Gun Safety: The NRA’s Eddie Eagle Program
The General Editor of The Waterglass challenged my view on the NRA’s sponsoring of a gun safety program. I said that:
Having the NRA teach gun safety is like having the makers of Paxil teach responsible depression management. I’m sure they have relevant things to say, but they would be biased in the overall presentation of facts.
And he said:
Writing off a safety program because it’s taught by the NRA is exactly the sort of hand-flapping that keeps issues like this in the realm of partisan bickering. Basic gun safety isn’t a partisan thing.
Flapflapflap? Let’s take a look at the Eddie Eagle program suggested by the General Editor:
The Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program teaches children in pre-K through third grade four important steps to take if they find a gun. These steps are presented by the program’s mascot, Eddie Eagle®, in an easy-to-remember format consisting of the following simple rules:
If you see a gun: STOP!
Don’t Touch.
Leave the Area.
Tell an Adult.
Sounds like good advice for pre-k to 3rd grade. Is it biased at all? No, says the NRA:
The purpose of the Eddie Eagle Program isn’t to teach whether guns are good or bad, but rather to promote the protection and safety of children. The program makes no value judgments about firearms, and no firearms are ever used in the program… Eddie Eagle is never shown touching a firearm, and he does not promote firearm ownership or use… The program never mentions the NRA. Nor does it encourage children to buy guns or to become NRA members. The NRA does not receive any appropriations from Congress, nor is it a trade organization. It is not affiliated with any firearm or ammunition manufacturers or with any businesses that deal in guns and ammunition.
Does it work? Yes, according to the NRA.
One study published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing Online (October 2001) named The Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program the best of 80 gun accident prevention programs evaluated…
The program has been honored or endorsed by groups such as the National Sheriffs’ Association, the U.S. Department of Justice (through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention), and the Association of American Educators. The program also received bipartisan support from 26 state governors, as well as resolutions from 23 state legislatures, recommending the use of the Eddie Eagle Program. Finally, the fact that 25,000 schoolteachers and law enforcement officers have taught the program to over 20 million children verifies the popularity of the program with those who deal with child safety issues every day.
Predictably, the Violence Policy Center, a gun control lobby in the U.S., does think the Eddie Eagle program is biased. The VPC is anti-NRA and has nothing nice to say about them. Here’s what they say about the Eddie Eagle program:
The Eddie Eagle program employs strategies similar to those utilized by America’s tobacco industry—from youth “educational” programs that are in fact marketing tools to the use of appealing cartoon characters that aim to put a friendly face on a hazardous product. The hoped-for result is new customers for the industry and new members for the NRA…
Violence Policy Center research reveals for the first time that manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and related products directly contribute hundreds of thousands of tax-deductible dollars to the NRA through its “affiliate,” The NRA Foundation. The Foundation in turn then makes “grants” to the NRA to fund the Eddie Eagle program…
In an educational brochure for parents, “Keep Your Family Safe From Firearm Injury,” the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that “[b]ecause even the most well-behaved children are curious by nature and will eagerly explore their environment, the safest thing is to not keep a gun at home.”
It’s true, the American Academy of Pediatrics does say that. But they also offer gun safety tips:
For those who know of the dangers of guns but still keep a gun in the home
- Always keep the gun unloaded and locked up.
- Lock and store the bullets in a separate place.
- Make sure to hide the keys to the locked boxes.
One problem with the Eddie Eagle program is that it stops at 3rd grade. What about gun safety programs for 4th to high school? I’m sure a refresher course in gun safety in middle school and high school would be beneficial.
Themocracy
I find it particularly interesting that the American Academy of Pediatrics claims that one shouldn’t have a gun in the home if one has young children for safety reasons. So protection of oneself and one’s children should be held off until after they reach adulthood. Hence, the American Academy of Pediatrics is a gun-control organization and as such can’t be trusted as a source for information about firearm safety.
What’s their stance on the ownership of swimming pools? More children die each year, needlessly, from drowning in pools than they do in accidental gun violence. Because even the most well-behaved children are curious by nature and will eagerly explore their environment, the safest thing to do is not have a swimming pool.
Actually, because even the most well-behaved children are curious by nature and will eagerly explore their environment, the safest thing to do is not have children.
So what’s your excuse?
I like to live dangerously.