Kids and guns

Guns. I feel that guns exist for one purpose only; to kill.
That is why guns were invented. That is why they are manufactured, sold, and purchased. Whether they are intended to kill humans or animals, a gun is a gun. It is an instrument of death.
Everything about guns... the way they look, feel, smell, and sound... makes me viscerally ill.
I do not believe that guns and kids belong in the same sentence, and certainly not in the same household.
This is my opinion, and it is meant to insult no one.
~ fairy

I grew up in a place where guns and shooting was considered to be a sport. My father, my uncles, my brothers, my cousins were all and still are very big on that. I was taught gun safety. My father always kept his guns locked in a gun cabinet and the bullets seperate from them. I honestly can say since I grew up thinking this was the norm that I had no desire to ever pick up or touch a gun. They didn't interest me because to me, they were big loud things that made scary big noises and I left the gun cabinet well enough alone. I lived with my parents until recently and when my daughter was born I asked my father to change his gun cabinet that he had had all of my life to what I thought to be a "safer" one. He bought a steel gun case that is fingerprint activated. He is the ONLY one who can make the door open by putting his hand over a scan-type keypad. It has no glass doors so my daugher could not see in and there was no temptation to break the glass. I never was worried that my daughter was in danger and I feel if guns are handled safely around children and precautions are taken then it is to each their own. That is just my opinion though.

"""""it is a tragic fact that today in America, two children die every three hours from a gun. At least 30 children, the equivalent of a classroom-full of kids, die every two days. Experts predict that gun violence will soon surpass motor vehicle accidents as the nation's leading cause of traumatic death, making violence a public health epidemic. """""

http://www.kidsandguns.org/familyroom/gunsinthehome.asp

http://www.jointogether.org/gv/resources/database/reader/0,2045,254632,00.html

http://www.kidsandguns.org/

http://www.guncontrol.ca/Content/Kids.html

there are some links about kids and guns, and safety

I also choose not to have guns in my house, or anywhere near my children. My boys arent even allowed to play with "toy guns" ( ooo what a bad mom eh!?)Guns r dangerous, and if they are in your house ther is to many "what if's".... i dont feel safe having them around

We also choose to not to have one. I also don't have a knife in the house (butterknives are fine lol). Why? because i'm overly paranoid and my toddler gets into everything

Hunting for sport just outrages me. If you eat the animal fine, but it's horrible to drive down the road and see 5-10 dead deer laying there. (very common in southern ohio) [/u]

I dont like guns but I do have a gun cabinet in my living room with lock & key 2 sections with different locks a break proof glass so its not a big concern in the house, the guns are double checked before being brought into the house and made sure that they are locked up properly. the guns are used for sporting with I dont approve of buts with or without my concent it will still be done. we live in a community that hunts for sport so its a big thing up here ERG drives me nuts!

Hunting for sport just outrages me. If you eat the animal fine, but it's horrible to drive down the road and see 5-10 dead deer laying there. (very common in southern ohio) [/u]

ok hunting and driving down the road seeing dead deer r 2 different things we accidently hit deer all the time its not our fault that they run into our cars I had it happen plenty of times to me, and people I know who hunt eat the animal and sometimes get them taxidermed. you contradic yourself you say hunting outrages me but if you eat the animal fine (?).

Ok, this is about the gun cabinet in the background of one of my pics of my little girl. It is kept locked at ALL times, there are also only 2 guns in it, the rest are fishing rods. 4 Fishing rods, 2 guns. Anyway, one of the guns is a BB gun, the other is a .22. We do NOT keep ammo in the house at ALL. If we are going to be using the guns, we buy the ammo and use it up the same day. We do not store ammo in the house. It's too risky for me. Also the guns have trigger locks on them, and we are teaching out kids about gun safety. My son is fascinated with guns, but I don't really like that. The magazine for the .22 is kept locked in our bedroom, seperate from the gun. I feel we have been cautious enough because of keeping them locked up and not keeping any ammo of any kind in the house, not even BB's. They key is hidden also, so I really doubt that my kids will be able to get in there, and even if they do by breaking the glass or whatever it still isn't dangerous because we don't keep ammo in the house, ever. I don't really want the guns in the house, and we will probably get rid of them when the kids are older, but I am still working on him with this.

