Two words that have started to make many people cringe are “gun safety.” That’s because many anti-Second Amendment types have started using that as a euphemism for gun control.

However, the original meaning of the term–the safe handling of a firearm–still matters, even if some Karens are trying to twist that meaning.

In fact, it matters so much that for one mother, it’s her mission.

According to the National Safety Council’s most recent data, in 2019 there were 39,740 gun-related deaths in the United States.

Of that total, 500, or about 1 percent, were the result of accidental shootings.

But if you were one of the victims, or the mother, father, or sibling left behind to mourn your death for the remainder of their lives, this seemingly small proportion then becomes 100 percent and catastrophically important.

No one knows this tangible percentage more than Blackberry resident Kendra Mahon, her sons Chris and Garrett, and her daughter Carrigan.

That’s because on Feb. 5, 2020, the family found themselves swirling out of control to the top of this statistical vortex when Kendra’s youngest — 16-year-old Daulton — while alone in the house, was killed by the inadvertent discharge of a shotgun that had fallen from his grip as he was retrieving it from a gun safe.

…

During a gravesite ceremony to commemorate what would have been Daulton’s 18th birthday and that about 30 family members and friends attended last Friday evening, Kendra additionally told the gathering her main goal going forward is to do whatever she can to help prevent similar tragedies from visiting other families.

Specifically, she wants to use Daulton’s story to bring about more gun safety awareness for both kids and adults and, ideally, help other families avoid possibly someday joining hers in that “100 percent” statistical group.

“I was working that evening so I prayed, as I always do, that God would take care of him, but He didn’t, at least not in my way but in His way,” she said just prior to a commemorative balloon-release ceremony. “I’ve really struggled with that, but because of your prayers I’m doing better and I want to do whatever I can to keep other families from ever having to go through what my family has suffered through this last year and a half.”

In particular, Kendra has reached out to the NRA on what is required to be an active part of the organization’s hunting and safety programs.

Good for her.

Look, I won’t pretend I know what it’s like to lose a child, especially to something like that.

What I do know, though, is that far too many people take a tragedy like this and use it to justify trying to infringe on people’s basic right to keep and bear arms. Kendra Mahon, however, understands that the gun wasn’t at fault. It’s not a sentient being. It can’t make decisions for itself. What happened was an awful tragedy, but it wasn’t the gun’s fault.

So, she wants to prevent such a thing from happening again, which is normal, and has decided to do so by helping push firearm safety.

I’m sorry she got pushed into it, especially this way, but I applaud her for taking a tragedy and trying to use it to motivate her to make a difference.