Students sign gun safety pledge

Grassy Pond Elementary School fourth graders sign pledge cards against gun violence Wednesday under the watchful eyes of Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Lt. Tim Hartman. (Ledger photo / SCOTT POWELL) Grassy Pond Elementary School guidance counselor Karen Way has seen firsthand how a loaded gun can change a family's life forever.

Many years ago, a second grader in Way's class was killed by a gun while home from school because of a snow day. The boy was killed as he was wrestling with a sibling for possession of a gun found in the kitchen.

"I will always wonder if this tragedy could have been avoided had we done more education on gun safety," Way said.

Grassy Pond Elementary was among eight county schools that participated Wednesday in "Students Pledge Against Gun Violence Day." Students signed antigun violence pledges at Ewing Middle, Blacksburg Middle, Draytonville Elementary, Grassy Pond Elementary, Goucher Elementary, Alma Elementary, Northwest Elementary and Limestone-Central Elementary.

The pledge card read: "I will never bring a gun to school. I will never use a gun to settle a personal problem or dispute. I will use my influence with my friends to keep them from using guns to settle disputes. My individual choices and actions, when multiplied by those of young people throughout the country, will make a difference."

More 10- to 19-year-olds die from gunshot wounds than from any other cause except car accidents.

Nationally, 2,827 children and teenagers were killed by guns in 2003, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2003, 56 pre-schoolers were killed by firearms, compared to 52 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

Cherokee County Sheriff's Office Lt. Tim Hartman teaches lessons on conflict resolution to fifth graders as part of the district's "Too Good For Drugs" prevention program.

Hartman gave Grassy Pond Elementary students a few simple rules for gun safety.

Students should always assume a gun is loaded and should not touch a gun under any circumstances.

If a gun is found, Hartman urged students to contact an adult for help.

"In my years as a law enforcement officer, I have seen what guns can do to people," Hartman said. "Guns are not toys. They kill people. A gun doesn't care who it is."