Letters to the Editor: The cost of the gun lobby lie: An infant’s life

To the editor: A 1-year-old is dead. Shot by a 3-year-old sibling because a negligent person did not safely secure their firearm.

I imagine the gun owner left the firearm accessible and loaded for defense against a potential intruder. The reality is that a baby is dead in a preventable tragedy.

Gun owners have a responsibility to protect others from harm caused by their firearm. A gun in the home should be unloaded, locked and the ammunition locked separately, yet an estimated 4.6 million American children live in a home with access to an unsafe firearm.

Millions of gun owners believe the lie that a gun makes them safer, but research tells a grimmer story. A gun in the home increases the risk of firearm homicide, suicide and unintentional shootings. The cost of this gun lobby lie, a baby’s life, is too great.

Loren Lieb, Porter Ranch