v8guy

Quite understandable. If my Jr High got shot up I would probably feel the same way. I'm sorry you had to go through such a traumatic experience.

Mandi

thanks, but im not talking about just my Jr. High, unfortuneatly.

TheOtherDave™

No worries. It is a complicated issue...you're right.

According to BFC, the shooter's mother was working two full-time jobs as a part of Michigan's welfare-to-work program. The mother was bussed to and from her jobs (about a 40min commute each way) and as a result, barely saw her son at all.

She didn't even know that her son had taken the gun until after the shooting, when it was confiscated by the school principal. She simply wasn't around to prevent the gun from being taken in the first place.

When the mother lost her apartment due to failure to pay rent, they moved in with the uncle... The same evening the mother and son moved in, the son found the loaded .38 on the living room table in his uncle's apartment.

The young boy took the gun to school in his backpack, and when he later took it out to "show it off", the .38 fired, hitting a fellow first-grade student square in the chest. The victim was DOA....at six years old.

Very well said. And unfortunately, you're right. We won't be able to stop each and every last accidental shooting.. but I'd like to think there is more that we can do.

v8guy

I'm sorry to hear that. Weapons, like most tools, can be used for both good and evil purposes. One of my ex girlfriends was rabidly anti-gun, but considering that she was raped at gunpoint, I can't really say I blame her.

clickwir

I was taught at a very early age that my father had guns in the house. I was shown where they were. I was shown where all the parts and ammo was. I was taught about guns and how they can easily kill people. I feel that I was informed and taught well.

I never touched the guns nor had any desire to. I believe it was the caring and understanding parents that helped keep me and my brother and sister, from disaster.

brtecson

I think that all gun manufacturers should include something like this when they sell guns. Or at least with semiauto pistols... It was included with mine

But other than that, if there is the slightest possibility that guns or ammo could be in reach of children, the guns, ammo, and/or children are in the wrong place.

dliske

Not withstanding responsible parenting, I believe that education would have the single-biggest impact. I learned about gun safety in an elective class that I took in elementary school, so the foundation (for me) was set at an early age. I own (and work with) guns now, so I had the added responsibility of teaching my son about them. Now, he views them as nothing more than a tool...and not a source of intrigue or curiosity.

I do find it interesting about your comment about "doing more." Not to say that something shouldn't be done, but there are far more child deaths from swimming pool accidents than that of accidental shootings. (http://cgi.cse.unsw.edu.au/~lambert/...olsvsguns.html) Using the two for comparison, why have guns become the issue? I'm not looking for an answer...just asking rhetorically.

*edited*

v8guy

Not if you count 19 yo crack dealers like the anti-gunners do when they quote their BS statistics. They count anyone under 21 as a child and play like they are all elementary school kids.

dliske

Good point...you got me to fix my post...should have read "accidental shootings."

benjamin

You can defend gun ownership as a priviledge, but it is not a right. Read the second amendment and try to understand the context in which it was drafted. There was no police force nor a national or state military. The amendment begins "A well regulated militia." Does that not bring to mind uniforms and drills and a military code of conduct?

Remember that woman who shot and killed a kid driving her stolen car a few weeks ago as he tried to drive away from her? What punishment would the uniform code of military justice required?

Arguing that there should be a priviledge extended to citizens who want to bear regulated arms is perfectly legitimate and reasonable, but building that argument on the second amendment doesn't make any sense. It is an untenable position.

http://www.archives.gov/national_arc...ranscript.html