Those that have been following my career in the firearms industry for the last 4 years, know that I not only run a pro-gun apparel brand, but also write children’s books on firearms safety and 2A education. As a father of three rambunctious children who keep my wife and I on our toes, educating them on aspects of life is always a challenge. But one thing is for sure! No matter what comes up, firearms safety is no longer an issue in my household. Let me explain.
This past Monday, Democratic State Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez introduced SB 224 which would criminalize parents who teach their children how to shoot firearms if that child is not deemed an “authorized user.” What is her definition of an “authorized user?” A minor may be an authorized user only if they are at least twelve years of age and has successfully completed a firearm safety training course.
From SB 224:
“If a firearm owner or authorized user knows or reasonably should have known that a minor, an at-risk person or a prohibited person could gain access to a firearm belonging to or under the control of that owner or authorized person, and if a minor, an at-risk person or a prohibited person obtained access to that firearm, it is an offense if the firearm owner or authorized user failed to secure the firearm in a locked container or by a lock or other means so as to render such firearm inaccessible or unusable to any person other than the firearm owner or other authorized user.
A minor may be an authorized user only if the minor is at least twelve years of age and has successfully completed a firearm safety training course.”
According to PinonPost,
The “storage mandate” in the bill “would make it a crime for a child to handle your firearm unless the child was 12 or older and had previously completed a firearms safety class. You would become a criminal for taking your child to go shooting if they had not previously taken some kind of formal class,” says the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association (NMSSA).
“It’s evident that the sponsor of this bill has either never lived in the country, or she has not bothered to educate herself about rural culture," says New Mexico Republican Representative Stefani Lord, who is the founder of Pro-Gun Women. "Even in California, until the anti gun fanatics took over, firearms were a way of life growing up. Children are often taught proper gun usage by their parents at a very young age for necessity and to teach them to respect firearms. Young kids need to know very early on that guns are not to be touched without parental supervision. Older children are often taught that if the parents are not not home, and a mountain lion or coyote start killing the livestock, it’s your duty to protect those animals. Representative Lopez’s bill intentionally punishes responsible parenting and misses the mark on early gun safety by parents.”
So, let’s talk! The Democrats once again want to impose their will on parents in New Mexico by criminalizing them for the way they choose to raise their children. A vast majority of law-abiding gun owners (and I say this because of my experience in meeting countless numbers of them when discussing my books) begin teaching their children to shoot as young as five. And guess what? There is nothing wrong with that.
Education at a young age is integral. We teach our children not to touch knives at a young age, yet we place them on a table when setting dishes for dinner. We train them to use knives when they are a little older. Many people do that with butter knives as precautions but still the proper use and proper safety is instilled.
And now guess what? We, as free parents, don’t need to send our kids to knife safety courses. Shockingly, we are capable of raising our own children, educating them, and instilling in them a sense of safe living.
My children began reading my book, Safety On: An Introduction to the World of Firearms for Children way before they held or touched their first gun (forget shooting it). But after teaching them proper storage rules, range rules, what to do if you find a gun somewhere it’s not supposed to be, and especially the four cardinal rules of gun safety, my two older children (11 and 9. My 4-year-old is in the learning/education stage and hasn’t gone shooting yet) practice better gun safety than many adults I see. I still hover over them when I’m at the range because they are still children (Yes, I’m a responsible gun owner) and need to be monitored. But every time I take them, they become more proficient because they are educated through me and my wife. Not through some government approved “safety course.”
This bill would do nothing but criminalize parents who want to exercise their God Given Right to the Second Amendment by educating their children when THEY deem it a good age. Once again, the government is trying to push us parents out of the way and dictate how to raise our own children.
The freedom loving and gun owning citizens of New Mexico must act now and let their voices be heard otherwise, overnight, tyranny will get one step closer to the state.