There’s something inherently wrong about doctor’s being pitted against gun owners, yet that seems to be the position the American Medical Association wants things to be.

You see, they seem to be fighting their own battles to stigmatize gun owners, all by trying to push not just for gun control, but also with pressure on families to eventually see guns as some dirty little thing that no one should talk about.

For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics and their routine advice that parents should talk to their children’s’ friends parents about whether there are guns in the home.

The American Academy of Pediatrics kicked off a campaign today to help keep kids safe this summer. So far this year, at least 90 kids have gotten a hold of a gun and accidentally shot themselves of someone else. The AAP is urging parents to ask a simple question before sending their children over to a friend or family member’s house: “Is there a gun in your home?” The pediatric group designated June 21, the first day of summer, as ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Day. “Kids are going to be kids,” said Audrey Burro, an Edmond mother of two and a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense. “They’re curious, they’re impulsive, and they don’t always make the right decisions about their own safety, so it’s our responsibility to keep them safe.”

No. Kids are going to do as they have been raised to do. If they’ve been raised to be respectful of other people’s property, then they won’t go plundering through my home looking for God knows what.

While I am a firm believer in allowing kids to be children and enjoy their childhood, I’m infuriated by the argument that kids are somehow incapable of not poking around other people’s homes. I never did as a child, and my friends never did when they came over to my home. So far as I know–and I’ll be the first to admit that my kids probably do plenty I don’t know about–my children have shown their friends’ parents the exact same respect.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think guns should generally be locked up and should always be kept away from kids except under strict supervision. I’m not trying to excuse carelessness or anything either.

But let’s not pretend that the onus for everything always falls on the gun owner.

As parents, it’s our job to make damn sure that our children are educated in things like civility and courtesy. The schools may force kids to say “yes ma’am” to a teacher (and I’m not even sure they do that anymore), but they don’t really teach manners. That’s not their place, which is probably a good thing since the public school system is so completely screwed up.

No, that’s for the parents to do. If you do your job properly, it means your children aren’t likely to start digging through someone else’s closet or nightstand, looking for whatever they can get into, so stop putting it all on the gun owner.

Maybe it’s time for gun owners to respond to this line of questioning with, “If you haven’t raised your child not to dig through other people’s homes, perhaps it’s best they not come over.”