In effort of raising gun safety awareness, Ray County Sheriff Scott Childers shared his knowledge and offered several tips to keep the community secure. There are more than 30,000 firearm fatalities each year in the United States and more than 80,000 non-fatal injuries requiring emergency medical care or hospitalization, according to www.apa.org. “I am a big advocate for people having guns and I think the more good people who have them, the fewer mass casualties would happen. I will say as a gun owner, it is your responsibility to keep them safe and away from children,” said Childers. Having grown up as a hunter, Childers’ father taught him gun safety with the sport. The sheriff recommends using hunting as a form of teaching. “If you take the mystery out of a gun – it loses its interest,” he added. “Explain the features of a gun, what it can do to protect or harm someone and that it is not a toy. I walked into my living room as my son was playing with his toy gun and thought ‘This…