Living Armed Book Preview

We recently added a new book to our store, Living Armed: Understanding Guns for Home Defense and Concealed Carry. And we got permission from the author to give you a little preview of what the book has to offer!

Below is the first couple paragraphs of Chapter 1 from the "Living Armed" book, and if you like that, consider picking yourself up a copy!

Chapter 1 - Responsible Gun Ownership and Handling

While it might seem to be a given, owning and exercising control over firearms is a tremendous responsibility. This is not so different from operating power tools, chainsaws, heavy equipment or manufacturing machines. All of the aforementioned have a dedicated purpose and are necessary tools. At the same time, they all demand respect from the operator. Failure to respect the power of a chainsaw or an industrial lathe can lead to tragic and horrific injury. Failure to respect firearms is the same.

Some misguided or malevolent persons would say that firearms are too dangerous to be in American homes. What they deliberately ignore is the fact that more Americans are injured in their homes by fire, water, and gravity every year than by firearms. In regards to sport; hunting and organized shooting sports injuries are not even in the top ten. Your child is far more likely to be injured playing basketball, riding a bike, or playing soccer than to be injured hunting with an adult or participating in youth shooting sports.

Kids and Guns

As soon as your children were old enough to understand the concept, you should have taught them to look both ways before they cross the street and/or always cross at an intersection with a designated crosswalk. We teach our children that the stove is hot, so we don’t put our hands on it. We don’t let them play with sharp knives or stick objects into the wall outlet.

Children can and should be taught that firearms are dangerous tools and that we do not play with them. The NRA has been providing the Eddie Eagle lessons for decades. The lesson teaches children that if they see/find a gun; Stop!, Don’t touch it, Tell an adult.

As children become more mature, we can sit them down and explain plainly that firearms are tools that adults use for various purposes. We can clear/empty the guns and demonstrate how the muzzle is the dangerous end and that we do not point it at people. Under supervision, we allow the more mature kids to handle the firearms and we explain that any time they have questions or are curious about them to come and ask us.