Giving a gun to a 9-year old is like playing Russian Roulette

[gyroscope]

at that age such a young child can hardly grasp the concept of death. they could easily point the thing and shoot it at you in a playful manner because they think its like a toy or something not understanding what a real gun does to people. or even just by mistake pulling the trigger because their eye-hand coordination isn't so great. and it wouldn't be their fault. these are just so common sense things you don't even have to think about it. I would never put a gun in the hands of my own kid, who I know very well, much less that of a stranger's child who I don't know at all. when you put a gun in the hands of a very young child you can't predict what will happen.

this was a guy who worked with strange kids everyday at the gun range, playing Russian Roulette with his life every day, kids who likely have never fired a weapon before in their life. and here he is letting 8 and 9 year old kids handle and fire fully automatic weapons after just 1 or 2 minutes of instruction. they don't even let new recruits in the army fire automatic weapons until after weeks or months of basic training. hard to wrap your head around such unfathomable, mind-boggling stupidity.

[riversedge]

1. a young pre-adolescent female

just does not have the physical strength to control guns--any gun at that stage. I doubt if boys at that age do either. IMHO

[hack89]

2. Nonsense - they can certainly control a .22 rifle or pistol

doesn't mean you should let them but a .22 has hardly any recoil. There are thousands of young kids shooting .22. I learned when I was 11 - the rifles did not demand adult strength.

The stupidity in this case is letting a kid shoot an automatic weapon - they are without doubt beyond the abilities of children.

[gyroscope]

4. I remember firing my first rifle

at 13 or 14. my dad took us to the mountains to shoot it.
it was a semi-auto and I believe was a .22.

the thing I remember most is how heavy it was. I had to lean it up on a fencepost which acted like a tripod, in order to shoot it. it was so loud when fired it sounded almost like a grenade going off everytime I pulled the trigger, with the tremendous echoing of the gunshot going through the mountains. so you know it had a lot of power and recoil. even though it was a semi-automatic you had to wait several seconds in between shots for the recoil to die down. it almost knocked me off my feet the first first few times I fired it. maybe there are weaker .22 rifles out there but going by my experience I can't imagine a 9 year old handling a weapon like that. why anyone would want to let a child that young shoot a gun, any gun is beyond me.

[hack89]

5. Millions of kids have learned to shoot at an early age

in many parts of the country, that first .22 under the Christmas tree at age 10 or 11 is a rite of passage that goes back many generations.

I learned at a young age, my kids learned at a young age. It is not a big deal.

[gyroscope]

6. In certain parts of the country

thats probably true.

[marions ghost]

13. In certain parts of the country

where killing animals still goes on. But no kid needs to hunt any more.

The real story is the paranoia in American society.

[hack89]

16. If America is getting more paranoid

Why has gun violence been steadily declining for 20 years? You would think more guns and more paranoia would produce more gun violence.

[marions ghost]

17. Sweet huh?

[hack89]

22. No - guns are not toys. nt

[beevul]

18. Which part of the country does "killing animals" not go on? N/T

[marions ghost]

19. the urban parts

where they already eliminated the animals and then name subdivisions after them--"Deer Run"", "Foxwood" etc
Duh (these people have to go elsewhere to kill).

Killing animals for sport is fun. Just recreation in Murka doncha know. Birds, small mammals, deer, elk, bear, coyotes--whatever else you can find that breathes. They don't matter. Feels so GOOD, yeah. We live, they die.

People killing--oh well, shithappens. Jeez, now how did little Bobby get a hold of mah gun? Put mah gun down, right now, sweetheart. Wait, not at your sister Bobby. Honey call 911. Bobby, you just lost your trip to Burgers and Bullets. That was not cool sweetheart.

[beevul]

20. I'm sure thats news to the people employed at urban slaughterhouses.

If they aren't killing animals in urban slaughterhouses, what are they doing?

Your attempt to move the goalposts, is noted.

[marions ghost]

21. Goalposts = slaughterhouses

----noted.

[msanthrope]

11. I shot a .22 at that age. nt

[KurtNYC]

7. A 9 year-old can understand death

We had a gun range at Y-camp. Dozens of kids every day firing "5 shots at will." We had to lay on our stomachs, pick up the gun (which is never pointed anywhere but forward), aim and fire, then put the gun back down on the mat in same position. Some of the larger guns had kick but they start you on BB guns and work up from there. There were no automatic weapons -- strictly single shot.

There are safe ways to teach kids about firearms. Just handing an Uzi to a 9YO and standing 60-degrees left of the barrel isn't one of them.

[gyroscope]

9. But that's after the fact

I'm sure the 9 year old girl in Arizona can more fully comprehend what death is now that she has killed someone. But before that, not so much.

[Brickbat]

8. Your idea of what 9-year-olds can handle doesn't really match reality.

While obviously an Uzi is not one of them, you seem off with the rest of them.

[gyroscope]

10. It's a states rights issue

if they want to kill themselves with these weapons, that's up to the voters of Arizona as well as every other state. imo should each have the right to determine the legal status of these weapons, setting age limits, etc.

[Jeneral2885]

12. they can use it in their view of self-defense

if they are bullied. But yes, no child or adult should hold a weapon without due logic.

[JEB]

14. I shot a .22 single shot at that age.

A wounded Jack Rabbit makes horrible sad crying sound that I will never forget.

[logosoco]

15. Kids get hurt with things that are designed for use by children! So I don't get the logic in

teaching kids to shoot a gun. Except maybe to hunt for food, but how many kids are actually doing that these days? Not very many. If this family was into real hunting, I don't think they would have approached in this manner. And certainly not with this type of weapon.

[Lurks Often]

23. Total nonsense

Some links of children shooting at competitive matches

Yes the instructor was negligent in this specific case, but applying the tragic results of this single incident to EVERY child is absurd.