Missouri gov. signs gun-safety course for first-graders

[iguanaman]

No thank you. While I strongly encourage all gun owners to get professional training, I do not wish to give the government another tool with which to abuse our rights.

Maybe your children can teach you what they learned in 1st grade then.

 

[Goshin]

Do you want unsafe idiots to be able to own guns?

Do you want children to be unsafe idiots about guns? Why oppose gun safety courses in school for everyone then?

 

[Goshin]

Maybe your children can teach you what they learned in 1st grade then.

Meaningless remark.

 

[iguanaman]

I don't care about your gosh-darn views on guns, letting parents opt out of gun safety is dangerous because it could affect anyone.

Gun safety is a misnomer for children anyway. Guns are never safe around young children no matter how much you train them. They are incapable of understanding the severity of the dangers and are legally safe from responsibility for them.

 

[jamesrage]

That is common sense not gun safety.

What common sense do little kids have if we have to tell them to look before crossing the street, don't do drugs, don't run with scissors, don't talk to strangers and many other things? Children are not known for having common sense. If they did have common sense then we wouldn't need to teach them these things.

 

[iguanaman]

What common sense do little kids have if we have to tell them to look before crossing the street, don't do drugs, don't run with scissors, don't talk to strangers and many other things? Children are not known for having common sense. If they did have common sense then we wouldn't need to teach them these things.

You can tell a child all day not to touch a gun if they come across it. But will you bet your life that they obey or even remember what you said?

 

[jamesrage]

I don't care about your god-damn your religious views,

In this country we have freedom of religion and many of us do not believe in letting the state control every aspect of our children's education.

letting parents opt-out of sex ed. doesn't work we need to teach kids sex ed. because it affects everyone.

In a country with over 310 million firearms firearms do or will eventually effect everyone.

 

[Goshin]

Gun safety is a misnomer for children anyway. Guns are never safe around young children no matter how much you train them. They are incapable of understanding the severity of the dangers and are legally safe from responsibility for them.

All the children I've taught marksmanship and gun safety argue otherwise.

Their lack of any accidental injuries or incidents also.

It is nothing unusual in this area for kids to hunt squirrels under adult supervision at age 6 or 7, and to take their first deer before they ever need to shave. :shrug:

 

[ttwtt78640]

Why are they touching a gun they find on the street, why are their guns not being stored, if you want to make a course out of it make it purely optional.

Why do you even care? This a Missouri state law, clearly not applicable in Canada. I suppose if someone really, really wants to keep their kids ignorant about gun safety, or objects to what taught in this course, then perhaps they can request that their child be separated from their classmates during any "gun safety" period. The kid will then likely get this information, second hand, from their classmates anyway - chill out.

 

[Goshin]

You can tell a child all day not to touch a gun if they come across it. But will you bet your life that they obey or even remember what you said?

Because that isn't how you make a child gun-safe. Not remotely.

 

[jamesrage]

You can tell a child all day not to touch a gun if they come across it. But will you bet your life that they obey or even remember what you said?

So the majority of kids are running out in the street before looking both ways, talking to strangers, running with scissors and many other things we tell them not to do?

 

[iguanaman]

So the majority of kids are running out in the street before looking both ways, talking to strangers, running with scissors and many other things we tell them not to do?

Please don't equate those things with a child who has found a gun. Not one of those things has nearly the danger of a loaded weapon in the hands of a child.

 

[BretJ]

Please don't equate those things with a child who has found a gun. Not one of those things has nearly the danger of a loaded weapon in the hands of a child.

All the more reason to teach them what to do if they somehow run across one.

Out of shear curiosity, do you even know what the curriculum is that people are so against??

Here you go:
http:// http://eddieeagle.nra.org/why-teach-the-eddie-eagle-program.aspx

For crying out loud. This is how irrationally fearful are of guns some people are. Seems any exposure to firearms is a horrific tragedy. Even teaching gun safety is a travesty. :roll:

 

[LaMidRighter]

Six is a little young for most kids to even understand and remember safety precautions. You get up to around 8, I feel it would be more worthwhile, and more likely to be remembered.

And voluntary only.

I disagree. I was learning firearms safety at five and shooting at six, many people I know started around that age as well.

 

[Carjosse]

All the more reason to teach them what to do if they somehow run across one.

Out of shear curiosity, do you even know what the curriculum is that people are so against??

Here you go:
http:// http://eddieeagle.nra.org/why-teach-the-eddie-eagle-program.aspx

For crying out loud. This is how irrationally fearful are of guns some people are. Seems any exposure to firearms is a horrific tragedy. Even teaching gun safety is a travesty. :roll:

Now look at what organization it is from.

 

[LaMidRighter]

Gun safety is a misnomer for children anyway. Guns are never safe around young children no matter how much you train them. They are incapable of understanding the severity of the dangers and are legally safe from responsibility for them.

