(1/05/12) – Safe Kids Pee Dee/Coastal reminds families to take caution during Gun Safety Month (January) as well as year-round. Access to guns creates a risk for serious injury and death. Most firearm-related injuries and deaths of children and adolescents involve handguns.

Safety Tip Week One

According to the Florence County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), the use of possession of firearms carries with it tremendous responsibility. Whether for hunting, recreation or personal protection, proper firearm training is critical, and will reduce the incidents of firearm related accidents.

The following are important rules about firearms handling provided by the FCSO:

1. Consider all firearms as loaded.
2. Never point any firearm, even one you believe to be unloaded, at anything you do not wish to destroy.
3. Do not place your finger on the trigger until you have made the decision to discharge the firearm. Keep it outside of the trigger guard.
4. Be aware of the area behind your intended target.

The FCSO says that many other safety tips can be found in publications from organizations such as the National Rifle Association (www.nra.org). The FCSO also offers a variety of courses taught by the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and National Rifle Association certified instructors. Additionally, firearm safety classes and other courses are also available from a variety of public and private instructors, who advertise online and in other publications. Once properly trained, the FCSO says the best way to retain learned safety skills is to practice them.

For more information on preventing injuries in children, visit the Safe Kids website at www.safekids.org.

Safe Kids Pee Dee/Coastal works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability to children ages 0 to 14. Its members include Florence County Sheriff’s Department, City of Florence Police Department, South Carolina Highway Patrol, and the City of Florence Fire Department. Safe Kids Pee Dee/Coastal is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids Pee Dee/Coastal was founded in 1995 and is led by McLeod Health, and funded in part by the McLeod Health Foundation.