Who in their right mind would let an 8 year old fire an uzi!?!?

[DomainsInc]

It's just like most hobbies out there -- there may not be a practical use for something, but if someone enjoys doing it, then why not do it (as long as you're not breaking the law or stepping over other's rights). Hell, what's practical about flying model aircrafts... Nothing... but it's fun and enjoyable, so people do it.

Some people would say that me having over 700hp in the car I drive to work is impractical, but does that mean I shouldn't have it? :?: I take it to the track on the weekends and have a blast with it and I'd hate for someone to make a law that didn't allow me to enjoy all that power.

With both shooting guns and racing cars, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.... and with both, doing it the wrong way can become very deadly.

Fair enough analogy though personally I don't find them comparable. If I enjoy blowing things up with my rocket launcher, why shouldn't I be able to have one?

 

[nameadvertising.com]

We are supposed to be a civilized society. At least there is a claim to it. Considering the sheer number of killings and deaths (mostly unjustified) by way of guns, I have no reason to believe that the United States is a civilized society.

Just so one says, "You are welcome" after each "Thank You" and Hold the door for the next person in itself does not make a society "Civilized". If a nation cannot value "life", how dare they claim to be civilized. It has very little to do with government. It has very little to do with the 2nd amendment. It has everything to do with personal responsibility.

A country that boasts (whether rightly so or not) superiority over others in perhaps every way appears to be very poor in exercising social responsibility. All one needs to do is read the newspapers across the country.

The sheer number of crimes and social ills that occur every day across the nation is testament to the depths of despair only a 3rd world nation is being accustomed to.

There is no 2nd amendment in the nation of Bhutan, yet they have minimum crime and grizzly deaths and tragic events that are inflicted upon our citizens everyday by actions that are at best uncivil.

How dare we call ourselves civilized? On what grounds! Sadly, we are blind to our own moral and social deficiencies.

Just to add - I pray for that little kid. No one deserves to die like that.

 

[draggar]

Nonsense, Why is it everytime a tragedy happens, (some people) point the finger to Government not doing enough?. We want Government OUT of our lives, not IN our lives.. I trust the shooting ranges I used to go to, Most of them will read this story and toughen their own rules for Children, They know how to do it better than Government pinheads do.

I agree (with the edited part). The real issue is that parents don't teach their kids the right things or responsibility and if things go wrong, people are very quick to blame others. You can make all the laws you want and it will only restrict the people who want to do things the right way, which leads to:

Haven't been the ghetto have you?

I live in a ghetto and I agree. People have no respect and have no accountability for their actions. It's the school's fault. it's society's fault. It's the government's fault. It's this music's fault. It's that video game's fault. Bull. It's their own fault and their parent's fault for not teaching them accountable and responsible.

We need laws so (some people) don't let their kids shoot an automatic rifle into a crowd of people.

Again, I put most of the blame on the parents for letting the kid shoot the gun and not teaching him how to properly use it.

I have a co-worker that has a .50 cal Barrett sniper rifle that he uses for "home defense". :lol:

I have a protection trained malinois and a protection trained German shepehrd plus a collie and a Finnish Spitz, both of which make excellent alarm dogs.

We already have enough laws. Its time to put the blame where it rightly belongs, the parents. Parents should be held responsible for actions of their children. Somewhere along the line parental responsibility went out the window in this country.

Agreed. Laws only punish those who want to do things right. Most gun crimes involve illegally owned guns anyway to laws will do little to help the situation. If parents are going to let their children use guns then the children need to be taught from day one that GUNS ARE NOT TOYS. Look at how my wife and her siblings were treated around their home - they weren't even allowed to have water guns. They were taught to respect guns, how to care for them, how to take them apart, how to clean them, etc. I'm willing to bet my 21 year old sister in law is better with a gun than most people (not including military and law enforcement) in the US (she is one heck of a shot, too).

 

[DomainsInc]

I agree (with the edited part). The real issue is that parents don't teach their kids the right things or responsibility and if things go wrong, people are very quick to blame others. You can make all the laws you want and it will only restrict the people who want to do things the right way, which leads to:

To assume that parents are the only influence on a kid is pure ignorance. You can teach a kid all the right things but there are so many other factors that play a part in nearly every decision made.

 

[thevirtual]

We already have enough laws. Its time to put the blame where it rightly belongs, the parents. Parents should be held responsible for actions of their children. Somewhere along the line parental responsibility went out the window in this country.

Are you kidding? There is a reason we have laws in this country.

 

[draggar]

To assume that parents are the only influence on a kid is pure ignorance. You can teach a kid all the right things but there are so many other factors that play a part in nearly every decision made.

While I can agree with that the largest influence in a child's life and development is their parents.

Also, the child in the incident had his father behind him while he was firing it:

The boy's father and older brother were also there at the time, a gun club member and school official said. Francis Mitchell, a longtime member and trustee of the club, said he was told the boy's father was supporting his son from behind when the shooting happened.

Highly irresponsible on part of the parent and now he's paid a huge price.

 

[thevirtual]

Again, I put most of the blame on the parents for letting the kid shoot the gun and not teaching him how to properly use it.

Remember, the kid did know how to shoot the gun but was not physically capable of controlling it. You can teach a kid to drive a truck but that doesn't make them capable of driving a truck.

 

[DomainsInc]

While I can agree with that the largest influence in a child's life and development is their parents.

Also, the child in the incident had his father behind him while he was firing it:



Highly irresponsible on part of the parent and now he's paid a huge price.

In this case yes but the post I quoted you were speaking in general terms. There are many good kids who do many bad things and to say its the parents fault 100% of the time is just an easy answer to a difficult question.

