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We take our son to the range. He learns safety, safety, safety every time. One step wrong and the range is shut down on him and he's done shooting. We don't allow him to shoot anything more than a .22 as we believe that is more than enough for his age. He has learned to respect guns and what they can do.
Poor judgement in this sad case was made by a lot of adults. An eight year old should not have been given a sub machine gun. From what I know this gun can be awkward to fire and is not direct aim. A child that young does not have the grip to fire a weapon of this caliber.
It's so sad and I truly feel for the family and their loss.
A child died and a family is greiving. Please keep this in mind.
An eight year old is allowed to hold a gun. Can he have sex and vote too? Can the eight year old go to Iraq and fire a gun? Can a eight year old African American fire a gun at a range and probably use it years later in the South Central?
An eight year old is allowed to hold a gun. Can he have sex and vote too? Can the eight year old go to Iraq and fire a gun? Can a eight year old African American fire a gun at a range and probably use it years later in the South Central?
What the are you talking about? Blacks and Columbians? Unbelievable. Any kid who wants to know how to use a gun by the time they are in high school doesn't need experience at the gun range to do it. I am sure there are more than enough places on the internet that will teach them.
My own child hasn't fired a gun but that is only because I don't have any guns and I don't shoot guns. If my father wanted to take him shooting, I would let him, as long as it was done in a responsible fashion.
Sorry about that, its just that we may speak the same language, but have different views on firearms - an expo would never be allowed here in the UK. As a consequence of our outlawing weapons we now have a knife problem.
What the are you talking about? Blacks and Columbians? Unbelievable. Any kid who wants to know how to use a gun by the time they are in high school doesn't need experience at the gun range to do it. I am sure there are more than enough places on the internet that will teach them.
My own child hasn't fired a gun but that is only because I don't have any guns and I don't shoot guns. If my father wanted to take him shooting, I would let him, as long as it was done in a responsible fashion.
Some of your statements are just bizarre.
Completely agree. Just bizarre!
The kid who has been taught PROPER gun safety and been given PROPER instruction will be a very safe gun owner one day. In many parts of the country boys and girls get their first shot guns and learn to become hunters from their fathers or grandfathers. These are never the kids who end up shooting up schools or becoming violent as teens.
Boy, 8, fatally shoots self with Uzi at gun show
WESTFIELD, Mass. (AP) — With an instructor watching, an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair aimed an Uzi at a pumpkin and pulled the trigger as his dad reached for a camera.
It was his first time shooting a fully automatic machine gun, and the recoil of the weapon was too much for him. He lost control and fatally shot himself in the head. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hl-VtQImXVuBfNXTpNMvOgFOxj2wD943CULO0
Bad Parenting?
I read that story the other day. There are so many things wrong with that scenario I don't even know where to begin.
8 yr old + Uzi + "Responsible" Adults = WTF???
1. The kid is 8! At best he should only have access to a BB gun or a single shot .22 rifle even with supervision. I grew up on farmland and even I think this is insane.
2. People can legally have a fully automatic weapon in their possession. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for anyone other than military or specially trained law enforcement to have a fully automatic weapon. Don't give me that 2nd Amendment crap. It's unreasonable.
3. Someone thought it was a brilliant idea to allow an 8 year old child to operate a deadly weapon at a gun show. Forget the fact that he shot himself...what if he shot someone else as well? His parents can only blame themselves for this.
I'm a believer in the right to bare arms but this is nuts.
Last edited by drjones96; 10-29-2008 at 09:17 AM..
Reason: clearification
(unless you are completely ignorant of the difference between stupid gun accidents and responsible gun ownership)
When it comes to ANYONE under the age of 16 they inherently cannot be responsible. This is why children have PARENTS who are supposed to protect them from dangers they do not understand. Children are Not responsiblle enough to have a gun nor are they responsible enough to drive a car which is why we have LAWS about that sort of thing. Perhaps this is the next step.
Be serious. If your kid can't be trusted to tell the truth about his grades, or where he is going, or if he brushed his teeth, why the hell would you think he could be responsible with a gun?
Children under the age of 16 should not have guns (handling them with adult supervision is one thing) because we don't consider them adults with the ability to make rational decisions.
When it comes to ANYONE under the age of 16 they inherently cannot be responsible. This is why children have PARENTS who are supposed to protect them from dangers they do not understand. Children are Not responsiblle enough to have a gun nor are they responsible enough to drive a car which is why we have LAWS about that sort of thing. Perhaps this is the next step.
Be serious. If your kid can't be trusted to tell the truth about his grades, or where he is going, or if he brushed his teeth, why the hell would you think he could be responsible with a gun?
Children under the age of 16 should not have guns (handling them with adult supervision is one thing) because we don't consider them adults with the ability to make rational decisions.
I got my first .22 when I was 11 yrs old. It had a trigger lock on it. The key to the lock was on my dad's key chain and the bullets remained in his possession. This meant that I could only fire the gun if he was there and allowed it. When I was 14 the lock came off because he believed I had earned the trust, had used the rifle responsibly, and was capable of operating it safely when he wasn't around. And I did. I was properly educated and had lots of practice using it safely.
I think the problem here is some folks just hand young kids a gun (even hand guns!) and expect them to be responsible with it with a minimal amount of education. Then they wonder why they end up shooting themselves in the head.
Also. I came from a rural community where nearly everyone hunted. The Missouri State Conservation agents came to our school every year to educate students on gun safety and consequences of improper use. It was no laughing matter and we took it seriously.
When it comes to ANYONE under the age of 16 they inherently cannot be responsible. This is why children have PARENTS who are supposed to protect them from dangers they do not understand. Children are Not responsiblle enough to have a gun nor are they responsible enough to drive a car which is why we have LAWS about that sort of thing. Perhaps this is the next step.
Be serious. If your kid can't be trusted to tell the truth about his grades, or where he is going, or if he brushed his teeth, why the hell would you think he could be responsible with a gun?
Children under the age of 16 should not have guns (handling them with adult supervision is one thing) because we don't consider them adults with the ability to make rational decisions.
That's a very broad generalization and not true of every single child! I find when you treat kids like babies they will in fact revert back to acting like babies.
Look, in the not too recent past we seemed to have a better grasp on the abilities of kids than we do now in this generation. Kids were expected to be participating members of their families so that the whole family ate or even survived. Some 8 year olds had to hunt or fish for their families to eat on a regular basis. Given proper instruction they handled this responsibility quite well. I for one find this current generation of 20-something year old BABIES to be quite frustrating and detrimental to American society. Kids are capable of A LOT more than we give them credit for. But if some of you continue to insist that all those under 16 are nothing but irresponsible then that is surely the behavior they will continue to exhibit.
What happened to this boy was a terrible tragedy. The parents probably were lulled into a false sense of security that it would be okay for the boy to shoot this gun since there were at a show on a shooting range with "experts". They have paid the ultimate price, beating them up now for it is just cruel.
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