Should a Father teach a small child how to shoot a gun??

[RolandJP]

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/...d-Optional.php


ST. JOHNS, Arizona: By all accounts, he was a good boy. No problems in school. No disruptions in his religious education classes at St. Johns Catholic Church, where he was to mark his First Communion this year.

So the police and neighbors in the 8-year-old's small eastern Arizona community are at a loss to explain why he would have used a .22-caliber rifle to kill his father and another man at their home.

"That child, I don't think he knows what he did, and it was brutal," said the family priest, the Very Reverend John Paul Sauter.


On Friday, a judge ordered a psychological evaluation of the boy. Under Arizona law, charges can be filed against anyone 8 or older.

"He had no record of any kind, not even a disciplinary record at school," he said. "He has never been in trouble before."

Romero was from a family of avid hunters and wanted to make sure the boy wasn't afraid of guns and knew how to handle them, Sauter said. The boy's stepmother had suggested he have a BB gun, the priest said.

It is not unusual in a state like many around the West with liberal gun laws for children to learn early how to shoot small animals in the company of their fathers. But it might have been too much for an 8-year-old, Sauter said Saturday.

[StoneGold]

It's a good couple of weeks for eight year olds with guns.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...eath_of_child/

[EZMOHR]

The investigation now says the father and the friend were molesting the kid. So yeah.....anyway



To the real question. I have a job where I have weapons (and being a SWAT team member, I have a lot.) Guns, whether I like it or not, will be a part of my families life. I have 6 girls and 1 boy that need to know what guns can do. I have no problem showing my children how to shoot a gun, and how to handle one effectivly and extremely safe, so they do not decide to just grab one out of my safe, and learn on their own. And, I find if you take the mystery out of a gun for a youngster...they really aren't that interesting to them.

[Lord of Denial]

Yes it is to young for an 8 year old to learn to use a gun, they don't have the emotional restraint or ability to understand the responsibility and consequences that come along with a using a firearm.

[o1pickleboy]

The investigation now says the father and the friend were molesting the kid. So yeah.....anyway



To the real question. I have a job where I have weapons (and being a SWAT team member, I have a lot.) Guns, whether I like it or not, will be a part of my families life. I have 6 girls and 1 boy that need to know what guns can do. I have no problem showing my children how to shoot a gun, and how to handle one effectively and extremely safe, so they do not decide to just grab one out of my safe, and learn on their own. And, I find if you take the mystery out of a gun for a youngster...they really aren't that interesting to them.

Just to add to this. As a child who learn about guns at a young age. The education about responsibility with a gun and that it isn't toy and what exactly are the uses for a gun. For me guns were mainly about hunting, but I always was reminded of deadly they were. That education I think is key why us in rural community live closer with guns, but don't have the accidents that urban and suburban communities do.

[EZMOHR]

Just to add to this. As a child who learn about guns at a young age. The education about responsibility with a gun and that it isn't toy and what exactly are the uses for a gun. For me guns were mainly about hunting, but I always was reminded of deadly they were. That education I think is key why us in rural community live closer with guns, but don't have the accidents that urban and suburban communities do.

Boom...EDUCATION. Like I said, I'm on the SWAT team, and I've taught all my kids old enough the dangers and responsibilities of a gun. Not just me, I've taken them to hunting courses, and have had the range master at my department show them too. EDUCATION is the key to guns. Most people say, "guns are bad," and that's it. I wish people would educate their kids on gun use.

But, this 8-year old story about kids and guns, the way the investigation is going now...is not about kids and guns. It's turning into a kid that was molested and then it gets dicey. Kids learning about guns, and this story, are apples and oranges.

[EZMOHR]

Yes it is to young for an 8 year old to learn to use a gun, they don't have the emotional restraint or ability to understand the responsibility and consequences that come along with a using a firearm.

Sorry, that is short changing 8 year olds. If you are 8 years old, and you are living around guns anyway...that is the age they NEED to be taught the dangers of a gun. It is just stupid not to educate a young child that is around guns.