Having grown up in a family of hunters, I'm comfortable around guns. Even as a young child, I knew of the hazards, and I didn't mess with them. When I was 12, I went to a gun class so I could learn safety in handling them. My children will also be familiar with guns if only to make sure they're educated and know what to do and what not to do when they're around them. Gun cabinets are a must when you have small children in the house, and make sure it's locked. I wouldn't even trust the gun being at the top of the closet, honestly, because you never know when a toddler is going to stack furniture to get up there (mine's done it).

I love to shoot. Shooting for sport doesn't always mean killing animals. Shooting ranges are a lot of fun and if you live in a rural area you can set up your own targets and everything. Hunting and selling the meat is pretty profitable too and it all gets used.

My favourite gun is a Smith and Wesson .38 police special and I'd recommend them to anyone wanting to buy a handgun.

I said hunting for sport, as in shooting the deer and leaving it lay there. The deer I see laying by the road have not been hit by a car, they have been shot.

If someone hunts with the intent of eating the animal, I think thats ok.. but to just go kill it for fun is not. (in my opinion)

I also grew up in a gun household and was taught to load and fire rifles at age 7. Highpowereds at about 10.
My father had 6 rifles.
They were kept in his cupboard and later a padlocked gun box, I always knew where and how to get the ammo and keys.
We were never taken hunting, only target shooting and I did enjoy it.
We also did archery at a young age.
But I also grew up in fear of my father shooting my mother, he was an angry man he had guns and an uncontrollable temper.
He put a bullethole in a wall on night when us kids were in bed, he said he was just cleaning the gun when it happened.
Thing is he always told me it was bullshit when people say that they fired a gun while cleaning, it was near impossible.
Guns creep me out now.
It bothers me my father still has guns and still has that same temper.
My sons have no concept of guns (we don't do TV) I'm not going to out and out ban a toy gun if it is given to them (I'm sure there is an old water pistol around) because that would make it the forbidden fruit but I want them to know what guns do.
They are for killing.
A gun in your house is mostly likely going to kill you or your loved ones and there will certainly never be one in my house.

I would never have guns in the house. My bf owns some vintage war rifles and they're kept at his parent's place in storage.

My dad bought a gun when I was about 13...I think that's part of the reason he and my mom got divorced...she was never comfortable with it. I remember going to my dad's shooting range with him and looking at the cabinet where all the guns were kept and thinking, whoa, cool!

I was allowed to play with toy guns when I was little (cap guns, water guns) and I thought they were just the best. Now, I don't think I'll let my kids (when I have some, of course) play with them. I know it didn't affect me personally, but why risk it.

I also off topically agree that hunting animals for sport disgusts me. My culture raised me that if you need to take an animals life, then you need to find a use for every part of that animal. The hide, the tongue, everything, and it's disrespectful and wasteful to leave any of it behind to rot, or to take more animals then what you need for life.

On topic, I will NEVER allow Treyton any where near a gun, even a toy one. It actually makes me a little queasy to see little kids playing with the toy machine guns, pointing them at people and pretending to shoot each other. I don't think it's something that should be played as a game. Me and hubby actually talked about this yesterday because we saw a little 4 year old 'shooting' cars out of his car window with a real looking toy machine gun. Shawn said "well maybe just water guns" but I don't think so even there. I saw this new toy, it's a plastic umbrella, that shoots water out of the top, so I'd get Trey something like that. But I will never let any type of gun, fake or especially real, any where near my house.

Our family hunts for sport, but they DONT waste the Meat! I do not participate in the hunting or the eating of the animal, the animal is killed and taken to the local butcher shop and the meat is taken care of there and they get what tehy want and the butcher keeps I think 20-30 % of the meat to sell in his shop. It disgusts me all the time but what can I say I begged last year and I mean in tears not to hunt and they did anyway. My whole town is a big hunting community people come from all over just to hunt in tioga county no matter what people say or do its still gonna happen sadly. I feel bad for the animal because they are really only hunted for their RACKS up here though I can say I have NEVER seen a dead deer laying by the side of the road killed by a shooter, I have seen and hit plenty with my car but tahts another story.

