Should children be taught the proper use of firearms at an early age? (1 Viewer)

[George_Washington]

I think they should, actually.

There was a rather interesting episode recently of, "The Big Idea" with Donny Deutsch. He interviewed the conservative rocker, Ted Nugent, who debated the right to bear arms with him. Nugent was on with his wife.

Did anyone watch this episode?

Let me just say that I think Ted Nugent is an awesome guy and has great views. Nugent is a member of the NRA and is going to run for Governor of Michigan in the future. I would definitely vote for this guy. He's a confident conservative who presents very logical arguments (in my opinion). I can't stand Deutsch, he's way too liberal for my tastes.

One of the things they discussed was gun training for young kids. I think it's a great idea. Nugent argued the very logical point that:

a.) Guns are everywhere and are impossible to get rid of.

b.) Therefore, we should instruct young people on how to properly handle firearms so that if, for example, they see one at a friend's house, they won't accidently harm themselves.

Deustch went on to say he was against killing, "helpless" animals like deers for the basis of food. Well, Deustch is obviously quite an idiot. He's living in Manhatten, which some argue is the most fashion conscious city in the world, and he doesn't know that deer skin is used for other things besides food, such as shoes and other clothing products. With all his money, you mean to tell me he hasn't ever shopped on 5th avenue? What a moron. Anyway, I don't see the harm in hunting as long as you make an effort to kill the animal in as painless way as possible. I mean heck, what's wrong with killing animals anyway for food? Nothing, in my opinion. We can always breed more deer, supposing that they are facing extinction. I don't like to see animals suffer; in fact, I like animals. I have a pet and have owned pets in the past. But I just don't see the harm in hunting as long as we don't hunt extinct animals. I also don't see anything wrong with using animal skin for fashion, so long as the animal is put to sleep in a humane way and doesn't feel any pain.

 

[Kandahar]

If the kids live in a rural environment where they're going to be around guns being used for legitimate purposes, then yes, they absolutely should. But there's no reason to teach a ten-year-old Harlem child how to handle a gun. It's like saying "please join a gang."

 

[Scarecrow Akhbar]

They teach kids not to run with scissors, don't they?

Oh! Look! The NRA has just what's needed, here's Eddie Eagle!

http://www.nrahq.org/safety/eddie/

Eddie teaches kids to not touch firearms and to get an adult if they find one. What a quaint idea. Teaching kids intelligent things about firearms instead of the blind fear the ignorant liberals feel towards inanimate objects.

 

[bandaidwoman]

Yes, I plan to teach my daughter how to handle my rifle and pistol and shot gun by age six. ( My husband hunts and I like to practice target shooting.) I have a large enough property that I have my own gun range.

 

[Chris]

Teaching kids about guns and the proper way to handle them is probably a good idea in most cases. Naturally if something is treated as taboo it breeds curiosity and probably puts kids at greater risk of hurting themselves or others. Better to discuss gun safety upfront and honestly.

 

[Caine]

I disagree.

I think teaching kids at a young age would encourage them to play with guns.

Now teaching them at... say...13 or so is probably okay, because at this age I believe they are mature enough to know, remember, and respect the dangers of firearms.

 

[ptsdkid]

I disagree.

I think teaching kids at a young age would encourage them to play with guns.

Now teaching them at... say...13 or so is probably okay, because at this age I believe they are mature enough to know, remember, and respect the dangers of firearms.

People throw their infants into a swimming pool in teaching them the art of swimming. Perhaps you think a 3-month old isn't mature enough to learn how to swim. Your negativity toward this issue of firearm teaching, just reaffirms the notion that you're against private gun ownership in the first place; reinforcing the fact that liberals keep attacking our freedoms bit by bit and until they get congress to pass laws to limit our freedoms.

 

[tecoyah]

I disagree.

I think teaching kids at a young age would encourage them to play with guns.

Now teaching them at... say...13 or so is probably okay, because at this age I believe they are mature enough to know, remember, and respect the dangers of firearms.

Yeah....How dare you Caine, I mean come on....placing Bold around Young Age, just to force the Kid into his elbow jerk conclusions. You practically put a gun to his head, making him talk about chucking 3 yr. olds into pools. And the hidden agenda Obvious in your Wicked Liberal Mindset.....one would have to be blind not to read into your statement how much you wish to make gun ownership Illegal. The Patriot Act was made to protect Honest Americans from evil doers like you....which is why it adds so much to our freedoms......just as Congress meant it to.

 

[MSgt]

Should children be taught the proper use of firearms at an early age?

Hell yeah. How else are we to fend off the infidels that threaten our religion.:roll:

 

[bandaidwoman]

I disagree.

I think teaching kids at a young age would encourage them to play with guns.

Now teaching them at... say...13 or so is probably okay, because at this age I believe they are mature enough to know, remember, and respect the dangers of firearms.

Perhaps you got that age because 80& of accidental firearm injuries to young folks in that age group and lower? (and mostly in young boys).

