Looking down the Barrel

Gun Sense S.C. kicks off Daniel Island's discussion on guns, youth and keeping violence from the island

On Daniel Island, the issues of crime - let alone gun violence - seem far away. They seem mere headlines on the television news, someone else’s problem. And while Daniel Island is by all accounts a bastion of safety, there is a movement underway to keep it that way. A group of island residents and members of gun safety advocacy group Gun Sense S.C. took on the issue by simply kicking off a conversation on the topic last Thursday, October 20, when they invited islanders to a panel discussion held at Providence Baptist Church on Daniel Island entitled “Keeping our Children Safe.”

Gun Sense S.C. members and Daniel Island residents Peter Zelka and Jacqueline Gowe put on the event for the purpose of educating islanders about the reality that what many perceive as someone else’s problem is only one tragic moment away from becoming our problem. The panel discussion was non-partisan, and focused on the steps gun owners and non-gun owners alike can take to protect all children from the tragedy of unintentional gun violence.

“We wanted to do an outreach here on Daniel Island because we live here and this is where we raise our children,” said Gowe. “Daniel Island is such a wonderful place to live it’s almost idyllic. We wanted to give you the words to use perhaps when you talk to your friends.”

The five-member panel featured a bevy of experts in their respective fields: Jackie Shelley of Moms Demand Action, cardiologist Dr. Frederick Jones, psychologist Dr. Kaitlin Bountress, Charleston Police Department Lieutenant and Team Five Commander James Byrne, and event host, Gun Sense S.C. member and Providence Baptist Church pastor Rev. Don Flowers. The evening began with each member summing up the issue from their respective, unique professional perspective.

“I’ve been interested in safety, but I bring to you this evening a message that we are in a public health crisis,” said Dr. Jones. “Despite all the conversations, we seem to lose sight of what we’re talking about. If this was heart disease, if this was cancer, if this was AIDS, there would be much more public interest involvement. Of the top 10 leading causes of death, the only (one) of the 10 that has not decreased in the past decade is deaths related to gun violence. If that’s not a public health issue, I don’t know one when I see one.”

Shelley, the Charleston-area group leader of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, reminded the room that their proposals are for the gun owner and non-gun owner alike, that theirs is a non-partisan, common sense perspective. “’Moms’ is not anti-gun,” she said. “We are anti-gun violence and that’s an important thing to remember. We want to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and we advocate for responsibility and accountability for all adults, but especially those who choose to own a gun.”

Shelley introduced the score of island residents in attendance at the discussion last Thursday to her organization’s “Be Smart” program, which has a goal of reducing unintentional shootings, homicides, and suicides among children. “We never talk about whether somebody should own a gun. We accept the fact that people are going to choose to own guns. What we do decide to talk about is that you have to assume as an adult that your child is going to enter a home or a vehicle at some point that has a weapon, so you need to make sure you are prepared.”

It was Dr. Bountress who spoke next, talking to the crowd about depression in children, warning signs of suicide, and steps everyone can take to prevent gun-related teen suicide. She focused her talk on the plight of parents in trying to communicate with kids battling depression.

“When they see depression in their kids, some parents become overwhelmed and don’t know what to do,” said Bountress, a PhD at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). “The biggest thing is to remain calm and try to open up a dialogue with your child about what’s going on. If you are able to open up a dialogue, how about their thoughts of self-harm? Be as sympathetic as possible and don’t judge them.”

As the top cop on Daniel Island, the audience was eager to hear from the friendly, familiar Lt. Byrne. Byrne offered the crowd his perspective on the issue as a member of law enforcement, but first reminded the room that he approached the topic not simply as a cop, but also as a father. That said, his knowledge on the criminality angle of gun violence proved information in high-demand.

“Most people who are gun owners, we will never know,” began Byrne. “We’ll never see them, we will never come in contact with them, because most people who own guns either do so responsibly or do so in a way that we never encounter through police work. There are some people who despite their best intentions we do end up coming in contact with, and most of the time that’s through theft.”

“A stolen gun becomes a crime gun and a crime gun is usually not used for anything positive,” Byrne continued. “Unfortunately, we’ve had four guns stolen this year on Daniel Island, two of them just this month. All of them that I’m aware of were stolen from unlocked vehicles. It’s a problem at the Charleston level and it’s also a problem at the national level.”

It was Rev. Don Flowers who wrapped up the panel’s commentary portion of the evening by addressing the topic from an evangelical perspective. “I’ve looked and nowhere in the Bible does it talk about how we should deal with guns. It talks about a few simple things like ‘Thou Shalt not Kill.’ And we can leave it there, and not have to think about it again because we’re here on Daniel Island and this is a safe place.” But Rev. Flowers then turned to the story of Saul, recounting how he stood by silently during the stoning of the first martyr, Stephen.

“The story is that he didn’t throw a single stone, he just stood there and didn’t say a word and the people who stoned Stephen laid their coats at his feet…I wonder for us how many times we’ve decided we’re going to be ‘Saul people,’” continued the affable Flowers. “We don’t talk about this because we don’t like to deal with sad stuff. We don’t want to be the downer at a cocktail party, we don’t want to be the parent that brings up some issues that might cause a problem with another parent.”

In concluding the evening’s discussion, Gowe reminded the room that the event was not meant to be the end of the conversation about gun ownership, gun safety, and gun violence on Daniel Island, but rather the beginning. “Speaking about guns can be awkward and people are often afraid to say their feelings (about guns), but when it comes to our children, I think we as parents and adults in our community have the responsibility to have this conversation,” said Gowe.

Gun Sense S.C. held their most recent meeting this past Tuesday. For information on upcoming meetings or for more information on Gun Sense S.C., see their website at www.gunsensesc.org. Providence Baptist Church is located at 294 Seven Farms Drive, Daniel Island. You can reach them by phone at (843) 971-5275 or online at www.providencecharleston.org.

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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