You know gun safety; do the parents of your child’s playmate?

Mass public shootings are random events, and their prevention sometimes seems impossible. But accidental shootings in a private home during a child’s playdate can be stopped.

The biggest firearm threat to many of our nation’s children is an unsecured gun that is within reach in their home or a friend’s.

Each year, more than 140 children die in accidental shootings, and another 3,000 are injured, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. About onefourth of victims under the age of 14 accidentally shoot themselves.

Last week, a 9-year-old boy in southern Colorado died after being shot by his 8-year-old brother. The incident occurred Jan. 4 when the two boys found a handgun in a parked vehicle they were in. The children were in the care of a family friend while their parents were at a medical appointment, according to the Trinidad Police Department.

With an estimated 270 million to 310 million civilian-owned firearms in the United States, and with a reported 37 percent of households with a gun owner, parents have a responsibility to ensure that guns and ammunition are safely stored — and to broach that question with households where their kids might visit.

Even parents who have talked with their children about gun safety, whether it’s the proper handling of a weapon or a strict “Don’t touch — go and tell an adult” approach, should not take their child’s good judgment for granted.

Consider this: In a study published in 2006 in the Annals of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, researchers at family-practice clinics in rural Alabama conducted a test. More than 400 parents were separated from their school-age children, and both were asked questions about guns in the home. They found that more than one-third of parents who reported that their son had not handled a household gun were

contradicted by the child.

It can be tough to ask fellow parents about their gun-safety practices, even among fellow gun enthusiasts, whether they are hunters, recreational target shooters or collectors. And in Colorado, with its mix of suburbanites, many of whom don’t own guns or are outright anti-gun, and ranches and farms, where guns are often considered necessary tools, that cultural meeting can be awkward.

Parents should address the subject of firearms in the same way any potentially dangerous object should be discussed, says Don Shifrin, clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

“When I ask about guns in the house, I ask in a neutral way, and if the answer is yes, I then follow up with questions about safe storage and ammunition storage,” says Shifrin, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Just like bikes or scooters or skis, it is important to advise and assist families to safely use all the tools in the house whether it is a stove, iron, lamps, TV or guns.

“Anything that presents a danger to children needs to be asked about and advised with common sense.”

Denver parent Kim O’Brien says the question is easier to broach if the person you’re asking is a relative or family friend.

But she says it’s important to ask the question of any homeowner your child might be visiting, if only to assess a gun owner’s judgment.

“I asked a woman, ‘Do you own any guns?’ They did, and they were in a gun safe,” O’Brien says. “But the gun safe was in their 8-yearold’s room. What? I never let my kids go there again.”

Kristi Dougherty of Denver flatly refuses to let her 13-year-old daughter visit a house where there are guns.

“I do not allow it and am not shy about asking,” she says. “I’ve asked it at the get-go. It’s just an issue that is on my mind.”

But Dougherty has an interesting relationship with the issue, and acknowledges the tug that firearms, especially handguns, can exert.

“When I was 20, I held a 9mm handgun,” she says. “I’ll never forget the rush I felt. I mean, this feeling of power just came over me.”

She pauses. “There are people who should not own guns. I’m one of them.”

Frederick Rivara, who is on the faculty of Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle, says a parent’s approach to the question should be friendly but firm.

“If a parent is dropping off their child at a friend’s house and they were going to go on an outing involving car travel, they of course would make sure the kid had a car seat or booster seat,” Rivara says. “I’d say, ‘I always check with the families of any homes that Johnny is visiting to see if they have any guns. Johnny is like anyone his age, curious, and I don’t want him or his friends to get hurt. Do you have any guns in the home? If so, are they locked so Johnny and his friends can’t get at them?’

“If the answer is yes, they have guns, and no, they are not all locked up, then I think the parents shouldn’t let their kids go over there. Period. It is not asking parents to get rid of their guns, only taking appropriate steps to make sure no one gets hurt.”

Rene Ramirez, a retired state employee living in Aurora, grew up in southern Arizona in a houseful of hunters, including his father and six brothers. Each child had his own .22-caliber rifle, shotgun and deer rifle.

While gun safety was taught at an early age, the guns and the ammo were stored unsecured in closets and cabinets.

Things changed when Ramirez became a parent. “I still had my guns but realized that safe storage was imperative. I didn’t want my children or their friends to be able to get to them,” he says.

Preventive measures include gun safes and such devices as trigger locks and cables that can be threaded through the barrel and locked, not unlike a bicycle lock. Parents should consider enrolling their children in a firearms safety class, especially if Mom and Dad are gun owners. Outdoor stores such as Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s periodically offer these courses.

“In today’s world, I strongly suggest that the utmost in care be used when dealing with your own guns and in environments where guns can be available,” Ramirez says. “I would not hesitate to ask parents in an inquiring way whether they hunt or have guns. I can start the conversation by stating my family history of hunting, and asking whether their families had the same.

“Even if there is a negative reaction, I would still rather be safe by asking than sorry I didn’t,” he says. “I would rather create an uncomfortable relationship than attend an unfortunate funeral.”