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Is this irresponsible parenting?

Is this irresponsible parenting?

  • Total voters
    12
Rhovanion said:
If I knew that my neighbors had guns in their house (even for protection) I'd flee the neighborhood because I wouldn't be able to sleep safely at night knowing that there was such a dangerous weapon within close proximity of my house.
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Wow. I'd hate to be that terrified of an inanimate object. You do know that far more people die in automobile accidents in America than in any and all firearm fatalities?
I realize it's a different culture and mindset over there. But it still doesn't change that you have the highest gun violence rates (among developed countries) in the world. If you say that it's not the gun that kills people but people, then does that mean Americans are a more violent people? If so, then all the more reason to NOT have such lax view on gun ownership! It's like giving a match box to an arsonist. But if Americans are not more prone to violence than other developed countries, then it must go back to the gun being the source of the problem.
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We've hashed this out ad-nauseum. Lots of places in the world have VASTLY higher murder rates than the US. Poverty and poor government seem to be the primary factors, not the availability or legality of firearms.

Britain may actually have more low-level street violence, mainly fueled by a lack of laws or enforcement against public drunkenness and wimpy punishment of criminals, plus a remarkable bias against self-defense with anything other than harsh language.

America isn't Sweden. What works in Sweden won't work here. You like it where you are, fine. We'll do things OUR way, you do things your way. We like to be able to shoot criminals when they attack us or threaten our families.
 
Goshin said:
Wow. I'd hate to be that terrified of an inanimate object. You do know that far more people die in automobile accidents in America than in any and all firearm fatalities?



We've hashed this out ad-nauseum. Lots of places in the world have VASTLY higher murder rates than the US. Poverty and poor government seem to be the primary factors, not the availability or legality of firearms.

Britain may actually have more low-level street violence, mainly fueled by a lack of laws or enforcement against public drunkenness and wimpy punishment of criminals, plus a remarkable bias against self-defense with anything other than harsh language.

America isn't Sweden. What works in Sweden won't work here. You like it where you are, fine. We'll do things OUR way, you do things your way. We like to be able to shoot criminals when they attack us or threaten our families.
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Im OK with breaking their kneecap, throwing them face down by their hair and then applying the heel somewhere between their axis and atlas vertebrae if there isnt a firearm handy...;)

And yeah...Id prefer to keep em at greater than arms length too...best case scenario...especially if they are armed with anything that goes bang...
 
Now - if the kid had one of those slung over his shoulder - yeah, that'd be horrible parenting :)
 
Rhovanion said:
If I knew that my neighbors had guns in their house (even for protection) I'd flee the neighborhood because I wouldn't be able to sleep safely at night knowing that there was such a dangerous weapon within close proximity of my house.
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I sleep soundly with a semi-automatic full-choke 12 gauge shotgun less then ten feet from me and it hasn't managed to hurt me yet.

I see nothing wrong with parents exposing their children to firearms in a responsible manner. Regardless if you choose to personally own a firearm, someone who has at least had exposure to them will be more likely to react in a calm and collected manner, should they ever be confronted with one, and less likely to panic and escalate an already dangerous situation, like someone who's unjustifiably afraid of "big bad firearms."
 
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Is this irresponsible parenting?
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The videos don't show enough for us to make a judgement about their parenting.

I lean toward "no", it's not irresponsible parenting. It looks like the kid is wearing hearing protection and is being supervised. As long as his dad (?) is teaching him proper gun safety along with how to use them it's probably fine.
 
I don't see anything wrong here. I was shooting at that age in even less controlled circumstances.
 
Goobieman said:
Please watch the videos

10-yr old w/ M14/M1A
YouTube - ‪Nick and the M1A‬‎

10-yr old w/ Mosin-Nagant
YouTube - ‪The M28/30 is "Awesome!"‬‎
(I -love- the "gimmie another one!")

