A Kentucky boy, aged 5, accidentally killed his 2 year old sister in a gun accident on Tuesday. The gun was apparently propped up in a corner of the room in the family’s trailer. Shockingly, the gun belonged to the 5 year old who received the gun as a gift.
There are so many things wrong in this story that it’s difficult to know where to start. Let’s start with a gun propped in a corner anywhere. Guns should be under lock and key if children are living in the home or even visiting the home.
Secondly, who would allow a 5 year-old to have a gun? What idiot would do this? What happened to ‘responsible gun ownership?’ How can a 5 year old be deemed ‘responsible’ with a deadly weapon? What idiot would give a 5 year-old a gun as a gift?
Thirdly, this weapon was a kid-sized gun, manufactured by Keystone Sporting Arms that has a special kid’s corner of their website complete with a rogue’s gallery of kiddie pics holding all sorts of little weapons that look like they could inflict some real harm on someone if they were on the business end of one of those guns. There were lots of little rifles in pink for the little ladies
.
Frankly, in my humblest of opinions, there should not be child sized weapons. If you can’t tote an adult weapon, perhaps you shouldn’t be shooting anything. Perhaps we should adopt this idea that kids are little because they aren’t fully grown and we don’t expect them to have full adult judgement and wisdom. Seems like a simple concept to me.
Rather than ‘dumbing down a gun,’ let’s let a child grow into being able to handle a gun, starting with adult size. We don’t make miniature cars. We do have height requirements for riding on amusement part rides. If you aren’t big enough, you don’t go on the ride.
This gun was no ‘you’re gonna shoot your eye out’ Red Ryder BB gun. This was the real McCoy. I understand that children participate in shooting competition. This should be done with adult weapons with adults supervising. The child should have some age and maturity on him or her. The sport should not be for little kids, especially 5 year olds.
This tragic accident opened up an entire new world to me. I call for the immediate ban on manufacturing of children’s miniature guns. I call for age limits. No 5 year old needs to own his or her own little rifle.
(from the website)
moon- there are just some people in this world you’ll never understand.
You are right, Lyssa. I won’t understand this. Not in a million years. I can understand a 12 year old having a rifle even…not approve…but understand. Rite of passage in some areas. Not a 5 year old!!! In terms of maturity…no comparison.
Not to mention gross indoctrination….wonder how many of these tykes that are given guns are also given their own library card.
The utter craziness of this product simply reflects how effing crazy our society is about gun ownership.
I actually agree with you on many of these points.
But, again, its not about small rifles. I blame the negligent parents. Size does not matter. Guns are not toys. Children must be supervised. There should be safe storage, preventing easy access by small children. This is the parents’ fault. My heart goes out to them. Smaller rifles actually make the training safer. But the parents made poor decisions…similar to letting the kids play unattended by a pool or near traffic.
I almost picked up a Cricket rifle for my daughter. Not at age 5…but a little older. Its not the rifle..its the person. And by that… I don’t mean the kid.
Btw…I decided not to get the rifle because we just don’t shoot that much and now she’s big enough to use the AR.
There are smaller adult rifles. Not to sound like hypocrite of the entire century, but we actually own what appears to be a child’s rifle. It is a smaller rifle and old so I don’t know if it really was for a kid or not. It is also an antique. Someone gave it to us who was cleaning out his farm house. The guns have been disassembled, cleaned and have never had ammo since we have owned them.
My feeling is that downsizing a gun (say downsizing for under age 12) simply ignores the fact that 5 year olds don’t have the seasoning skills to intuit the danger and thus the ultimate responsibility that goes with the weapon.
I agree that the responsibility ultimately is on the parents. I am not ready to let the manufacturer totally off the hook either.
Think how many people are salivating to get little Bubba behind a rifle. You can see the pics. Those kids aren’t models. Those are just customers.
The words ‘my kid would never’ or ‘my kid KNOWs this that and the other’ rings hollow with me. Kids are unpredictable and challenge authority because they are kids. they don’t have the adult sense of responsibility.
I’m with you Moon. Ok–so now what happens to the parents? What happens to the gun manufacturer? Nothing? Kids are kids–they are deluged with “things” dying in games and on TV to the point that I’m not sure they know what “dead” really is. Dead is forever as best we know but does anyone think a child, particularly a 5 year old has any concept of “forever”? Forever in tomorrow’s trip to McDonalds or Chucky Cheese.
Why should anything happen to the manufacturer?
Their product is not at fault.
What should happen to the parents? The only thing worse that could happen to them would be to lose their other child. I have no idea what should be done. Legally, they should be punished. But…. that also punishes the 5 year old.
Perhaps their 2nd amendment rights should be taken away. @Cargo.
I don’t think guns should be made for children. That is just greed and stupidity. I can go with a junior model being made for teens. I wouldn’t call it that but I know that smaller rifles are made for smaller people–not little kids. That is a far cry from 5 year olds and 8 year olds.
But if the parents were required to attend a safety course (never mind a back ground check) – there would be an up roar over the onerous requirements.
Really? Many states do require such.
But really, how much safety course to you need to understand the 4 rules and the fact that children must be supervised.
If you need a course to tell you that you should do this…you are already a lost cause.
Lots of people are lost causes, Cargo, and that is what many of us are screaming about.
That’s the reason laws are needed–to help out with the stupid people, the mentally ill, and criminals. Cargo, there are a LOT of stupid people out there.
The website for cricket guns is down. Supposedly it is down for maintenance. Yea. Right.
Find something else to do with your kid. The more I think about a little kid’s bright pink gun, looking like a toy, the more disgusted I get.
Heh… the Violence Policy Center is inadvertently giving advice on choosing a first gun: http://www.vpc.org/studies/22how.htm
http://www.vpc.org/studies/22neat.htm
Nice advertising for those brands.
Who are they?
This is how gun training should be done. I’ve met this couple…wonderful little girl.
http://excelsatnothing.blogspot.com/2011/11/shooting-with-sweet-daughter.html
The Violence Policy Center or The couple?
The VPC is gun banning organization, whose founder invented the term “Assault weapon” to confuse voters.
The woman is a blogger, single mom, reenactor, and all round nice person. The daughter is a little angel. The blog: http://excelsatnothing.blogspot.com/ is pretty nice. She lives in Northern Virginia.