Yesterday was my grandson Timothy Darnell's birthday. He turned 11 years old. After school he came to our house and we set up a shooting range for the pellet gun. Coke cans filled with water were set on all the fence posts. Tim shot from the lower porch where I was sitting and then from the upper deck. He's a good shot and water was soon flowing from holes in all the cans.

The little shooting game gave me a chance to teach him some more gun safety. Even though it was just a little air rifle I had him push the safety on every time he pumped the gun and put in another pellet or BB. Always use the safety. That will carry over to the .22 rifle, deer rifle and shotgun.

Teaching gun safety, beginning with much younger children than Timothy, is extremely important. For children pre-K through third grade the National Rifle Association’s Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program is top notch. The mascot Eddie Eagle teaches four important steps to take if a child finds a gun.

1. STOP!

2. Don't Touch

3. Leave the Area

4. Tell an Adult

Founded in 1988, The Eddie Eagle GunSafe groundbreaking, gun-accident prevention program has reached more than 21 million children — in all 50 states. This program was developed through the combined efforts of such qualified professionals as clinical psychologists, reading specialists, teachers, curriculum specialists, urban housing safety officials and law enforcement personnel.

“The steady decline in the number of firearm-related accidents among young children since the launch of the Eddie Eagle program is a testament to the program’s effectiveness, and to the 21 million children we’ve been able to reach,” said Kayne Robinson, Executive of NRA General Operations. “The history of this program is filled with stories of children who have avoided firearm accidents because they were exposed to Eddie Eagle’s life-saving message.”

Volunteers for the Eddie Eagle program come from diverse backgrounds but share a common commitment to protecting children from gun accidents. They include NRA members, schoolteachers, law enforcement officers and community activists who teach the program, plus private donors and Friends of the NRA participants who raise funds to pay for the program’s educational materials.

More than 26,000 educators, law enforcement agencies and civic organizations have taught the program since 1988.

The program may be readily incorporated into existing school curriculum, taught is a one- to five-day format. Materials available through this program are: student workbooks, 7-minute animated video (available on DVD or VHS), instructor guides, brochures, and student reward stickers. Program materials are also available in Spanish.

Schools, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, daycare centers and libraries may be eligible to receive grant funding to defray program costs. Grant funding is available in many states to these groups to cover the cost of all program curriculum materials.

The purpose of the Eddie Eagle Program isn’t to teach whether guns are good or bad, but rather to promote the protection and safety of children. The program makes no value judgment about firearms, and no firearms are ever used in the program. Like swimming pools, electrical outlets, matchbooks and household poison, they’re treated simply as a fact of everyday life. With firearms found in about half of all American households, it’s a stance that makes sense.

The Eddie Eagle Program has no agenda other than accident prevention - ensuring that children stay safe should they encounter a gun. The program never mentions the NRA. Nor does it encourage children to buy guns or to become NRA members.

“Our community partnership with the Eddie Eagle program has been very successful in teaching gun safety to our young children,” said Sheriff Kevin Beary of the Orange County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office.

“It’s one of our most important prevention programs that we have proudly used in Orange County for over 20 years. Now is the time for more agencies to team up with Eddie Eagle and make their communities a safer place,” Beary said.

The NRA encourages citizens nationwide to participate in heightening gun accident prevention awareness within their local communities. Schools, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, and others interested in more information about The Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program, or persons who wish to see if free materials are available in their communities, should call the Eddie Eagle Department at (800) 231-0752 or visit www.nrahq.org /safety/eddie.



Jim Darnell is an ordained minister and host/producer of the syndicated outdoors show, God’s Great Outdoors. His column appears every Thursday in The Daily Record.