The Eagle Has Landed

In this regard, the NRA’s Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program (eddieeagle.nra.org) shines. In a nutshell, the program teaches children to “Stop! Don’t touch! Run away! Tell a grown-up!” if they discover an unattended gun. The website has extensive information for parents about how to talk to their kids about firearms in an effective and fun manner. There are also resources for youth group leaders.

In my case, I was pleasantly surprised when I explained Eddie Eagle to my non-shooting children and suggested I have “the talk” with their kids. They especially agreed after I pointed out it was much better to anticipate a child might someday end up around an unsupervised firearm — not at grandad’s house, but anywhere from a playground to a friend’s house — than to hope such a situation never arises.