OHIO'S KIDS AT RISK OF BEING SHOT

Once again, Ohio's children were placed at risk because of America's love affair with guns.

This week in Ohio, a teacher in Kettering, Ohio mistakenly fired a .50 caliber weapon during a Civil War demonstration to students. The bullet landed 600 ft away where it pierced a trailer at the end of the football stadium. Luckily, no one was injured. Still, this incident serves as a reminder of a very simple truth - guns and kids don't mix no matter how well-trained the person in possession of the gun may be.

But sadly this is not the only instance in which guns have invaded our schools. On Wednesday, Riverside Elementary school in Toledo went in to lock down after witnesses saw a man entering the building with at least two firearms. Fast action by Toledo police and the school personnel kept the children safe this time. Parents gathered outside the school panicked about their children's safety.

"Everyone was concerned about the schools and the police doing their jobs, but they did them well. It's the rest of us who have to take the responsibility for the guns in our society that enable this kind of event" said the Father Marty Donnelly, President of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence.

Consider the facts: 40% of homes with children have guns, more than seven young people age 19 and under die due to gun-related violence every day, and two thirds of students in grades 6-12 say they could obtain a firearm in 24 hours.

There are an estimated 200 million guns in the United States, only when we wake up and decide guns can be and must be regulated will we reduce the risk to our children. "It is time we make our kids more important than our guns," said Toby Hoover, Executive Director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence.