VNP Security Company

NRA Eddie Eagle GunSafe^® Program⁽¹⁾

VNP Security Company, as a community service, is pleased to offer this program to groups of 10 or more. Please contact us for additional details.

What is the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program?

The Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program is a gun accident prevention program for children in pre-kindergarten through third grade. Using instructional materials including workbooks, an animated video, and student reward stickers, the program's safety mascot, Eddie Eagle, teaches children that if they find a gun in an unsupervised situation, they should: STOP! Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult.

How was the program created?

The program was created in 1988 by the National Rifle Association (NRA) together with a task force that included specialists such as educators, school administrators, curriculum specialists, urban housing safety officials, clinical psychologists, law enforcement officials and National Rifle Association firearm safety experts. Since then, it has reached more than 21 million children in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Are children safe in homes with guns?

Among children, fatal firearms accidents in the Eddie Eagle age group have been reduced more than 80% since the program's nationwide launch. While safety education is obviously effective, gun owners are also urged to follow NRA's long-standing rule on gun storage: "Store your guns so they are inaccessible to unauthorized users, especially children."

Does The Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program promote firearm ownership or use?

No! The Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program neither offers nor asks for any value judgment concerning firearms. Like safety lessons concerning swimming pools, electrical outlets, matchbooks and household poisons, Eddie Eagle's safety lesson is one that children should not miss. With firearms found in about half of all American households, it's a stance that makes sense. Just as Smokey Bear teaches children not to play with matches, Eddie Eagle teaches them that firearms should not be touched.

Have there been any evaluations of the program's impact in published/unpublished literature? If not, how do you measure its impact?

One study published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing Online (October 2001) named The Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program the best of 80 gun accident prevention programs evaluated. Beyond that, the effectiveness of the program is evident in several ways. First, fatal firearms accidents in the Eddie Eagle age group have been reduced more than 80% since the program's nationwide launch. NRA feels that gun accident prevention programs such as Eddie Eagle are a significant factor in that decline. Second, we often receive letters from parents whose children have encountered guns in unsupervised situations and avoided an accident by doing exactly what Eddie Eagle had taught them: "STOP! Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult." Third, the program has been honored or endorsed by groups such as the National Sheriffs' Association, the U.S. Department of Justice (through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention), and the Association of American Educators. The program also received bipartisan support from 26 state governors, as well as resolutions from 23 state legislatures, recommending the use of the Eddie Eagle Program. Finally, the fact that 26,000 schoolteachers and law enforcement officers have taught the program to over 21 million children verifies the popularity of the program with those who deal with child safety issues every day.

1. Information provided by the National Rifle Association. For more about the Eddie Eagle GunSafe^® Program go here.

Victor N. Piacente, Esq., President and CEO
Jacqueline Saed, Esq., Vice President
VNP Security Company
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Separate but affiliated companies:
The Law Firm of Victor N. Piacente, P.C.
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