10-yr old w/ .357 magnum revolver
YouTube - ‪Nick and the .357 magnum‬‎

10-yr old w/ .44 magnum revolver
YouTube - ‪Nick actually seems affected by this one. :)‬‎

12-yr old w/ USP-40 compact
YouTube - ‪Greg with the same German pistol.‬‎

Is this irresponsible parenting?
Something worse?
Something better?
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No its not irresponsible parenting. That child will grow into an adult who knows how to use a firearm and hopefully has respect for the 2nd amendment. I do not see what the big deal is. If I was going to find something to gripe about it would the child using the chair to sit in and fire instead of standing up to fire. But hey it could be crawl, walk, run.
 
Looks like a boy and father having a constructive afternoon together.

I wouldn't say it's good parenting, I'd say it's excellent parenting.

Oooops. Crap.

I pushed the "YES" Button, not the "NO" button.
 
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Aunt Spiker said:
Parent is there.
Safety precautions are used.
Proper instruction is being given.
No one's being shot at.

Stellar gun-safety and education being provided.

I do have a problem with children hunting, though.
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Hmmm....

....where do you live, and when is children season?
 
Rhovanion said:
I wouldn't say it's irresponsible, but to me guns will never ever be a good thing. Ever. Unless you're a hunter, a soldier or a police officer, there is absolutely no reason for you to own a gun
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Except when you're a small woman home alone and a 220 pound rapist breaks into your house.

If I knew that my neighbors had guns in their house (even for protection) I'd flee the neighborhood because I wouldn't be able to sleep safely at night knowing that there was such a dangerous weapon within close proximity of my house.
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It isn't the weapon that's dangerous. All Pleistocene megafauna that went extinct at the end of the last Ice Age went extinct without the firing of a single shot. The siege of Troy happened without guns. So did the sack of Rome and the fall of Carthage.

It's the people who are dangerous.


I realize it's a different culture and mindset over there. But it still doesn't change that you have the highest gun violence rates (among developed countries) in the world.
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And other countries without guns in the developed world have even higher non-gun violence rates.

Again, it ain't the weapon, it's the people.

If you say that it's not the gun that kills people but people, then does that mean Americans are a more violent people?
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Doesn't matter. If so, then good for us. Savagery is how freedom is won and kept.
 
Honestly, anybody who thought this was bad never had a kid who, or as a kid was, in Cub Scouts.

Just before you move on to Boy Scouts, you get a very well-supervised afternoon at a range with a rifle.

It's a .22, but the principle is the same.
 
TacticalEvilDan said:
Honestly, anybody who thought this was bad never had a kid who, or as a kid was, in Cub Scouts.

Just before you move on to Boy Scouts, you get a very well-supervised afternoon at a range with a rifle.

It's a .22, but the principle is the same.
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I got to shoot a cowboy revolver when I was 6 or 7, that's when the love started.
 
I remember when I was a kid, we wouldn't get real scissors, we would get those cheap safety guard scissors to prevent us from cutting ourselves. I wasn't allowed to use kitchen knives. My first reaction at these videos is that the kids are too young to be handling guns, but then... when is the "proper" age?

I don't think I'd let my kids handle guns, but I wouldn't want to infringe on the right of other parents to decide differently for their children.
 
Orion said:
My first reaction at these videos is that the kids are too young to be handling guns, but then... when is the "proper" age?
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I was four years old the first time I fired a rifle, with the assistance of my uncle.
 
Orion said:
I remember when I was a kid, we wouldn't get real scissors, we would get those cheap safety guard scissors to prevent us from cutting ourselves. I wasn't allowed to use kitchen knives. My first reaction at these videos is that the kids are too young to be handling guns, but then... when is the "proper" age?
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When, in the parent's judgement, the kids have adequate maturity and sense to understand that this is a serious activity that has to be undertaken with care and due caution... just like using power tools or running a tractor.

Some kids, this might be age eight or younger. Some, that might be age 12 or 15 or even 25. :mrgreen:


I don't think I'd let my kids handle guns, but I wouldn't want to infringe on the right of other parents to decide differently for their children.
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Ok then.
 
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