LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Educate, don’t regulate when it comes to guns

November of next year will see gun owners having to go through a few extra hoops to own firearms in Washington. As much as I’m for public safety and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and punishing those who are irresponsible with firearms, I find the new law to be an overreach.  

I’m not going to argue about Constitutionality, though that’s obviously a part of the debate. I mainly just feel that the legislation is attacking things from the wrong angle. According to a report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, firearms took more lives from children than any other cause for the last several years. I don’t think any of us find that acceptable. I do think the Washington Legislature’s approach to combating it is wrong. Making it more difficult for law abiding citizens to own firearms isn’t the answer.  

I think a significant focus on education will go further. While the law does require a gun safety course, the permitting side of it gets overbearing. 

I was raised in a home where rifles, pistols, compound bows and enough hunting cultery to butcher every cow in Grant County was close at hand. My father slept with a loaded .357 on the bedside table and if we left the house, it came with us.  

Nobody in my immediate family has ever shot themselves in a tragic accident, though. Why? Because we firearm safety was taught to us literally from the time we could crawl. We had rules we followed on when we could access firearms as children, and we followed them. I attended hunter’s safety at age 12 and had all of those safety lessons my father had taught us reinforced.  

We live in a society where firearms are present just about everywhere, but people educated on how to use them and be safe — not so much. That’s not a critique of the firearm industry, but rather a comment on the consumer base. If you’re considering buying a firearm for the first time, or have just never had a safety course — take a firearm safety course. They’re generally inexpensive and can prevent a tragedy in your home.  

I’ll even go one step further. If you don’t own a firearm; if you find guns to be scary; if you find guns to be repugnant — learn more. Take a firearm safety course. That doesn’t mean you’ll have to go out and buy one. It just means that you’ll know how to be safe when you encounter one.  

Now I’ll go two steps further. Once you’ve taken a safety course, talk to your children about how to be safe around weapons of all sorts. Guns. Knives. Bows. Slingshots. Even BB guns. 

Setting rules for young people and having honest conversations about guns — or any other somewhat controversial topic — can only keep them safe. Keeping them in the dark will only make them curious and could get them hurt.  

I would also encourage gun owners to lock up their weapons when they’re not in use. As a journalist, I’ve talked to too many cops who said the weapons crimes were committed with were left unsecured and subsequently stolen. Often, the weapons were stolen from glove boxes in cars or from homes where there was no gun safe or the gun safe was left unlocked. If you’re concerned about easy access for security, talk to a gun dealer and ask about a means of securing the weapon while ensuring you — and only you — can access it quickly.

Gun control shouldn’t be something that happens in Olympia or D.C. It should happen in our own homes by responsible gun owners maintaining control of their firearms on a constant basis and ensuring our loved ones have the knowledge to keep themselves and those around them safe. Reduce the crime and accidental tragedies by eliminating the possibility of irresponsible, uneducated or poorly intentioned people being able to get at your weapons.  

Be safe and shoot straight, both with knowledge and out in the fields and on the ranges, and let’s keep our communities safe. 

R. Hans "Rob" Miller
Managing Editor