5-year-old shoots his 2-year-old sister

[Words]

A gun fired by accident doesn't really surprise me. It's something that happens often, everywhere and to people of all ages. Accidents are accidents.
People being stupid doesn't surprise me that much either. They're everywhere too.
The only thing that baffles me is the fact that there's a company who produces/sells guns to children. The whole "they come in colors kid like" just makes me sick. It's just insane and unjustifiable.

[Curtiss]

A gun fired by accident doesn't really surprise me. It's something that happens often, everywhere and to people of all ages. Accidents are accidents.
People being stupid doesn't surprise me that much either. They're everywhere too.
The only thing that baffles me is the fact that there's a company who produces/sells guns to children. The whole "they come in colors kid like" just makes me sick. It's just insane and unjustifiable.

I could not agree more on the last part. When I read the article I kept looking for a line saying that it was a toy gun but no, this was somehow a loaded gun that could kill, only it was supposedly 'child safe'. Let's get real, there's only three kinds of guns that are child safe: Toy guns, unloaded guns and guns that are supervised all the time.

The tragedy in this article is deplorable in so many ways but it's made so much so when one considers that Kinder Joy eggs are banned in case some kid eats the contents, some students have been suspended for bringing in cutlery so they can eat and there was a kid once who nearly got into trouble making a patriotic display that guess what, had mini guns on it. Forget the raging arguments about gun control: Where's the common sense and due judgement in these issues?

Placing kids in a bubble won't keep them safe forever, neither does giving them something they're not ready for make them more independent. Laws and rules cannot ever substitute for a good education and life lessons.

[DeanNim]

Teen pregancy is a different problem. There are still schools in this country that teach abstinence as the only method of birth control.

wha-

i live in a ((super)) conservative country but all our sex talks heavily emphasize on the use of contraceptions...

[CrazyForDex]

wha-

i live in a ((super)) conservative country but all our sex talks heavily emphasize on the use of contraceptions...

This just happened less than a month ago:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/04...-presentation/

[hadriel]

wha-

i live in a ((super)) conservative country but all our sex talks heavily emphasize on the use of contraceptions...

My school leaned on abstinence more than contraceptions. Different schools, I guess.

Hadriel

[DeanNim]

This just happened less than a month ago:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/04...-presentation/

“Sex could damage you for the rest of your life.” Sex also could lead to “scarred fallopian tubes and cancer . . . and you need to ask Jesus for forgiveness.”

really ?

Sex talks here happen when we're around 14 to15 years old and the speakers would usually advocate abstinence, but under the cover up of "wait until you're mature enough to think" and then go on about how important contraception is. Scaring people into not having sex is just stupid >_>

sorry for digressing, but yeah..

[Polantaris]

-Facepalms- Really? Kentucky is an amazing place to visit. If you're really basing this off of one person and their opinionated comment then I've pretty much lost any respect for you. And there was a lot of it. (Unless this is purely sarcasm).

It was sarcasm. I do that a lot, I figured people knew that by now.

[Derosis]

It was sarcasm. I do that a lot, I figured people knew that by now.

I knew you were sarcastic, but due to the nature of the thread I really couldn't tell.

[CrazyForDex]

I found this interesting and relevant:

NPR

[Curtiss]

Well, here's my thoughts after reading the article:

I don't deny that responsible gun training can begin at a young age, nor would I say gun companies have no right to advertise at all. But to argue that gun companies should be able to market rifles to kids at a young age just because cigarettes and fast food do is not a valid argument seeing that one accident with a gun is all it takes to get someone killed while the other two can usually be moderated. The major problem with companies advertising to children in this way is that the parents are the one buying the goods and if they're not ready or capable of taking care of these things, the kids surely aren't either.

Like I said before:

"Many people who have firearms familiarize their kids with firearms early on, because they want them to know that this is not something to be trifled with," says Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, a gun rights advocacy group.

If you have a firearm you can show your child how to shoot and how to clean a gun, but that doesn't mean you give your child a gun as a graduation gift. At most, let them handle the gun while you watch for a few sessions at a time until they're grown up, then they can make their own decisions about owning a firearm since a gun is not a toy and it should never be marketed as such.

Then there's this:

"Decisions around guns should be looked at as an issue of parental responsibility," Gross says. "We think it's up to parents to make sure they're fully educated about the risks of guns around the home."

Yes, exactly. Parents and not the government need to have the final say in their household about whether it's safe for them to keep a gun in the house and I'm mostly saying this since the US has an absurd trend of slapping unnecessary laws in an attempt to regulate how people think. Except you can't predict a child's behaviour nor can you underestimate their cunning: Bottom line, if you can't keep your gun perfectly safe, keep it out of your house and if you can put up with your kids whining when you refuse to buy chocolate just because they saw it in an ad, you can choose to not give your kid a first rifle until they're well and ready.

[Derosis]

@Curtiss; Along with what you said in your final statement. They sell safes and closets for rifles, yet most people don't take the time or responsibility to get one. It is important to have one if you own a firearm of any kind. For the safety of yourself and others. And keep the safety on when inside or not currently using the weapon as well.

