Writer Questions Recent Lacey Gun Safety Training Event

A Letter to the Editor From Eytan Stern Weber, a spokesperson for Moms Demand Action

On May 20, Lacey High School students attended a school-supported event, during which they were given firearms, from handguns to AR-15s. The school said it was to teach the students gun safety. However, that’s not what actually happened.

The students were handed guns which they’re too young to buy, then were trained to use them. The definition of “gun safety” taught to underage children was that in order to be safe, you need a gun. The problem is that this “lesson” is factually incorrect.

A study done by the Rutgers School of Nursing showed that children taught this kind of “gun safety” are no less likely to handle guns unsupervised. When you consider another conclusion of the study, that 85 percent of gun-owning parents don’t practice safe gun storage, the effect of Lacey High School’s training was simply kids getting excited about guns, which many already had access to.

The event was supposed to focus on safety. Yet, the event’s chief training officer said himself, “One of the goals I wanted to set was to show people, ’This is fun. I feel good.’”

I used to think awareness wasn’t the issue, but that’s clearly not the case. If guns meant safety, America would 2.5 times as safe as any other country. Yet, we’re 25 times more likely to be killed by guns than people in other developed nations.

But most people aren’t aware of that. When children’s lives are on the line, the stakes are too high not to act. And so, on June 2, I’ll be wearing orange, marching, and fighting to actually make New Jersey’s kids safe.

Photo: Patch archive photo