Ask any school-age child, “What should you do if your clothes catch on fire?” and chances are they will immediately tell you, “Stop, drop, and roll.” This is a small but very useful piece of information to have ingrained at an early age.

But ask the same child, “What should you do if you find a gun?” and you will likely get a blank look and some fumbling for an acceptable answer. Fire safety education has no doubt saved many lives and minimized injuries since its inception, and yet, despite all the alleged concern regarding children and guns, very few school systems have any type of gun safety program as part of their curriculums. It is, perhaps, the last taboo subject.

Ask any school-age child, “What should you do if your clothes catch on fire?” and chances are they will immediately tell you, “Stop, drop, and roll.” This is a small but very useful piece of information to have ingrained at an early age.

But ask the same child, “What should you do if you find a gun?” and you will likely get a blank look and some fumbling for an acceptable answer. Fire safety education has no doubt saved many lives and minimized injuries since its inception, and yet, despite all the alleged concern regarding children and guns, very few school systems have any type of gun safety program as part of their curriculums. It is, perhaps, the last taboo subject.

Some years ago we were having a yard sale when a man and his son came pedaling in on bicycles. The boy, who was about 10, found a box of toys, and after rummaging around came up with a fluorescent green water pistol.

“Dad, dad, can I get this?” he asked.

With a grim look, the father responded, “You know what we said--no guns, absolutely not, we’re not going to discuss it,” and the boy dejectedly dropped the toy back into the box.

Guns were obviously taboo in this household and while the father certainly had his son’s safety in mind, the fact is the boy was showing a curiosity about firearms that was going unsatisfied.

Most parents have learned—often through harsh experience—that making a subject taboo is no way to protect a child from its dangers. And since nearly half the homes in America have guns, a child is likely to run into them sooner or later, and not always under ideal circumstances. Parents and other responsible adults must be willing to talk with children about guns and gun safety. And the first thing every child should learn about guns is: if you find a gun, stop, don’t touch it, leave the area, and tell an adult. Simple. And yet gun safety education is anathema to many school administrators here in the Northeast.

The world can be a scary place, and not only for children. Responsible adults know they are ultimately accountable for their own safety and take measures to protect themselves and their families before bad things happen. They buy fire insurance. They make sure there is a functioning spare tire and jack in the car. And many own guns for protection against those who would do them harm. They know the police cannot protect them from violence; the police can only investigate after it happens.

Many people who are unfamiliar with guns have mistaken ideas about them, which is no surprise since the media are full of hyperbolic misinformation. Criminal gun violence is featured on the news nightly, but rarely do we hear of the lawful defensive use of firearms. Such incidents occur frequently—much more frequently than criminal misuse, in fact—more than two million times each year according to studies that even gun prohibitionists have had to admit are accurate. The question is, when a violent criminal seeks to do you harm, do you have the right to choose the most effective means of self-defense or are you limited to calling 9-1-1?

What chance does a 66-year-old grandmother have against a bigger, stronger man a third of her age? What chance does a 60-year old man have against two armed men in their 20s? Is a woman who has been raped and strangled morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet?

Guns in the hands of honest citizens deter crime and save lives.

Rick Cooper is certified by the Massachusetts State Police as a firearm safety instructor.