The rules in every hand

The 15 minutes

1. 2 min Say why: "Before storage, before children, before travel: the handling rules that everyone in a home with firearms should be able to say from memory."
2. 6 min Read the source lines below aloud. Name who said each one.
3. 4 min Talk through the questions. There are no wrong answers here.
4. 3 min Agree one change for this home, and who will make it by when.

Read aloud

• NRA's three fundamental rules for safe gun handling: ALWAYS Keep The Gun Pointed In A Safe Direction; ALWAYS Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger Until Ready To Shoot; ALWAYS Keep The Gun Unloaded Until Ready To Use (NRA)
• "A "safe direction" means that the gun is pointed so that even if an accidental discharge occurred, it would not result in injury." (Project ChildSafe (NSSF))
• "When holding a gun, rest your finger alongside the frame and outside the trigger guard." (NRA)
• "If you do not know how to open the action or inspect the chamber(s), leave the gun alone and get help from someone who does." (NRA)
• "Be sure you know how your firearm operates: read the manual on your firearm, know how to safely open and close the action of the firearm and know how to safely remove any ammunition from the firearm and its magazine." (Project ChildSafe (NSSF))

Talk it through

• Is this true in our home today? "Every adult who may handle a firearm in this home can say the three rules without looking."
• Is this true in our home today? "Each firearm's owner's manual is kept where the owner can find it."
• Is this true in our home today? "If someone is not sure how a firearm opens, the answer is to leave it alone and ask someone who knows, not to experiment."
• What would make it hard to keep this up, and what would make it easy?

Questions and answer key

1. Which rule does the NRA call "the primary rule of gun safety"?
   Answer: Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction
2. Until you are ready to shoot, where does your finger rest?
   Answer: Alongside the frame, outside the trigger guard
3. You pick up a firearm and do not know how to open the action to check it. What do the NRA rules say?
   Answer: Leave the gun alone and get help from someone who does
4. The NRA's third fundamental rule: keep the gun unloaded until...
   Answer: ready to use
5. Project ChildSafe says a "safe direction" means the gun is pointed so that...
   Answer: even if an accidental discharge occurred, it would not result in injury
6. Which does the NRA say never to use before or while shooting?
   Answer: Alcohol, over-the-counter drugs or prescription drugs