Twelve Year Old Shoots Intruder.

[Ozzieshunni]

https://www.news9.com/story/19858704/12-year-old-girl-shoots-intruder-during-home-invasion

Now, I think this is great. I'm all for proper gun safety and usage being taught to children.

 

[Dragonfly]

. That was when the 12-year-old had to make a life-saving decision.

Thank goodness because if she didnt she may have been killed or raped! I find a lot of the focus is taken off the victim trying to defend themselves against criminals and criminals get away with far to much.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I totally agree. One of the comments on the NRA page stuck out to me. The guy said he would never want to see a 12 year old put in this kind of situation, but she knew what to do and saved her own life.

 

[Eternal]

I wonder what it does to a child that young, having to shoot someone?

Considering the alternative i would say its a good call on the girl.

We don't have the same laws here which allow you to protect yourself and family, although I believe there are plans to change that.

 

[Jaylynne]

I was taught proper gun safety and respect when I was young. I can properly dismantle, clean and assemble a handgun. Guns aren't what we should fear, it's the ignorance and lack of respect with those who choose to use them. Good on the 12 yr old for defending herself.

 

[fantastica]

Ughh...I'm so torn with this one. I mean, it's great that she had the means to be able to defend herself in this situation. But I still just cannot agree with the right to own a gun..the fact that so many people must just carry guns on the streets in the US scares me...things could so easily escalate and they could (and often are) be used in the wrong circumstance. At the same time..if someone was breaking into my home and posed as a risk to my son, then I would use whatever I could to defend him, but I wouldn't be protected by the law to do so.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Ughh...I'm so torn with this one. I mean, it's great that she had the means to be able to defend herself in this situation. But I still just cannot agree with the right to own a gun..the fact that so many people must just carry guns on the streets in the US scares me...things could so easily escalate and they could (and often are) be used in the wrong circumstance. At the same time..if someone was breaking into my home and posed as a risk to my son, then I would use whatever I could to defend him, but I wouldn't be protected by the law to do so.

There are firm laws in place about the right to carry a concealed weapon. Typically, the permits are VERY hard to obtain and you go through a series of background checks. To carry a fiream without a permit is a felony

 

[fantastica]

Ughh...I'm so torn with this one. I mean, it's great that she had the means to be able to defend herself in this situation. But I still just cannot agree with the right to own a gun..the fact that so many people must just carry guns on the streets in the US scares me...things could so easily escalate and they could (and often are) be used in the wrong circumstance. At the same time..if someone was breaking into my home and posed as a risk to my son, then I would use whatever I could to defend him, but I wouldn't be protected by the law to do so.

There are firm laws in place about the right to carry a concealed weapon. Typically, the permits are VERY hard to obtain and you go through a series of background checks. To carry a fiream without a permit is a felony

I had always wondered about this, i'm glad there are pretty strict guidelines in place...but even if someone has never committed a crime or anything before, it doesn't mean that a drunken argument or something couldn't easily get out of hand if someone is carrying a gun.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Ughh...I'm so torn with this one. I mean, it's great that she had the means to be able to defend herself in this situation. But I still just cannot agree with the right to own a gun..the fact that so many people must just carry guns on the streets in the US scares me...things could so easily escalate and they could (and often are) be used in the wrong circumstance. At the same time..if someone was breaking into my home and posed as a risk to my son, then I would use whatever I could to defend him, but I wouldn't be protected by the law to do so.

There are firm laws in place about the right to carry a concealed weapon. Typically, the permits are VERY hard to obtain and you go through a series of background checks. To carry a fiream without a permit is a felony

I had always wondered about this, i'm glad there are pretty strict guidelines in place...but even if someone has never committed a crime or anything before, it doesn't mean that a drunken argument or something couldn't easily get out of hand if someone is carrying a gun.

Mmmm, you'd be surprised actually. I'm thinking back on all the case studies I did during my criminology classes and I actually can't think of any. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, I'm sure, but it's rare. People think Americans are all gun happy. It's not the case at all

 

[fantastica]

Think it just depends what mood i'm in...most of the time I am very against it, but at other times I feel like people should have the right to keep themselves safe..I guess it's just quite a fine line..I mean..if someone who is really really desperate breaks into a home, with no intention to do harm, do they really deserve to die because of it?

I'm sure most Americans aren't shooting their guns at everyone all the time haha, for most people it probably takes quite a lot to actually fire the shot. You'd almost think it would reduce crime in a way, thinking that everyone could possibly own a gun would make a lot of people think twice about doing some things! But I guess...thinking everyone could have a gun, could in turn make more people likely to use theirs.

Interesting that there hasn't been any (or not many) cases of people using them if something just gets out of hand, you'd think it would!

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Most people that own firearms use them for sport (hunting, target shooting, skeet shooting). My dad's guns are all locked away in safes. He wouldn't have time to get one if the house was broken into. He has a maglight flashlight that packs a wollup for that!

 

[BabyJayne]

This story does absolutely nothing to sway my anti-gun stance.

And you cannot claim that it rarely happens that an argument gets out of hand and a gun is used because you did some case studies in a criminology class! That's an outrageous claim.

I can tell you of two cases in my small Welsh town where young boys have lost their lives by a pellet gun accidentally going off. That's right - a pellet gun. So to say it doesn't happen, or rarely does, with absolutely no evidence is very misleading.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Guess you don't want to hear that my son already has a rifle and I'm planning on teaching him to shoot at age five

 

[BabyJayne]

Guess you don't want to hear that my son already has a rifle and I'm planning on teaching him to shoot at age five

To be honest, I don't really care - it's just not something I ever want for my children.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I suppose as an American, I have more experience with guns than people in the UK.

Poor gun safety causes accidents to happen. If that girl hadn't defended herself, what do you think would have happened?

 

[BabyJayne]

I suppose as an American, I have more experience with guns than people in the UK.

Poor gun safety causes accidents to happen. If that girl hadn't defended herself, what do you think would have happened?

We will never know. I won't base my belief on guns on what might have happened to a 12-year-old hiding in a cupboard. We all know there is a lot more to the gun debate than that.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

That's not really what this was about though. It was about a 12 year old defending herself with a firearm. I wonder if I should start a gun debate and take bets on how quickly it would go downhill

 

[BabyJayne]

A child using a gun story in news and debates - I'm guessing the gun debate will start here!

 

[xemmax]

I'm glad she defended herself but moreso I'm horrified that a child had access to a weapon in this case perhaps it was the lesser of two evils, but that terrfies me.

Guns might protect you but keeping weapons for protection encourages criminals to use weapons too. It's just like the debates here in the UK about how acceptable it is to attack a burglar... surely if we were all allowed to shoot people that enter our home, those entering our home would make sure they were sufficiently armed to retaliate?

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Well, I've heard in the UK that if an intruder breaks into your home and, say, slips on the floor and breaks his arm, he can sue the homeowner and win! In the US, if someone breaks into your home and you defend yourself, you don't get charged.