Kids and guns

[Aidan's Mummy]

Anyone watch this?

What do you all think?

I personally am shocked at how young some of the children are that learn to shoot and the power of the guns they are shooting. I know I am not front the states so I may be missing something. But why does a child young as 4 need to know how to shoot?

Opinions? x

 

[Natasha2605]

I was disgusted by it. It's one of those issues that really saddens me because I just don't see how it can EVER be justified and yet people don't see an issue with it.

Those kids getting guns for their 4th birthday absolutely sickened me. I know it's a different culture and all over there but I really do question the parenting logic.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

I was disgusted by it. It's one of those issues that really saddens me because I just don't see how it can EVER be justified and yet people don't see an issue with it.

Those kids getting guns for their 4th birthday absolutely sickened me. I know it's a different culture and all over there but I really do question the parenting logic.

Yeah I cringed when that little girl opened a present and out came a rifle Then she didn't want to learn how to shoot and they were trying to push it. Then that little boy that was allowed to go off with a loaded gun, hunting and died x

 

[hayz_baby]

Not that I am for this coz I'm really not but although I can see (from another cultural perspective ) why they want to teach a child to shoot (although I think a lot of the reasons are based on overdramatised and propaganda fear) some of those guns seemed so powerful. I mean why does a child need such a powerful gun.
One girl had so many too. Why so many guns?
the gun culture in America is one that will always confuse me.

 

[sue_88]

I don't understand it and I do not agree! Second amendment bullshit that people sprout to support their gun fantasies.

They don't let people under 21 drink, but here have a deadly weapon. Crazy, no wonder their kids die left right and centre through gun fire shocking

 

[jd83]

I don't understand it and I do not agree! Second amendment bullshit that people sprout to support their gun fantasies.

They don't let people under 21 drink, but here have a deadly weapon. Crazy, no wonder their kids die left right and centre through gun fire shocking

well, technically the kids are too young to be the owners of those guns, too, though. I think the legal gun age is at least 18? It's against the law to buy a gun intentionally for a minor, but obviously these people get around it by saying its "their" gun when they purchase it.

I'll be honest, this is an ongoing argument I have with DH. He's very into hunting, fishing, all the manly stuff. He wants to teach the boys to hunt, which I don't have a problem with when they are older. the age to which this is appropriate is where we disagree. I'm just glad he does realize the danger of having guns in the home, and has a very good gun safe to keep them locked up away from the kids.

 

[Gnomer]

I didn't see this, and I'm glad I didn't, it would more than likely anger me.
I understand cultural differences ect. And I try and understand adults desire to own a gun (although I don't agree, and don't understand owning a small armory. Surely one gun per adult is enough, disregarding hunting rifles for serious hunters).
My mind cannot even begin to fathom why a child would be given a gun, and taught to use it. Especially a child as young as 4. What good would come from a child wielding such a weapon? How healthy is it to accustom such young children to a weapon that's sole purpose is to cause harm. I just don't even.
Hunting, ok. At an appropriate age. But they can participate in a hunt without using the weapon itself. Whilst my parents don't hunt, have never hunted, my uncle does. He takes his son with him, his son fully participates, understands, and appreciates the reason for hunting. Yet has never himself held a gun, nevermind used gun.
It completely and utterly baffles me.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

I think the things that gets me most is the question; Why does a 4 year old or any child under 18 need to know how to shoot? I understand the gun culture over there is much bigger and many Americans have guns for protection. Some of the parents were saying that if an intruder broke in at least the child will know how to defend his/her self. The only thing with that is A) in a scary situation the child will more than likely try to hide or freeze and b) the intruder will most defiantly be stronger than them. Therefore if the child doesn't shoot straight away due to shock and fear the gun could then be used against them!I think it's all well and good teaching a child to shoot in defence. But in reality, in a real situation they are more likely to freeze with fear then shoot. As for hunting I am still very weary of a child under 16 participating in that. The child that died on the programme was hunting (aged 9), slipped, the end of the gun hit a rock and he shot himself. The poor little man died instantly. Placing such a deadly weapon in the hands of a child, whether they can shoot or not is craziness in my mind x

 

[Natsku]

I think the things that gets me most is the question; Why does a 4 year old or any child under 18 need to know how to shoot? I understand the gun culture over there is much bigger and many Americans have guns for protection. Some of the parents were saying that if an intruder broke in at least the child will know how to defend his/her self. The only thing with that is A) in a scary situation the child will more than likely try to hide or freeze and b) the intruder will most defiantly be stronger than them. Therefore if the child doesn't shoot straight away due to shock and fear the gun could then be used against them!I think it's all well and good teaching a child to shoot in defence. But in reality, in a real situation they are more likely to freeze with fear then shoot. As for hunting I am still very weary of a child under 16 participating in that. The child that died on the programme was hunting (aged 9), slipped, the end of the gun hit a rock and he shot himself. The poor little man died instantly. Placing such a deadly weapon in the hands of a child, whether they can shoot or not is craziness in my mind x

Agree with that. People shouldn't have a weapon for defence unless they are absolutely certain they will use it without hesitation otherwise its much more likely to be used against them and you really can't expect a child to be able to do that.

