Myths and Realities of America's Gun Cultures. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Wayne LaPierre Guns, Freedom, and Terrorism. Nashville, TN: WND Books, 2003. John R. Lott Jr. The Bias Against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard About Gun Control Is Wrong. Washington, DC: Regnery, 2003. Jeffrey D. Monroe Homicide and Gun Control: The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and Homicide Rates. New York: LFB Scholarly, 2008. Robert J. Spitzer The Politics of Gun Control. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2008. Charles Fruehling Springwood, ed. Open Fire: Understanding Global Gun Cultures. New York: Berg, 2007. Irvin Waller Less Law, More Order: The Truth About Reducing Crime. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006. Franklin E. Zimring The Great American Crime Decline. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Periodicals

Philip J. Cook, Wendy Cukier, and Keith Krause "The Illicit Firearms Trade in North America," Criminology & Criminal Justice, vol. 9, no. 3, August 2009. Marian Wright Edelman "We Must Pay Attention to the Rise of Gun Violence," Culvert Chronicles (New York), July 3-9, 2008. Dan Gifford and Michael I. Krauss "Mexican Standoff on Second Amendment," Investor's Business Daily, July 8, 2009. Barry Glassner "Still Fearful After All These Years," Chronicle of Higher Education, January 17, 2010. Kenneth Jost "Gun Violence," CQ Researcher, May 5, 2007. James N. Logue "Violent Death in American Schools in the 21st Century: Reflections Following the 2006 Amish School Shootings," Journal of School Health, January 2008. Megan McArdle "Gun Statistics," Atlantic, June 26, 2008. New York Times "Loopholes and More Loopholes," May 2, 2007. Rebecca Peters "Small Arms: No Single Solution," UN Chronicle, 2009. Rob Walker "Crossfire," New York Times Magazine, March 22, 2010.

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition) "Gun Safety Programs Reduce the Threat of Fatal Firearm Accidents Among Children." Gun Violence, edited by Louise Gerdes, Greenhaven

Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010223241/OVIC?u=txshracd2500&sid=OVIC&xid=129fcf1d. Accessed 19 Sept. 2018. Originally published as "NRA Victories: Eighteen Million Safe Kids," America's 1st Freedom, July 2006.

Gale Document Number: GALE|EJ3010223241