My parents didn't have any guns in the house until my brother and I were in our teens (my dad and brother hunt for sport, blech, which I do not approve of...and I have personally never touched a gun in my life), and the guns were locked up and neither my brother nor myself knew where the key was. We had those super soaker water guns and some nerf guns that shot these foam things when we were kids, but none of the fake guns that actually look like guns.

I would never allow real (or even fake/play) guns in my place, it's just too risky to me. Like someone else said, they're more likely to be used to injure or kill someone in your family.

I like guns. I am going to ask for one for my next bday (you have to be 21 to own a handgun in KY). I would like to learn to use all kinds of guns, because I think I'm going to need to know how to someday. I've always been taught that if you point a gun at someone you better want to kill them and I will teach my kids the same. I have never, even jokingly, pointed a gun at anyone, loaded or not. I used to hate guns and think they were scary but over the past 2-3 years I have become fascinated with them. I was around them as a little little kid (my dad had them but my parents got divorced when I was 6 and I don't think I've touched one since I was 8-9). I honestly believe that there's going to come a time where I have to fight and kill people and I want to be ready. Also I think hunting for food is fine but I don't think I could ever do it. I want to learn to fish this summer, and I know a little about butchering roadkill for food and leather.

Oh and I will let my kids play with fake guns once they're old enough to understand the difference between fantasy and reality- like 5 or 6, and we will talk about how guns are dangerous and kill people.

I don't want to be rude, but I was wondering why you feel like you are ever going to have to kill people? Or when you think that time will come?

Zahra

My opinion is much the same as Fairytales.

I went to www.kidsandguns.org and found these facts that seem to totally contradict this quote:

*Every eight hours a child or teen was killed in a firearm-related accident or suicide in 2001.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, "Deaths: Final Data for 2001." NVSR Vol. 52, No. 3. 116 pp. (PHS) 2003-1120.
Annual Totals (2001, 0-19 year-olds): Accidents=182, Suicides=928. (2001 is the most recent data available.)

Note that it's 1 "child" every 8 hours, not 2 every three, and most of them are suicides, who I'm sure aren't really children.

*34% of children in the United States (representing more than 22 million children in 11 million homes) live in homes with at least one firearm. In 69 percent of homes with firearms and children, more than one firearm is present.
The RAND Corporation, "Guns in the Family: Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children," March 2001, an analysis of the 1994 National Health Interview Survey and Year 2000 objectives supplement. Also published as Schuster et al., "Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children," American Journal of Public Health 90(4): 588-594, April 2000.

More than 22 million children live in homes with guns, yet there are only 182 accidental child shootings every year- tragic, yes, but probably the result of absolutely no gun safety precautions. Think of how many kids die each hour in car accidents, while almost every one of us still drives around all the time.

whoa! I also found these scary statistics:

In 30% of handgun-owning households, the handgun was stored unlocked and loaded at the time of the survey.
National Institute of Justice, "Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms," May 1997. PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

28% of gun-owning households with children do not always keep guns locked in a secure place.
Peter Hart Research Associates, "Americans’ Attitudes on Children’s Access to Guns: A National Poll for Common Sense about Kids and Guns," July 1999.

Of gun-owning households with children, one quarter only "occasionally" lock and store the bullets in a separate place from the gun.
Peter Hart Research Associates, "Americans’ Attitudes on Children’s Access to Guns: A National Poll for Common Sense about Kids and Guns," July 1999.

Among homes with children and firearms, 40% had at least one unlocked firearm and 13% kept their unlocked firearm loaded or stored with ammunition.
The RAND Corporation, "Guns in the Family: Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children," March 2001, an analysis of the 1994 National Health Interview Survey and Year 2000 objectives supplement. Also published as Schuster et al., "Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children," American Journal of Public Health 90(4): 588-594, April 2000.