[Curtiss]

@Curtiss; Along with what you said in your final statement. They sell safes and closets for rifles, yet most people don't take the time or responsibility to get one. It is important to have one if you own a firearm of any kind. For the safety of yourself and others. And keep the safety on when inside or not currently using the weapon as well.

And these are the types of people who should not be having a gun if they have children. It constantly baffles me that people don't employ common sense measures to safeguard themselves and then insist that they need guns because strangers might come and shoot them, since they could endanger themselves a lot sooner by not managing their guns properly (See: Cleaning guns when not fully focused, kid-related gun accidents).

Then again there's lots of people who argue that they don't need safety belts because it's just a short trip and they're not getting into accidents. Sure, that works fine until you get into one, much like how leaving guns unattended is fine until an innocent life pays for it.

[Derosis]

And these are the types of people who should not be having a gun if they have children. It constantly baffles me that people don't employ common sense measures to safeguard themselves and then insist that they need guns because strangers might come and shoot them, since they could endanger themselves a lot sooner by not managing their guns properly (See: Cleaning guns when not fully focused, kid-related gun accidents).

Then again there's lots of people who argue that they don't need safety belts because it's just a short trip and they're not getting into accidents. Sure, that works fine until you get into one, much like how leaving guns unattended is fine until an innocent life pays for it.

Exactly, most people I know where I live use guns responsibly, buy safes and closets to put their weapons in and lock them and do not let their children into them at any time. Even if the child owns the rifle of their own. (For hunting reasons of course is why the child would own it. But most people that hunt with kids they're 6/7 years old and start to hunt at that age. I did as well, just didn't enjoy it as much).

[Curtiss]

Exactly, most people I know where I live use guns responsibly, buy safes and closets to put their weapons in and lock them and do not let their children into them at any time. Even if the child owns the rifle of their own. (For hunting reasons of course is why the child would own it. But most people that hunt with kids they're 6/7 years old and start to hunt at that age. I did as well, just didn't enjoy it as much).

Precisely, accidents happen during hunting trips sometimes but one can avoid being accidentally shot at in the house if proper gun care is practised. In particular I'm sure a lot of hunting families are more careful with their guns than normal families since their parents taught them well so these things are always a matter of how far one's willing to go to be careful around dangerous objects that are rendered harmless if used properly.

It's just like cooking recipes for children: You hand them a knife, you watch them as they use it or maybe you teach them first by showing them before you keep the knife away.

[Kabanaw]

So, in a perfect world, would it be wrong for the government to put a regulation in that when you buy your first firearm you must also buy a safe to go with it? I don't think guns should be banned, but they should be much more heavily regulated. Guns are not toys. They are not for fun. They are for killing, and nearly nothing but.

There is a reason why the united states has such a high gun death rate. Is it because guns are so damn easy to get in this country? Maybe not, but it sure as hell doesn't help.

[Flonne]

-Facepalms- Really? Kentucky is an amazing place to visit. If you're really basing this off of one person and their opinionated comment then I've pretty much lost any respect for you. And there was a lot of it. (Unless this is purely sarcasm).

I live in Kentucky, in the civilized part to boot, and I still disagreed wholeheartedly. This is a terrible place to live and to visit both. All we are good at is bourbon and caves. CAVES. One of the worst places in the country for allergies and ozone alerts, too. Have I ever told you guys the story of the naked redneck with a shotgun screaming for his pig at like 6AM? Because that happened. We were going down south to visit a lake (Cumberland, if I recall, but if could have been Dale Hollow), going down a back road that was barely gravel where you had to pull over to the side to let people pass you, and this really old, really naked guy with a gun walks past, waves the gun and asks my dad to roll the window down; he obviously doesn't, so the guy just yells, "HAVE YOU SEEN A PIG WANDERING AROUND?" and then just walks off when we all shake our heads.

And that was in a dry county. In ones where you are allowed to drink in public, I've seen worse; 80-90 year old women flashing breasts on party houseboats being probably the worst of it.

[ShadeCaro]

If people are so concerned about child safety, take them to a self defense class or something. Not give them a gun when their brain isn't even like, 40% developed.

[Sardines]

"Oh where have I seen this type of marketing strategy to youths before?"

"Hahaha oh right. Imagine if there was a 'My Little Rifle' xD"

[IllegallySane]

That made me laugh more than it should have.

[Curtiss]

After seeing Sardines' post, I went into full denial mode and went to search for this supposed website selling My Little Pony firearms, thinking to myself that if MLP works they'd surely also have Barbie and Hello Kitty rifles to match. Sure enough:



The world should note the hand-crocheted shoulder-stock muffler and the anodized titanium plating. This fully functional firearm fires standard 7.62mm 125 or 150 grain ammunition with a muzzle velocity of approximately 710 meters per second and a maximum effective range of approximately 300 meters. Several choices in stock wood are available. With a limited run of only 500, buy now before they're gone! A mere $100 extra includes Glambo's signature wood-burnt into the opposite side of the handguard. A perfect gift for the young lady of the house.
A bargain at only $1072.95!



I feel so outdated now, I've never even handled anything above a water gun my whole life.