Bull****, I learned gun safety at FIVE YEARS OLD, and was shooting actively and safely at six, rifles by age ten. I have never had an endangerment incident in my 34 years on this planet, and many kids even today are learning at that VERY AGE. Of course, you don't have a very good track record of adding substance to this issue, but you do have a lot of insults, guesses, and emotional nonsense on your resume.

 

[GottaGo]

I disagree. I was learning firearms safety at five and shooting at six, many people I know started around that age as well.

I was 8 when I was taught about guns and learned to shoot.

I guess it varies by child, but most 6 year olds I know can play video games above my comprehension, but can't remember what they were or weren't supposed to do in 10 minutes.

 

[LaMidRighter]

Please don't equate those things with a child who has found a gun. Not one of those things has nearly the danger of a loaded weapon in the hands of a child.

Wrong. Anything can be dangerous in the hands of a child if they aren't taught safety, and guess what, a child WILL have scissors in their hands at some point, they will encounter strangers, among other things, they MIGHT encounter a gun.

 

[LaMidRighter]

I was 8 when I was taught about guns and learned to shoot.

I guess it varies by child, but most 6 year olds I know can play video games above my comprehension, but can't remember what they were or weren't supposed to do in 10 minutes.

A lot of that isn't the child IMO but rather the adult. Children are still developing so it is our duty to gauge them and decide what their comprehension level is, how to teach the lessons, what tactics to take, etc.

My dad taught me, and he decided that I was ready at that age, of course if a child is not then it has to be put off for a later day. I don't think there is a standard age for readiness, but if they can focus young, which I have found with a lot of kids, then it's appropriate.

 

[Slyfox696]

if they can teach safe sex in school, by gosh they can teach gun safety.

Can we teach gun safety the way many people (and in my experiences, the pro-gun people) want sex ed to be taught?

"The only way to be safe around a gun is to never have one."


Now I can see the appeal to that line of thinking.

 

[Goshin]

Can we teach gun safety the way many people (and in my experiences, the pro-gun people) want sex ed to be taught?

"The only way to be safe around a gun is to never have one."


Now I can see the appeal to that line of thinking.

It would work about as well as that does... which is to say, not very.

 

[a351]

Certainly shouldn't be compulsory. Familiarity can breed responsibility and caution, but also complacency. Although some have done so and done so responsibly, associating children with firearms at such an early age isn't exactly the best idea I've heard lately.

 

[Dittohead not!]

If kids that young can be taught that, should they encounter a gun, they should first leave it alone, then tell an adult, perhaps a tragedy could be averted.

The same goes for bottles with mysterious substances, as well as any potentially dangerous items, including rattlesnakes. See a snake, not sure what kind it is, leave it alone and tell an adult. That's all a 6 year old needs to know.

 

[LaMidRighter]

If kids that young can be taught that, should they encounter a gun, they should first leave it alone, then tell an adult, perhaps a tragedy could be averted.

The same goes for bottles with mysterious substances, as well as any potentially dangerous items, including rattlesnakes. See a snake, not sure what kind it is, leave it alone and tell an adult. That's all a 6 year old needs to know.

First rule of thumb for anyone, if you aren't familiar with something leave it alone.

 

[Goshin]

If kids that young can be taught that, should they encounter a gun, they should first leave it alone, then tell an adult, perhaps a tragedy could be averted.

The same goes for bottles with mysterious substances, as well as any potentially dangerous items, including rattlesnakes. See a snake, not sure what kind it is, leave it alone and tell an adult. That's all a 6 year old needs to know.

I have to disagree slightly.

The BEST way to teach them is to make sure they understand, on a gut level, WHY guns, or mysterious bottles of unknown liquids, or rattlesnakes, are not a toy.

In the case of guns, removing the taboo mystique also removes the temptation to "play" with them when Daddy isn't watching.


The way I trained my son, and many other children, and advocate all gun owning parents do, is familiarization with safety training, demonstration of destructive power, and removing the mystique by allowing controlled access.

First, you SHOW them why guns are dangerous and must be taken seriously. This was my son's first lesson at age 3... I shot a 2 liter jug of water with a 12 gauge while he stood by and watched, then explained that the gun has no brain of its own and will do that to anything in front of it. It made an impression.

Next, the Three Rules of Gun Safety; finger off the trigger, assume all guns are loaded, never point at anything you dont' want to shoot. When my son gets married his wife will probably hear him mumbling the Three Rules in his sleep, that's how thoroughly I hammered those in.

If you hunt or take your kids hunting, they will get a clear and graphic view of why guns are dangerous.

To remove the mystique of taboo, you have to let them familiarize themselves with your firearms until they understand that these are powerful and dangerous tools that must be used only with care and under adult supervision, but that the allure of the taboo is removed because you will let them shoot under supervision anytime they want. Very soon, the taboo allure goes away.

I handle power tools much the same way.

My son is now 17. He first shot a gun at age 4. We have had zero incidents, zero accidents, zero injuries, in a house with many guns where we do a LOT of shooting and hunting and etc.