Discussion: Do Guns Make Good Toys?
Wednesday September 27, 2006
A forum member writes: I just got my kids a CO2 powered semi-automatic BB gun (pistol). They really love it and I agree it was fun to shoot. This is just the first step to getting an automatic .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol. I like the .22 caliber because the ammo is cheap and you can really zing off lots of shots, just exhilarating. We have a great place to shoot out in my "backyard". The point is, guns make great toys :)
We always had guns in the house. My father grew up with guns and my grandfather had at least one rifle or shotgun in just about every corner of the house. Both hunted often. If either of them had ever heard someone describing guns as "toys," they would have been horrified. Funs are not toys, guns are tools — and dangerous ones, too, that need to be handled with care and respect. People who don't respect their guns and treat them like toys will either get hurt or end up hurting others. The idea of someone actually training his children to regard guns as toys is horrifying — but I doubt he's the only one. How much of today's gun violence and gun accidents are attributable to people who lack the good sense to treat firearms with respect and caution? Read More...
We always had guns in the house. My father grew up with guns and my grandfather had at least one rifle or shotgun in just about every corner of the house. Both hunted often. If either of them had ever heard someone describing guns as "toys," they would have been horrified. Funs are not toys, guns are tools — and dangerous ones, too, that need to be handled with care and respect. People who don't respect their guns and treat them like toys will either get hurt or end up hurting others. The idea of someone actually training his children to regard guns as toys is horrifying — but I doubt he's the only one. How much of today's gun violence and gun accidents are attributable to people who lack the good sense to treat firearms with respect and caution? Read More...
Comments
I think what the gentleman meant was that guns are fun to shoot. They are a good learning experience as opposed to playing with toys. Shooting is something meaningful that a Father and Son can share. There is real craft and skilled involved in shooting. Just to educate all the folks out there; it is common for men to refer to their material possessions as “toys”. I don’t think he was implying that guns are actually toys. I think his choice of words was not very good. If you don’t watch out, the politically correct folks will tear you up, as evidenced here. To be fair, the forum member did not state that he was “training his children to regard guns as toys.” Nor did he state that he was “teaching his children not to treat firearms with respect and caution.” That was an assumption on someone else’s part.