MIAMI – In the hands of trained adults, guns are a tool for protection. In the hands of children, guns can be a disaster waiting to happen.
In incidents nationwide, children have been killed, injured or have hurt others because a gun was not properly stored.
At the National Armory in Pompano Beach, firearms instructor Gary Lampert said there are simple devices that could save a child's life.
"(A gun) should be locked up, because if you put it on a top shelf, the kids are going to get into it," he said.
Lampert said push-button, combination safes can be easy for adults to access, but difficult for children. The cost: about $120.
Another device that's simple and cheap is a cable lock. There are several kinds and they work with any type of hand gun.
"You can actually take it through in the gun this way, and lock it, and there's no way the gun can be opened then," Lampert said.
The cost is about $15.
Lampert said one thing that can't be purchased at a store is a conversation with your kids.
"(They need) to understand that a gun is dangerous and they should be taught not to handle them," he said.
He also said he thinks children who live with guns at home should see a gun fired in a controlled environment to take the mystery away.
"The other thing that I think is really important, is take a kid to a gun range. Because when a kid hears that huge bang, and they see what it does to the paper, and they hear that explosion and it scares them -- now they're not so anxious to handle a gun," he said.
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