The Killer of Kids

"Think of the children!" Common sense solutions to save our kids.

Small and easily concealable, this weapon is a deadly killer. Yet, the industry that makes them remains unregulated - even kids can buy them - and their proliferation results in serious injuries and deaths every year. This past September, it claimed the lives of eight school children along with 25,000 hospital visits. The month before, seven children were killed.

Large department stores freely market and sell these instruments of death. There are no laws to discourage this type of irresponsible marketing and nothing preventing minors from handling these kinds of weapons. Parents have been known to encourage kids as young as two or three to “play” with these assault weapons, sometimes without any parental supervision. Worst of all, taxpayer funding sometimes subsidizes their use.

All this violence could be easily avoided if reasonable steps were taken to regulate this deadly killer:

• Parents must be responsible enough to lock them up.

• Kids under 21 should not be allowed to touch one of these lethal killers without the express written permission of their parents.

• Congress must begin to crack down on government subsidies, particularly spending on supporting events that promote their use.

• People who wish to buy one of these assault weapons should be registered and fingerprinted with the FBI.

This is not a call to stop the legitimate sport and recreational uses of this weapon, however, nobody should object to common sense steps to save children's lives. These weapons are largely not used in England and throughout Europe. Not surprisingly, those countries suffer very low death and injury rates from this deadly item.

So what is this lethal killer? What is causing so many young people in this country to lose their lives tragically?

Yes, it is that funny-looking pigskin sold and used without restriction. More children die playing high school football than they do by firearms at school.

When will we start hearing passionate calls to dry up the massive supply of footballs so children will no longer have easy access to them? Will the media start demonizing the purveyors of death who profit from this deadly killer - the football manufacturers and the TV executives who make billions of dollars from airing these gladiator contests? When will the calls for common sense provisions begin?

Next time you’re told about the “evils” of owning and using firearms, remind them of some of the real dangers to children’s health. Remember, if it saves one life…