Kids and guns

[Gnomer]

I don't get the 'I need a gun incase some one burgles me' argument. In the UK, you can pretty much guarantee the only person breaking into your home will be druggies, kids, or the scum of society. You can also be pretty sure they won't come armed. And as soon as they hear a noise they will run. Not all the time mind you, but most of the time. Plus, a quick call to the police will have them there in minutes. Unless it's a very rare psychopath intent on murdering you, they will run so they don't get caught.
By the time you've retrieved a locked up gun, they'd have run (or you'd be dead if it was that psychopath).
Surely the safest route would be to secure yourselves in one room, push something against the door and wait for help.

I can't imagine living with the mentality that people are trying to kill me and I just must have a gun.

 

[Tiff]

Yeah I don't either. Although I suppose since the right to bear arms applies to every citizen, the crazies who can break into your house could have a gun as well. Its a different mentality for sure, though I might understand it more if I lived down there, grew up with it and got taught it in school.

 

[jd83]

Yeah I don't either. Although I suppose since the right to bear arms applies to every citizen, the crazies who can break into your house could have a gun as well. Its a different mentality for sure, though I might understand it more if I lived down there, grew up with it and got taught it in school.

This is exactly it. Since everyone is entitled to the right to bear arms, odds are someone breaking into your home WILL have a gun, or someone holding up a store WILL have a gun, etc etc.

Our cousin had some stoned guy break into the church he works at (cousin is a preacher) and hold him at gun point wanting the church collection money. This actually was what prompted Dh and a few other family members to want to take the gun safety courses and to get handguns for protection. Its a very sad reality we are faced with. I wish things here were as safe as what some of you describe. Most of the gun wielding psychos have illegal guns, as well, they bought on the black market, so can't even be traced back to them.

The whole thing is one of those vicious cycles. People won't give up their right to bear arms because they feel they need to have that protection to feel safe. But if we could get rid of the threat to begin with, there would be no need to have to feel that way. I don't see it ever coming to a solution though.

 

[alaskagrown]

I'm from an area where almost everyone has a gun. There's even rifle clubs in school. Hunting and fishing defines my community and it's very common for children to go out on hunting trips with their parents and grandparents...I wouldn't bat an eyelash at a young child owning a gun.
A young child owning an iPad though? That's ridiculous in my opinion!

Haha..I guess we all have our own opinions

 

[Tiff]

Definitely!

Although can I ask why? I'm genuinely curious.

 

[Andypanda6570]

I am from New York and I DO NOT own a gun,. Just wanted to jump in here and say not all americans have a gun in their house, most do not...

 

[Tiff]

9 Year Old Kills Instructor with Automatic Uzi

Woke up to this report this morning. So sad And the poor girl, that must've been HORRIFIC for her to see.

I will admit, I am gun ignorant. So I have no clue about types of guns, etc. But from my (very) limited knowledge, wouldn't be putting a gun on automatic firing be a bit on the "no" side?

Aren't uzi's really strong? I'm trying to make sense of this. I've also have seen quite a few awful comments saying that "he got what he deserves" because he okay'd her to put the gun into fully automatic. How disgusting. I'm not really an advocate for kids using guns mind you - but I don't think he deserved to die either.

 

[staralfur]

So awful. I can't imagine what that girl is going through.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

That's awful x

 

[Debi]

Terrible Poor little girl- she will have to live with this for the rest of her life. It's just rresponsible letting a nine year old shoot an automatic gun. I don't like guns. My OH whose dad is from Texas was brought up with them, so we have some heated exchanges. Although even he admitted letting a 9 year old handle an automatic gun was irresponsible. The man obviously didn't deserve to die (I think he had a young family too ) but it's the kid I really feel for here.

