The laws and voluntary measures don't go nearly far enough to prevent a child from getting their hands on loaded guns and pulling the trigger. Lawmakers should also mandate trigger locks on all firearms. Gun owners should be required to secure their firearms, unloaded, with trigger locks and keep them in a locked cabinet. In addition, the keys should be kept in a separate location, away from the gun cabinet. The law should include stiff penalties for gun owners who are negligent in storing their firearms properly.
Cost is no barrier.
Gun violence caused by children is often a crime of opportunity. Police say the small arsenal Michael Carneal, the accused shooter in Monday's tragedy, brought to school came from a locked gun safe in a neighbor's garage. Carneal, who allegedly entered the garage through a window, told police he knew where the key was. For a young child, finding a gun in the house is like getting his hands on a new toy. The more layers of protection we can provide for our youth, the better.