Unfortunatley, I don't think there are any good studies to show that early gun education prevents injuries in children. So, I have no empirical data to say I am right and you are wrong.

However, we do know that there is a correletion between accidents and how guns are kept. For instance, I keep my pistols empty and seperate from its bullets and locked up with the rifles in a gun safe. I keep a shotgun out (have had near rape experience with home robbery when living in LA) on the top shelf in the closet with one bullet outside it and I can load quickly and chamber it when the need arrives. (Most of the time the sound of chambering the bullet should be enough to scare any intruders I think.) When I have teenage neices and nephews come to the house, I remove it from the closet shelf and lock it up in the gun safe.(since many shootings occur at the non family member homes too often.)

Most of the accidents I see in the emergency room are due to parents leaving loaded guns within reach or visiting a household with loaded guns withing reach. ( I left out domestic violence cause we are talking about kids handeling guns.) Remember, kids die being strangled by blind pulleys left hanging when blinds are pulled up, accidental poisoning if common household chemicals are not kept at a safe distance from toddlers etc. In other words, anything from blind pulleys to common household chemicals are potential deadly weapons for children and like guns need to be handelled appropriately.

I also think a 10 year old that experiences the recoil of a rifle or shotgun has more appreciation for its potential danger than a Doom video game shooting up monsters.

 

[MSgt]

I think we should give babies 9 mils as rattles. Unloaded, of course,....what do you take me for?

 

[JustMyPOV]

I'm actually for teaching kids at a young age about gun-safety. We inundate our kids with education about things that can potentially do them harm, and I think it would be beneficial if firearms were a part of that education.

Would you neglect to teach your children not to get into a car with a stranger because you think it would encourage them to get into cars with strangers? That argument against teaching kids to respect and use caution around firearms is really just that silly.

As far as the rural area vs. city argument, where do you think a kid is more likely to find a gun that's been tossed in a back alley, a rural area or a city? I'd feel a lot safer if that child who does find one tossed on the ground, were to go for a police officer or a parent. A young child with no education about firearms is likely to think it works like it does in the cartoons where you can open fire and nobody ever gets hit or killed.

Whether you're for or against gun-control, teaching children how to be safe with and respect firearms makes a lot of sense in a society where firearms are so commonplace.

 

[CoffeeSaint]

Perhaps I am unclear on my terminology: do kids need to know how to USE guns in order to be safe around them? Can kids be taught safe handling practices without USE -- as kids are taught not to touch the hot stove, without being taught how to cook on it? Because then I would support teaching it to children.
Children should respect guns. They should also hate guns. If you want to teach them one, teach them the other. Of course, the same should be said of adults, infants, and anything else that lives and breathes and thinks: respect guns, and hate them, too.

 

[Caine]

People throw their infants into a swimming pool in teaching them the art of swimming. Perhaps you think a 3-month old isn't mature enough to learn how to swim. Your negativity toward this issue of firearm teaching, just reaffirms the notion that you're against private gun ownership in the first place; reinforcing the fact that liberals keep attacking our freedoms bit by bit and until they get congress to pass laws to limit our freedoms.

thats funny, because... lets see...

A. I own a 9mm Pistol.
B. I bought a Pistol for my Wife, thus 2.
C. Im going to be a police officer.
D. I was in the military and didn't chicken out at the 'THOUGHT' of having to fight and get PTSD from it, I actually fought and remained mentally sound.
E. I own a Gun.
F. I own a Gun
G. I own a Gun.

So, shut yer trap and stop making ignorant blanket statement when you don't know me.

 

[26 X World Champs]

People throw their infants into a swimming pool in teaching them the art of swimming. Perhaps you think a 3-month old isn't mature enough to learn how to swim. Your negativity toward this issue of firearm teaching, just reaffirms the notion that you're against private gun ownership in the first place; reinforcing the fact that liberals keep attacking our freedoms bit by bit and until they get congress to pass laws to limit our freedoms.

Why must you make up posts that are not accurate? You took someone else's post that was PRO-GUN and using malignant language attacked an unknown boogey man that didn't write the stuff you're arguing against.

You seem to have an infinity to twist the words of others to support untruthful posts that you write. WHY?

 

[Scarecrow Akhbar]

Children should respect guns. They should also hate guns. If you want to teach them one, teach them the other. Of course, the same should be said of adults, infants, and anything else that lives and breathes and thinks: respect guns, and hate them, too.

They should be taught to hate?

I thinik it's a wonderful idea, but can you explain why should anyone hate a mindless inanimate object?

 

[earthworm]

It would not be a bad idea to have a man give a one hour "lesson" on this, without any guns..
But, I think this should be optional..
There are so many important things(nature,sciences, math, mechanics,physics,ENGLISH, music, art,geography, history, on and on) that I can see no time for this...

 

[dragonslayer]

I disagree.

I think teaching kids at a young age would encourage them to play with guns.