 

[TriChick]

I've read a bit about this today. Most gun experts are saying that the instructor basically "did everything wrong" from allowing her to fire fully-automatic to his positioning while she did it. I've fired many military semi-automatic rifles, and can assure you that the recoil in those alone is enough to throw off an unsuspecting adult. An Uzi is much stronger, especially if you are standing and not in prone position (laying down). The situation was COMPLETELY idiotic in my opinion, and a failure to follow even the basic rules of gun safety. I'm not a big fan of guns to begin with and can't understand why a parent would want their daughter anywhere NEAR a fully-automatic Uzi, let alone attempting to control it under fully-automatic mode.

 

[Andypanda6570]

It just scares me and maybe it's me, but I get the vibe that everyone outside the US thinks everyone in the US owns a firearm.. It's just not true, I mean I am proof My Dad lives in Florida and he owns guns, he carries also.. Retired Marine, who knows how to shoot, when we come there ( Just left there from vacation) the guns are locked up..

I guess when we are used to a "NORM" (like police in the states carry guns, in the UK they don't), it's hard to understand it. My family is from Italy and there they carry Sub machine guns, barettas .. So it's different all over.. The little girl will live with that horror forever.. Absolutely heartbreaking

 

[Tiff]

For what it is worth, I definitely do not think everyone in the US owns a gun. Actually most of the people I know who live in the northern states do not - however most of the people I have met from the southern states do. Not sure if that's a cultural thing?

Any disagreement I've personally had (with my own friends, people I know IRL) in talking about pros/cons to having a gun has always had that north/south divide.

 

[TriChick]

For what it is worth, I definitely do not think everyone in the US owns a gun. Actually most of the people I know who live in the northern states do not - however most of the people I have met from the southern states do. Not sure if that's a cultural thing?

Any disagreement I've personally had (with my own friends, people I know IRL) in talking about pros/cons to having a gun has always had that north/south divide.

Many of the people in the south own one, I hate it to be honest. I'm originally from the west coast, where it's not as popular. Honestly, it makes me very nervous when LO gets a little older, as I will not let him play at a friend's house if a gun is present (even locked up). I just don't want to risk he and his friends getting curious and it resulting in a tragedy.

When I voice my opinion, I always hear "the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun" as a justification for a mini arsenal in the home. My response? "Many times, only a single act is the difference between a good guy and a bad guy."

 

[Andypanda6570]

For what it is worth, I definitely do not think everyone in the US owns a gun. Actually most of the people I know who live in the northern states do not - however most of the people I have met from the southern states do. Not sure if that's a cultural thing?

Any disagreement I've personally had (with my own friends, people I know IRL) in talking about pros/cons to having a gun has always had that north/south divide.

That is very true about the South.. We drove to Florida and stopped in S. Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and they are in plain site.. People down there take their property also very serious,they will come out locked and loaded at you if you trespass on their property it's very scary.. New York gun laws are very very strict and to be able to even have a gun in your home, is hard let alone carry one. The people from here who carry a firearm ( from what I have seen) are mostly retired police and military..

New York is a very strict state with everything.. But even though my opinions may vary, I still believe it is our right to bare arms.. I know that sounds hypocritical, I don't really know how to explain why I feel like this.

 

[MommyJogger]

We never owned guns until we started hunting for food, but we're from South Carolina so both DH and I grew up with arsenals of guns being the norm. Even then, it was extremely rare in our day for children to be handed powerful weaponry (meaning .22 or actual hunting rifles). That's definitely more of a new fad in the southern states. It was the norm when we were young to be given a bb or pea gun to do target practice with and to learn how to properly handle a gun until around puberty and then slowly work your way up through good gun behavior and proper respect for the ability of the weapons to kill. Never would anyone I knew have been handed anything that could kill someone without a really unfortunately aimed shot (as in, point blank to the eye or something). I think the new fad is largely due to the modern political climate. Parents of kids I grew up with who used to own at most hunting rifles now own several unregistered semi-automatics "to protect themselves for when the government comes for their guns".

