For one reason or another, a man in Nitro, West Virginia, decided he needed to take a firearm with him when he left home Wednesday night.

As he was getting ready to leave, he laid the gun down for just a moment or two.

His 3-year-old son picked it up and accidentally shot himself in the head. The child died.

This kind of tragedy occurs far too often. Nothing like it should ever happen.

If you own guns — and they are present in about 40% of American households — realize that they are an enormous responsibility.

In many ways, they are a unique threat to the safety of children — yours or anyone else’s who can gain access to them for even a few seconds.

Firearms can be stored and handled safely. All that is needed is adherence to a set of common-sense safety rules. But they have to be followed all the time, every time.

The penalty for failure to do so can be unbearably harsh