 

[HarveyJ]

People may be what kill other people... But do I need to point out that guns are specifically designed to kill?That's just as backward as me saying I should be able to wander about with a saber in broad daylight, because swords don't kill people.
It's a weapon. It has one purpose and that single purpose can be carried out in aggression or defence, but it's still carried out.
Restriction of use to those that are qualified for such use is logical.

bd77: So you're against a law that would make it illegal for anyone under the age of say 12 for example, to hold or trigger a firearm?
Why?
I would posit that at that age, there is little control over anything with a high calibre, and certainly less ability to make a rational judgment, which would make the use of a firearm substantially more dangerous for the child and those around them, in ANY situation.
There's certainly no logical reason that a kid that's not even 10 should be allowed to handle an assault weapon.

Now, I'm predicting that you're going to throw up a hypothetical involving a break in to defend this point, so I've pre-prepared some counter arguments:
The kid can go and get the gun to defend the house: If you're storing your gun correctly, there is no way a kid this young should be able to get access to the gun in a time of crisis like this. If they can get it that quickly, they can get it out to show their friends and play a round of Pop Goes the Weasel with each other
The kid can scare off an intruder by pointing the gun at them: I'd say quite the reverse. Any one that's a hardened criminal would have about as much moral complication shooting your kid as they would you, your wife or your dog. I'd say you're actually making it MORE likely for you and your family members to wind up dead or seriously injured.
Children need to be taught gun safety at an early age: No, they don't. You're not allowed to handle a gun down under until you're 18, or 16 if you live in a rural area that has a certified pest problem. I have no safety issues with my firearm due to a late start in life, and I'm still a fairly crack shot with it.

 

[Focus]

Maybe it was an insurance job...you never know

 

[Raider]

We need laws so people like YOU don't let their kids shoot an automatic rifle into a crowd of people.

You don't even know me and yet you post something this ignorant.... Amazing. Here you refer to the Gun that was used as a "Automatic rifle" :?: Again, you come off as ignorant, Fact is; It was a Semi-Automatic, which means the gun will only fire one shot each time you pull the trigger, Automatically loading the next round in the chamber.

I never shot one, but I know a little about them and even held one once... I shoot mostly Automatic Pistols, I must of shot over 50,000 rounds of .38 super in practice and in competitions with my husband many years ago, We participated in both the USPSA and Bianchi cup championships, We have a lot of Guns, competition pistols mostly that have been locked in a gun safe for many years, We plan on taking them out when our Children are old enough and responsible enough to shoot, Don't know when that will be but we'll know when the time is right.

Children were never allowed to shoot in competitions or at the ranges we went to, The professional shooters wouldn't go near there if children were allowed.... Not all gun clubs are the same, each has their own type of shooting and their own rules. The parents of this boy chose to participate at a shooting club that allowed assault weapons, They both share in the blame for this childs death.

It's a very unfortunate accident and I feel horrible for the parents, family and friends of the boy, Losing your own child is devastating for any parent.

 

[Theo]

"Adult supervision" does not cut it. Do you understand now why legislators are eager to ban access to guns or to regulate them? Because it takes one stupid parent "supervising" their child to have an incident such as this. So I hope that for the sake of all stupid parents out there they enforce a law banning weapon access to children COMPLETELY and make it a punishable offense to give minors access to weapons carrying live ammunition. This way, weapons stay in the hands of adults who are (allegedly) mature emotionally and physically.

 

[Raider]

"Adult supervision" does not cut it. Do you understand now why legislators are eager to ban access to guns or to regulate them? Because it takes one stupid parent "supervising" their child to have an incident such as this. So I hope that for the sake of all stupid parents out there they enforce a law banning weapon access to children COMPLETELY and make it a punishable offense to give minors access to weapons carrying live ammunition. This way, weapons stay in the hands of adults who are (allegedly) mature emotionally and physically.

I doubt minors can purchase ammunition in the first place.... As for passing laws to restrict guns from minors... When you do this, you strip the rights away from individuals who are responsible and who are able to handle a gun.

 

[Theo]

I didn't say they'd have to buy the ammo. This kid was handed a fully loaded weapon, a cutting edge one I might add, at the age of 8. How much trust do you put into your 8 year old to ride his bike on the interstate "under your supervision"? Again, I didn't say strip the rights from the adults; but a) prohibit weapons to be used and handled by children and b) hold adults responsible if they do. No parent should toy around with their child's life.

 

[GAMEFINEST]

Whatever happen to " CRAZY " ?


Can't be crazy nomore?

 

[Raider]

I didn't say they'd have to buy the ammo. This kid was handed a fully loaded weapon, a cutting edge one I might add, at the age of 8. How much trust do you put into your 8 year old to ride his bike on the interstate "under your supervision"? Again, I didn't say strip the rights from the adults; but a) prohibit weapons to be used and handled by children and b) hold adults responsible if they do. No parent should toy around with their child's life.

I would never ride my bike on the interstate in the first place :no:.... Let me correct one word in my post;

I doubt minors can purchase ammunition in the first place.... As for passing laws to restrict guns from minors... When you do this, you strip the rights away from minors who are responsible and who are able to handle a gun.

I dont want that right taken away from me as a Parent, When we think our Son is ready to shoot a gun, that's when well show him, Not when the Government tells us we can..... I understand your point about irresponsible parents, but in this case it was the shooting club who was irresponsible for allowing a minor to shoot a gun he couldn't handle.

 

[jsu1995]

Who in their right mind would let an 8 year old fire an uzi!?!?

Maybe this guy...?

beararms.info

 

[sashas]

I'll be sure to gift my toddler a rocket launcher on his first birthday once he is born.

After all, what makes us better human beings than early training in the use of massively damaging guns?

F**k values. Bring on the guns.