Lots of people own guns here but the gun culture is so different. You don't give kids guns (15 is the youngest to own a gun) and you don't have guns for self-defence, just for things like hunting, target shooting and collections. Much more sensible in my opinion and there's a lot less gun crime too and its rare to hear about kids getting hurt by guns.

 

[staralfur]

I don't really 'get' guns when it comes to adults (unless your profession requires use of firearms or you hunt your own food), so it's especially perplexing to me that children have them.

 

[Tiff]

I don't understand it and I do not agree! Second amendment bullshit that people sprout to support their gun fantasies.

They don't let people under 21 drink, but here have a deadly weapon. Crazy, no wonder their kids die left right and centre through gun fire shocking

well, technically the kids are too young to be the owners of those guns, too, though. I think the legal gun age is at least 18? It's against the law to buy a gun intentionally for a minor, but obviously these people get around it by saying its "their" gun when they purchase it.

I'll be honest, this is an ongoing argument I have with DH. He's very into hunting, fishing, all the manly stuff. He wants to teach the boys to hunt, which I don't have a problem with when they are older. the age to which this is appropriate is where we disagree. I'm just glad he does realize the danger of having guns in the home, and has a very good gun safe to keep them locked up away from the kids.

It does boggle my mind that you can't have a sip of alcohol legally before the age of 21, but you can own a weapon that can KILL other people at the age of 18.

I get it, there are lots of resources out there that can attest to education being the biggest factor, but I don't get how a person going to buy a drink somewhere is more of a crime than possessing a weapon that could kill people.

Yes, alcohol kills as well. But it does make me wonder about the difference.

 

[jd83]

I don't understand it and I do not agree! Second amendment bullshit that people sprout to support their gun fantasies.

They don't let people under 21 drink, but here have a deadly weapon. Crazy, no wonder their kids die left right and centre through gun fire shocking

well, technically the kids are too young to be the owners of those guns, too, though. I think the legal gun age is at least 18? It's against the law to buy a gun intentionally for a minor, but obviously these people get around it by saying its "their" gun when they purchase it.

I'll be honest, this is an ongoing argument I have with DH. He's very into hunting, fishing, all the manly stuff. He wants to teach the boys to hunt, which I don't have a problem with when they are older. the age to which this is appropriate is where we disagree. I'm just glad he does realize the danger of having guns in the home, and has a very good gun safe to keep them locked up away from the kids.

It does boggle my mind that you can't have a sip of alcohol legally before the age of 21, but you can own a weapon that can KILL other people at the age of 18.

I get it, there are lots of resources out there that can attest to education being the biggest factor, but I don't get how a person going to buy a drink somewhere is more of a crime than possessing a weapon that could kill people.

Yes, alcohol kills as well. But it does make me wonder about the difference.

Oh, I fully agree! Some of the logic in America is severely lacking. The same can be said for being adult enough to enlist in the armed services at 18, but not adult enough to drink until 21. Makes no sense whatsoever.

My Dh took several courses on Gun Safety and Laws for Concealed Carried Weapons before purchasing his handgun, which really should be a requirement; he learned so much about safe gun storage, what to do in case of an emergency like a break in, etc that people without having taken a course would probably panic and do the complete wrong thing. I'm not sure if it is a requirement before buying a handgun, unfortunately. I think they just require a background check and being of age to purchase.

 

[Bex84]

I didn't watch but I find gun culture strange. Why would you give a child something that is made just to cause harm. I think you need to be sure that you are able to live with yourself if you kill someone and when do you decide to use as self defence, if someone is robbing your house or only when someone is threatening you physically. Its horrible when you see little children having had accident or shot another child due to guns not properly secured. I don't like hunting either ( I'm vegetarian so isn't a case I'm happy to eat it but don't like hunting)

 

[hayz_baby]

I don't understand it and I do not agree! Second amendment bullshit that people sprout to support their gun fantasies.

They don't let people under 21 drink, but here have a deadly weapon. Crazy, no wonder their kids die left right and centre through gun fire shocking

well, technically the kids are too young to be the owners of those guns, too, though. I think the legal gun age is at least 18? It's against the law to buy a gun intentionally for a minor, but obviously these people get around it by saying its "their" gun when they purchase it.

I'll be honest, this is an ongoing argument I have with DH. He's very into hunting, fishing, all the manly stuff. He wants to teach the boys to hunt, which I don't have a problem with when they are older. the age to which this is appropriate is where we disagree. I'm just glad he does realize the danger of having guns in the home, and has a very good gun safe to keep them locked up away from the kids.