 

[steele]

I'm in the UK and my partner, father and brothers have gun licenses. My son at around age 4 will be taken to the gun club to learn to shoot in a controlled environment. Why? Because it's quality time with his male role models It's just the same as when they'll take him fishing or archery to me. Maybe it's because I have grown up around guns that I don't find it so shocking, I'm pretty sure I shot a gun at a young age (it never interested me though). I think the difference is, that here in UK you can only really shoot real guns, not air rifles in controlled environments. We have guns in the house, in a cabinet which is securely locked, ammo kept in a separate cabinet and is vetted by the police every few years.

I'm sure they could bond in other ways, but when my son is 4 and seeing his Dad heading out on a Saturday morning with his Grandad and Uncles, it seems unfair not to let him when he is at an age where he can follow instructions. Plenty of children and families go to the gun club, I go occasionally, it's just target shooting

ETA: At no point in time will he have access to the guns outside of that controlled environment.

 

[TriChick]

I'm in the UK and my partner, father and brothers have gun licenses. My son at around age 4 will be taken to the gun club to learn to shoot in a controlled environment. Why? Because it's quality time with his male role models It's just the same as when they'll take him fishing or archery to me. Maybe it's because I have grown up around guns that I don't find it so shocking, I'm pretty sure I shot a gun at a young age (it never interested me though). I think the difference is, that here in UK you can only really shoot real guns, not air rifles in controlled environments. We have guns in the house, in a cabinet which is securely locked, ammo kept in a separate cabinet and is vetted by the police every few years.
I'm sure they could bond in other ways, but when my son is 4 and seeing his Dad heading out on a Saturday morning with his Grandad and Uncles, it seems unfair not to let him when he is at an age where he can follow instructions. Plenty of children and families go to the gun club, I go occasionally, it's just target shooting

ETA: At no point in time will he have access to the guns outside of that controlled environment.

Here in the States, it is not required that anyone inspect home gun storage. Citizens are just trusted to keep their weapon in a safe environment. The problem is, the definition of "safe enviroment" varies greatly from home to home. For many gun owners, government involvement regarding their weapons and storage would be seen as an infringement on their Second Amendment rights, and would be met with strong opposition. Many people are convinced that gun regulation is a way for the government to quietly disarm the country in preparation for a militarized take-over and subsequent dictatorship.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

I'm in the UK and my partner, father and brothers have gun licenses. My son at around age 4 will be taken to the gun club to learn to shoot in a controlled environment. Why? Because it's quality time with his male role models It's just the same as when they'll take him fishing or archery to me. Maybe it's because I have grown up around guns that I don't find it so shocking, I'm pretty sure I shot a gun at a young age (it never interested me though). I think the difference is, that here in UK you can only really shoot real guns, not air rifles in controlled environments. We have guns in the house, in a cabinet which is securely locked, ammo kept in a separate cabinet and is vetted by the police every few years.

I'm sure they could bond in other ways, but when my son is 4 and seeing his Dad heading out on a Saturday morning with his Grandad and Uncles, it seems unfair not to let him when he is at an age where he can follow instructions. Plenty of children and families go to the gun club, I go occasionally, it's just target shooting

ETA: At no point in time will he have access to the guns outside of that controlled environment.

I think the main reason I don't like the thought of children handling guns with live ammunition is that a gun is aethsl weapon. And potentially it could kill them or someone else x

 

[MommyJogger]

I think the main reason I don't like the thought of children handling guns with live ammunition is that a gun is aethsl weapon. And potentially it could kill them or someone else x

My thoughts are that eventually they won't be children anymore. So I ask myself, "Do I want them to suddenly have legal access to something and no practical knowledge/experience using it? Or would I rather build them up slowly from less harmful weapons that work the same so that when they reach an age they might want to use the more powerful ones, the safety measures are already second nature?" It could potentially kill them or someone else at any age that they touch it. While it's within my capacity to control, I want the first years they're learning to be on something relatively harmless and under our supervision. But then, I'm not sure you'd consider BBs to be "live ammunition" in the space of this conversation.