Irresponsible Gun Owners - What Can We Do?

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RAE.... I was considering Eddie Eagle, but I thought the kids might be a little too young yet.... although the oldest is getting near an age where he might benefit from such training. Of course, even though I obtain such materials, it's still up to the parents to decide if they want to show 'em to the kids. Nonetheless, it was a constructive suggestion. Thanks!! Maybe we'll give it a try.
 
Cougar et al, you're right that we need to do the best we can, as gun owners, to encourage safety at all times. No question.

But, olazul makes a very important point - right now, our society has become hysterical about this issue, and we are not considering the facts in a mature manner. As adults, we owe to our kids to stay sane and rational - and a sane and rational approach to this issue is to balance competing risks and benefits.

I could sell my home and all of our other possessions in order to buy a tank, and that would be a safer vehicle in which to drive my kids to school. But, that wouldn't be sane.

Let's continue encouraging safe behavior, and always presenting ourselves as good examples. But, it is unreasonable for society to expect 100% safety regarding firearms when we can't achieve that goal with any other product. And, many measures proposed to increase firearms safety with technology (trigger locks, 'smart' guns, etc.) also entail additional risks.

We just need to use logic here ... and balance.

[This message has been edited by Jeff Thomas (edited March 16, 2000).]
 
Que pasa Dennis! Did someone say Shiner Bock?
(BTW how old did you say your daughters were? :))

Cougar,

Your points are well taken.

However I personally don't feel that the neighbor is necessarily being irresponsible. "The revolver sits on a closet shelf"- sounds like thats probably out of reach of a 31/2 & 11/2 year old. The 22 sits in the garage, in plain view. Perhaps the ammo is up on a shelf seperately in the garage, perhaps he is out of 22 ammo. I bet the skillsaw and bicycle make tasty targets for theft also.

I truly used to care about appearances more so than I do now. I simply get peeved when asked to bend to the will of the masses in matters pertaining to my body and home. You know that thing called personal freedom, including the freedom to make a mistake.

I did not mean to come off so strongly but I was blown away by some of the suggestions such as to turn them into the police and/or child protective services.

I commend you, Mustang Sally for caring about your neighbors, its just that you've done your part and then some. I think anymore would really be pushing it.

Regards,

Olazul

[This message has been edited by olazul (edited March 16, 2000).]
 
Olazul,
Howdy (again!). 33, 24, 23 (all married or engaged... ;) )
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Sally,

Out of fairness, I must add that my wife and I decided long ago to try to "gun proof" our kids. Though we could secure our firearms, we were (seriously) afraid of some of our clueless yuppie neighbors.

Would the parents of our kids' friends have firearms secured or not? (BIG question!) Therefore, we talked about guns as they were used on TV (to separate reality from fantasy) and took the kids with us when we went shooting.

After a while, the girls started (supervised) shooting with us. The girls were not only trained, it "took". As I've stated elsewhere, this worked with our girls but never would have worked with my grandson - therefore each situation must be considered on its own merits.

For many reasons, there were times when our kids were home without supervision. To give *these* kids access to guns was less dangerous than leaving them unprotected.

Note that I never advocate(d) giving all children free access to firearms. I only get up in arms (slight pun) when people suggest my family and I lower ourselves to the "least common denominator" in the gene pool (on the subject of firearms).

Firearms, quite frankly, have been a part of our lives together. None of us will let anyone take them away from us.

So I sometimes overstate my case on the subject because it involves everything from my family to the Constitution. If my presentation was offensive, it was unintentional.

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Either you believe in the Second Amendment or you don't.
Stick it to 'em! RKBA!
 
When I was a kid growing up, we had all sorts of guns lying around the house. Shotguns, rifles, 44 mags etc. etc. They were all placed in a corner in our basement and us kids knew we were allowed to look but we could NOT touch without parental supervision. We never did touch those guns EVER because we knew if mom or pop found out, we wouldn't be able to sit down for a month. The ammo was all stored in the closet right next to all the guns and the thought of actually loading these guns (or even touching them) honestly never crossed my mind. I know with all the political BS flying about right now, it would seem that all guns should be locked up securely when children are around. However, there are good kids out there who do obey their parents orders and will not touch their guns even when they are alone. I guess the idea is that some kids still do have a conscience. After talking with your neighbor, if they believe their children are mature and responsible enough to be around firearms, it just might be true.
 
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