Parents, do you ask about guns in the household when your kids are playing, staying or visiting other kids? Maybe it’s time you should. In my Voices column today for The Dallas Morning News, I talk about the sometimes uncomfortable position we parents find ourselves in when it comes to judging other parents. But in the wake of the Sandy Hook mass shooting, isn’t our duty to ask other parents basic questions like do you keep a gun in the house? Frankly, I am not sure I want my child to play in a household where guns are freely displayed, where parents brag about gun rights, not gun locks and where my child might be hurt. Let’s face it, Nancy Lanza, the mother of the shooter in Connecticut, had a loaded weapon in her house, her son. And she kept guns and ammunition in her home. I don’t know what scares me more as a parent, knowing that there are guns in homes my son might play in or knowing there are parents who knowingly arm their homes with a mentally unstable child. It’s scary to think about but I want to be the parent who asks the awkward questions and I welcome the questions right back. If that means we don’t have sleepovers with your child, that is fine. But isn’t it our job as parents to be advocates for our children? I’m advocating safety.
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Joanna, really enjoyed your article in the Dallas Morning News on this issue of gun control and the culture of the people here in N. Texas.
Along those lines, i would suggest that you read the obit of another Texan that appeared in same Sat 12/22/12 edition of the DMN, which was titled: “Whorehouse author true Texan”. This obit was a man, Larry L. King who died in Washington, D.C. and will be buried in Austin, TX. He was a writer with a lot of the same skills and background as you.
Perhaps if you read the article and decided to do an op-ed on the man it would be interesting to me.
In any case, I would appreciate your comments on mine by way of you sending me a reply to my e-mail address. Thanks and ‘You Go Girl’ – h. taylor
I read your article on having guns and children in the house in the DMN. I notice you are a journalism instructor at UNT. As such, I hope you are teaching your students to do a better job than you did in this article.
When I was in journalism class we were taught that the main job of a journalist was to make sure you wrote the truth in your writings. You have (like every other journalist) NOT written the truth. If you had done your research, you would know that the AR-15 is NOT an assault rifle. An assault rifle can be fired as an automatic rifle or as a semi-automatic. The AR-15 is a semi-automatic, cannot be fired as an automatic and is therefore NOT an assault rifle. (It’s design has some appearance similiarities with military weapons to make it easier to handle and use). Please print the truth in future articles, teach your students to do the research and print the truth and encourage your journalism peers to do the same.
Other than the false statements, the article was well written. I hope you are not surprised however, when you ask someone if they have guns in their house and to show you how they are stored to get the answer that it is none of your business.
Thank you, Harold. Always nice to hear back from readers.
Thank you for your comment, though I am not sure anyone would consider an AR-15 a friendly weapon, necessary or appropriate to hold while taking pictures with Santa.