[StoneGold]

The investigation now says the father and the friend were molesting the kid. So yeah.....anyway

Unless you've been reading something I haven't... all I've read is investigators looking into abuse, but no evidence of it. Unless CNN is covering something up from their article from less than an hour ago...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/10/...iref=hpmostpop

[EZMOHR]

Unless you've been reading something I haven't... all I've read is investigators looking into abuse, but no evidence of it. Unless CNN is covering something up from their article from less than an hour ago...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/10/...iref=hpmostpop

It's been on yahoo news all day yesterday and today. Sorry to CNN I guess. If it goes back to the kid just did for no reason, then that becomes an issue again. But still, if this is just some bad seed, would a gun in the house have really stopped what this kid was gonna do eventually...be it environmental or mental issues.

[Shellhead]

I feel that cars and guns are equally dangerous in the wrong hands. As a society, we have decided that kids shouldn't be allowed to drive until they are in their late teens, and they shouldn't drive alone until passing a test to demonstrate basic knowledge and proficiency. Why should guns be any different? And if guns are really different, what is an appropriate age for kids to start handling guns? Obviously infants should not be handling guns. What about toddlers? Kindergarten? First grade? What is a reasonable minimum age?

[EZMOHR]

I feel that cars and guns are equally dangerous in the wrong hands. As a society, we have decided that kids shouldn't be allowed to drive until they are in their late teens, and they shouldn't drive alone until passing a test to demonstrate basic knowledge and proficiency. Why should guns be any different? And if guns are really different, what is an appropriate age for kids to start handling guns? Obviously infants should not be handling guns. What about toddlers? Kindergarten? First grade? What is a reasonable minimum age?

I learned about guns before Kindergarten. It depends. If you aren't around them as a kid...and you won't be....why worry about them. If you are child that lives under the same roof as a gun....you aren't meeting your parental duties if you just hide it and hope the kids don't find it or want to know what it does. There is no set age really...just what is comfortable for the parent.

To be honest with you, no one should drive a car until their 21 in my opinion...but that is a different issue.

[o1pickleboy]

I feel that cars and guns are equally dangerous in the wrong hands. As a society, we have decided that kids shouldn't be allowed to drive until they are in their late teens, and they shouldn't drive alone until passing a test to demonstrate basic knowledge and proficiency. Why should guns be any different? And if guns are really different, what is an appropriate age for kids to start handling guns? Obviously infants should not be handling guns. What about toddlers? Kindergarten? First grade? What is a reasonable minimum age?

This goes to the age debate. Emotion maturity and age are mutually exclusive. I know many 8 year olds that are more responsible that many 16 year olds. As for shooting a gun, I think 8 even in the best case scenario is too young for a child to learn how to fire a gun and use it a regular basis, but they are never to young to learn about the dangers and responsibility of gun use.

[RolandJP]

Sorry, that is short changing 8 year olds. If you are 8 years old, and you are living around guns anyway...that is the age they NEED to be taught the dangers of a gun. It is just stupid not to educate a young child that is around guns.

I agree with you and I feel a child learns more from a knowledgeable gun owning parent. Especially if he or she has a good attitude towards other people--

Example: if a man who owns a gun comes home and says, " yeah these butt holes give me trouble today, they are lucky i didnt have my gun with me. That influences a child more than a thousand gun safety sermons. You are right children are smarter than we think. They learn how to act by watching what we do, not by what we say.

[Shellhead]

My dad had a .22 rifle in the house while I was growing up. He never showed me how to handle it, just told me to leave it alone. One time when I was 11, when my parents weren't around, I got the rifle out of the closet and showed it to my best friend. We didn't point it at each other or anything really stupid, and after looking at it, we put it back without disaster. A year later, my uncle took me out to the shooting range a couple of times, and taught me some basic gun safety. As I look back, it disappoints me that my dad didn't handle gun ownership more responsibly.

I suppose cars are different, in that most gun owners aren't getting their guns out and carrying them around every day, but most car owners are driving every day. And in the process of driving, they are encountering a lot of other drivers each day.

[Grazzt]

It's been on yahoo news all day yesterday and today. Sorry to CNN I guess.

Okay, I've been going over the Yahoo news site and the closest I can find is this:

"I'm not accusing anybody of anything at this point," he said Saturday. "But we're certainly going to look at the abuse part of this. He's 8 years old. He just doesn't decide one day that he's going to shoot his father and shoot his father's friend for no reason. Something led up to this."

Are you sure you aren't just mistaking this officer's supposition for fact?