48% of gun-owning households with children do not regularly make sure that guns are equipped with child safety or other trigger locks.
Peter Hart Research Associates, "Americans’ Attitudes on Children’s Access to Guns: A National Poll for Common Sense about Kids and Guns," July 1999.

Only 39% of homes with children and firearms keep their firearm locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition.
The RAND Corporation, "Guns in the Family: Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children," March 2001, an analysis of the 1994 National Health Interview Survey and Year 2000 objectives supplement. Also published as Schuster et al., "Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children," American Journal of Public Health 90(4): 588-594, April 2000.

Yes, but cars are a form of transportation, designed to get you from Point A to Point B. A gun is a weapon, designed to kill.

Zahra- I am expecting major social upheaval to occur sometime during my lifetime- probably in the next 50 years. I think that there will be revolutionaries fighting counter-revolutionaries, and that the counter-revolutionaries (ie the police, nat'l guard, armed forces, white supremacists, etc) will definitely be armed and that it is in my best interest to be prepared to fight for my life and my freedom.

I also found statistics that say that you and your children are 77 times more likely to be murdered, raped, robbed or assaulted than you are to be accidentally shot. I want to be able to protect myself and my family. I also don't believe in cops and would not call them in emergency- my community protects itself, and when that fails, is prepared to do justice. If someone raped or killed my kid I would find them and kill them myself. the cops are not on my side.

so are you just saying an eye for an eye!?

I understand that thats what every parent naturally thinks but then the cycle would just repeat itself, there is nothing wrong with cops in my opinion I have about 13 police officers in my family, and I count on the cops when something goes wrong they are there to help not to hurt.

""""my community protects itself, and when that fails, is prepared to do justice"""

what do you mean by that also?

and another thing this is just a make believe senario (so dont take it personal please)

say your son/daughter rapped robbed or murdered someone do you think that it would be ok for someone to take your childs life because its an EYE FOR AN EYE WORLD?

In my opinion I think that some people dont use their minds I would never take a persons life its not mine to take this shouldnt be an eye for an eye world we work hard to get along why start killing everybody.

that quote came from THIS website... http://www.jointogether.org/gv/resources/database/reader/0,2045,254632,00.html not from the kids and guns website.

EXACLY, cars are designed to drive.... Guns were designed for one thing, to KILL.

i could not have said that better myself, mommyme!

an eye for an eye eh??? lol...

I know many people think that the hunting of animals is cruel and unusual but I personally believe that a gun used to hunt an animal is not harmful as long as that is the ONLY intention of the gun. No disrespect to animals, I do NOT believe in killing them for the sake of killing, I believe in hunting them for the sake of food and using EVERY part of the animal. Animals are part of the food chain. If human hunters did not kill animals to eat them, in overpopulated regions animals would die of starvation. There are limits on the number of animals that a hunter may shoot depending on the over population of that animal in a particular area. It is not as if hunters are walking around aimlessly shooting deer for example as many as they want. When you register for a hunting license every year you get a certain number of tags. Every deer you shoot must be tagged with your matching id number. If a hunter chooses to shoot one and is out of tags that is illegal and a huge fine is given and the license is revoked. The gaming commission DOES patrol popular hunting and rural areas heavily to enforce this. Many hunters do indeed use EVERY part of the animal. Those who hunt strictly for the sport of hunting usually sell the hunted animal, EVERY part of the animal. My example in this response was deer, but the same rules follow with other hunted animals.

My father works for the turnpike where we live where many deers are hit by cars and do NOT die on impact. Their protocol is to call a state trooper to the scene, block off the highway lane, and the trooper shoots the deer so that it will be out of its misery. Then, the deer is tagged, left in that spot off on the side of the road, and the maintence crew is to call the road kill crew of maintence to come to that mile marker and disguard of the animal. Just because you see a deer laying on the side of the road with a clear bullet wound does not mean someone drove down the road and shot out of their car at them to be cruel. That is illegal to do. You can only hunt certain animals when they are in season.