I completely agree,what on earth were the parents thinking of.I am well used to firearms and there is case that give people resonsibility at a young age and they will respect the potential BUT how can a 9 yr old be expected to control a 9 mm on full auto in a pistol format,i.e not shoulder held ??.The laws in this country are ofcourse totally at odds in respect of both age and type of system allowed.Who video'd and posted the original video?,I am rather hopeing that it wasn't the parents. As previously said,what a terrible thing to have to live with as a 9 yr old.
If that is your attitude, I am very glad you did not get your hands on my kids when they were small. And I sincerely hope you are never in a position to get near any other children. Or is your post just a wind-up?
I wouldn't mind my sons having a go at shooting (aged 6 & 7), with the right weapon at the right time and in the right place. Supervised and according to my experience rather than the instructor's. It would be a small calibre, long barrelled weapon and only fired from the prone position. I'd want to be present at all times and it would be under my immediate and direct supervision. I wouldn't want them to use anything bigger than a .22 at this time and I'd want the focus of the shooting to be on developing safe working practices as a foundation for a shooting hobby rather than giving them the biggest, most bad ass weapon they have at the range.
What part of target and clay pigeon shooting is abusive then Pete? Is it the teaching of a skill? Perhaps learning to respect a dangerous activity? Is it learning to concentrate on a task in hand? Or learning rules must be followed? Or are your views based on anyone who uses a gun is clearly a deranged killer... How about archery? Is that ok? Martial arts? Boxing? Motorsports?
The first time I ever went to Dallas I was taken to the biggest fishing and hunting superstore, the BassPro store. I couldn't believe the number of guns and rifles just on general display on gondolas around the store. I was even more amazed that (certainly then) you didn't need a licence or permit to buy a gun and go shooting/hunting. But you did to go fishing! When I visited it was around the time that Michael Moore made a documentary that highlighted a bank in Texas that would give you a gun as a free gift if you opened an account with them. Texans didn't get the irony of that.
It would seem that your post was not a wind-up after all (!) and you really are overtly advocating the gross abuse of 9 year old children. The police may be interested in your activities, if they can catch you.
An average British person's reaction to weapons is very different to that of someone who is familiar with firearms and oft exposed to them. They're a tool for flinging bits of metal a long way, in a straightish line, very quickly. You could view any other tool in exactly the same way. I'm overly cautious of chainsaws. I know they're dangerous, I know they can make a big mess really quickly but I also expect people that have experience with chainsaws to be much more comfortable with them. Knowing the limits and safe workings of a chainsaw might make someone more willing to let a child have a go with one. I certainly would not do that. It's also worth pointing out that this has only come to our attention because the media have gotten hold of the story and perhaps they only became interested because it was caught in the mother's mobile phone. Of all the children that use firearms in the US each year, very few of them are killed or kill anyone else when compared with the numbers killed in vehicle accidents or drowning. Nobody is crying out for kids to stay out of cars or to avoid swimming despite them being statistically more dangerous. Perceived threat compared to realistic threat. They rarely match each other.
In such a controlling world, at least the yanks have the choice. Texans are great, one of the States that wants to go it alone. The outdoor shops are something else, if you need it, they got it. If they dont have it, they will get it. Hundreds of guns on the walls. Asked me if I wanted to use an AK, I just said, 'no thanks, terriosts use those'
More people die by being shot by a toddler than a terrorist act. Said so on the radio debate today. Not sure what relevance it has exactly, but sure it fuels the fire somewhere..
They're not Warriors they've lost every war they have started since 1945. I agree with Pete1950 that its child abuse. There is nothing wrong in letting kids fire weapons and teaching safe handling and range ettiquette, But in this instance the resulting accident was forseeable.The instructor must have fired the weapon previously and known its vicious characteristics and then to think a little 9 year old could control it on full auto it was an accident waiting to happen. The child put her trust in a group of adults who probably thought it would be a laugh to watch the gun run away with her. The poor sod has to live with the end result. It aint pretty looking at messy holes in people caused by guns even for us grown ups
Goes to show intelligence and ignorance often go hand in hand. I'm guessing its abuse to have a child go fishing then. In fact worse, thats abuse and animal cruelty.
I noticed you haven't answered my questions and instead go on insulting me and making rediculous statements. I was taught to shoot by my father at 9 years old, he was a police officer, we used to shoot with other police officers and their children. I think you are confusing target shooting as a hobby in a safe controlled environment with the rediculous gung ho attitude held by American gun nuts like the nra. I am 100% in favour of registration and licencing, i see no point in owning an automatic weapon. In my opinion guns should never be owned as a forn of protection. But somehow I'm now a child abuser? I know you enjoy winding people up Pete but calling people child abusers to get a rise out of them is pathetic...
I'll go and hand myself into the police tomorrow (Rotherham seems the place at the moment) for my severe mistreatment of my 7 year old daughter who loves to shoot tin cans with my .22 air rifle in the garden.
My eldest boy was clay pigeon shooting with me when he was 10. He even had his own gun, a semi automatic 20 guage. In the right environment with the right controls in place it's no less safe than letting adults shoot. I can't understand what this American family were thinking though. For me it just highlights their attitude to guns, toys to be played with.