Now teaching them at... say...13 or so is probably okay, because at this age I believe they are mature enough to know, remember, and respect the dangers of firearms.

I agree with you, 13 or so would be better.

We need to have well armed population to be able to overthrow the Right Wing Dictatorship that is developing in Washington DC

 

[Chris]

What age do you guys thing would be appropriate to teach kids about gun use/safety, for those of you in favor of it?

 

[Caine]

What age do you guys thing would be appropriate to teach kids about gun use/safety, for those of you in favor of it?

13........The age of "becomming a man" for Jews :smile:

 

[robin]

a.) Guns are everywhere and are impossible to get rid of.

That's defeatist.

b.) Therefore, we should instruct young people on how to properly handle firearms so that if, for example, they see one at a friend's house, they won't accidently harm themselves.

Concern over any gun deaths is commendable. However most US gun deaths are not accidental. If you really care reducing about deaths from firearems, you'd support the idea of strict gun laws as we have in UK. The murder rate with firearems in Washington alone is more than in the entire UK.
Pro gun people in the US say they want freedom to own guns, so they can be free to protect themselves. But that also makes it easy for low life to be free to buy a gun to mug or burgle them at gun point.
So in effect, law abiding citizens are saying they want to be free to own guns, so they will be able to protect themselves from the stupid gun laws they asked for to permit them to own a gun in the 1st place !

 

[Tashah]

Age of instruction should perhaps take into account on the differing maturity levels of each child. In Israel, guns are almost everywhere and I myself own numerous weapons... sidearms, carbines, assault rifles, and shotguns. I have taught quite a few young people about gun safety and usage, and a perfect place for this is out in the Negev desert.

Hunting is not a big sport in Israel, but mandatory military conscription imbues a significant portion of the Israeli population (both male and female) with weapons-competence and weapons-respect.

I will say this. Despite the fact (or because of the fact) that almost all Israelis possess lethal weapons, violent crime using a weapon is almost unknown in Israel. No strong-arm robberies or muggings, bank robberies, sexual assaults, carjackings etc. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[The Real McCoy]

That's defeatist.

No, it's realist. You could ban guns entirely (a ridiculous notion) and there'd still be guns aplenty in the black market. Just look at illegal drugs, they're everywhere.

Concern over any gun deaths is commendable. However most US gun deaths are not accidental. If you really care reducing about deaths from firearems, you'd support the idea of strict gun laws as we have in UK. The murder rate with firearems in Washington alone is more than in the entire UK.

You can't draw that conclusion based solely on the UK's gun laws. Look at Switzerland or, as Tashah mentioned, Israel. The state of Florida is another good example of how reduced anti-gun laws directly resulted in a drop in all categories of violent crime.

Pro gun people in the US say they want freedom to own guns, so they can be free to protect themselves. But that also makes it easy for low life to be free to buy a gun to mug or burgle them at gun point.

A criminal/thug/low life would find it much more difficult to purchase a gun than a law abiding citizen would. If guns were banned, only criminals would have access to them. When you outlaw guns, you get outlaws with guns.

So in effect, law abiding citizens are saying they want to be free to own guns, so they will be able to protect themselves from the stupid gun laws they asked for to permit them to own a gun in the 1st place !

"Stupid gun laws?" You're referring to our Constitution. Guns are inanimate objects. Guns don't cause crime. Criminals are responsible for crime.

 

[Scarecrow Akhbar]

What age do you guys thing would be appropriate to teach kids about gun use/safety, for those of you in favor of it?

By some amazing miracle, I managed to teach two one-year olds that a stove was dangerous, did it without hurting them, and they've never gotten in trouble with a stove.

One year old is a good time to start teaching a child that a gun isn't for the, yet.

My first wife grew up in a gun shop. She never shot anyone, her brother never did, either.

 

[Scarecrow Akhbar]

That's defeatist.


Concern over any gun deaths is commendable. However most US gun deaths are not accidental. If you really care reducing about deaths from firearems, you'd support the idea of strict gun laws as we have in UK. The murder rate with firearems in Washington alone is more than in the entire UK.
Pro gun people in the US say they want freedom to own guns, so they can be free to protect themselves. But that also makes it easy for low life to be free to buy a gun to mug or burgle them at gun point.
So in effect, law abiding citizens are saying they want to be free to own guns, so they will be able to protect themselves from the stupid gun laws they asked for to permit them to own a gun in the 1st place !

Yeah, and Washington has the strictest gun laws in the country. Gun laws work wonders, don't they?

And our gun laws aren't "stupid", at least, specifically, the Second Amendment to the Constitution isn't. A lot of the laws written to violate that certainly are. Funny thing, the Second Amendment. The people that insisted it be included had just fought a long and bloody war against a tyrant and realized that the people's only protection from any new tyrant would be their ownership of weapons.

Forget the self-defence against crime arguments when discussing gun freedom, the purpose for private ownership of firearms rests in the defence of freedom.

You don't know what country that tyrant the US fought off was from, do you?