It does boggle my mind that you can't have a sip of alcohol legally before the age of 21, but you can own a weapon that can KILL other people at the age of 18.

I get it, there are lots of resources out there that can attest to education being the biggest factor, but I don't get how a person going to buy a drink somewhere is more of a crime than possessing a weapon that could kill people.

Yes, alcohol kills as well. But it does make me wonder about the difference.

Oh, I fully agree! Some of the logic in America is severely lacking. The same can be said for being adult enough to enlist in the armed services at 18, but not adult enough to drink until 21. Makes no sense whatsoever.

My Dh took several courses on Gun Safety and Laws for Concealed Carried Weapons before purchasing his handgun, which really should be a requirement; he learned so much about safe gun storage, what to do in case of an emergency like a break in, etc that people without having taken a course would probably panic and do the complete wrong thing. I'm not sure if it is a requirement before buying a handgun, unfortunately. I think they just require a background check and being of age to purchase.

The weirdest one I know is that kinder eggs are banned in the us due to the potential choking hazard.. but a gun is OK?

 

[jd83]

The weirdest one I know is that kinder eggs are banned in the us due to the potential choking hazard.. but a gun is OK?

Seriously? There are millions of things that are choking hazards, hence putting the warning on the label! That's all they would need to do! I had no idea those were banned here for that reason, just thought it was something you guys had overseas that apparently wasn't popular here.

 

[Tiff]

We have them here. My daughter loves them! I like them too as there's very little candy involved and she's more excited to see the toy inside them.

I actually posted a picture on FB with her opening one, and I had someone ask how I had it as they're banned here. I was like

 

[Tiff]

This article popped up in my FB feed moments ago. It begs the question why was there a loaded gun around 5 year olds in the first place? Common sense is not so common.

And I do see both sides, I know that gun enthusiasts who don't do stupid stuff like this hate being painted with the same brush. The ones who take the courses, lock up their guns in the proper way, don't leave them loaded around children, etc.

But the problem (to me) is that the results for the people who don't practice common sense is horrific! I would hand on heart lose my SHIT if I brought my child to a friend's house to play and then she got shot and killed because some other idiot left a loaded weapon for them to come across.

The article states that the parents don't blame the child or the child's family for what happened. So maybe there's more to the story? I'd be doing a lot of blaming, unfortunately.

 

[jd83]

This article popped up in my FB feed moments ago. It begs the question why was there a loaded gun around 5 year olds in the first place? Common sense is not so common.

And I do see both sides, I know that gun enthusiasts who don't do stupid stuff like this hate being painted with the same brush. The ones who take the courses, lock up their guns in the proper way, don't leave them loaded around children, etc.

But the problem (to me) is that the results for the people who don't practice common sense is horrific! I would hand on heart lose my SHIT if I brought my child to a friend's house to play and then she got shot and killed because some other idiot left a loaded weapon for them to come across.

The article states that the parents don't blame the child or the child's family for what happened. So maybe there's more to the story? I'd be doing a lot of blaming, unfortunately.

That's the biggest part of the problem, those who actually are safe about having guns, have taken the proper courses, buy the proper equipment to store them are a huge minority in those who have guns. Its sad that people take the law to such extremes in their "rights" to have guns. Yes, you have a right to have a gun according to our laws, but that right should come with proper education on owning it, and should have storage requirements really. Just purchasing guns willy nilly because people have the "right" to do so is why its such a huge problem, because knowing nothing about the gun you own and the dangers of having it is a huge risk to everyone, your family included!

 

[Tiff]

You can own a gun up here... but it has to be locked away in a specific way, with the ammunition locked in a different place with different keys etc. I think. Tbh I don't know, we don't have guns in the house.

I think it gets sticky with having the constitutional right to a) own a gun and b)have the right to "defend your property". I've had quite a few discussions with people who think our laws are silly, because if someone was going to break into your house how are you going to have enough time to get your gun, unlock it, get to your ammo, unlock that and then load your weapon?

Its different here. I live in a very urban area. If someone was trying to break into my house I could call 911 and there'd be first responders to my house within minutes as there's a station not 5 mins away from me.

Not to mention as well, I don't live in a heavily crime infested area. There's been a few murders but its all been people known to each other normally involving drugs or money. Break ins are very rare.

I suppose I could see the appeal of wanting a gun if you lived out in the middle of nowhere and help could be a good half hour away.

 

[hayz_baby]

See if someone broke into my house me and oh will baracade ourselves in the boys room. Let them take what they want. I have insurance. I won't risk our lives for the sake of defending our property.

There was a story I read about a man who point blank shot a woman with a shotgun. She had knocked on his door as she had been in an accident (and was apparently drunk although it didn't specify how drunk) the man got scared a shot her.

He was found guilty of murder. The prosecution stated if he was scared he "should have called 911...instead you became judge, jury, and executioner'