Gun Nuances

So my lovely wife, a friend, and myself were having a little discussion at the local coffee shop. The lady at the table next to us commented on a news article. It was about the little girl who accidentally shot a firearms instructor with a Uzi.

We agreed with her that it was awful. She must have thought we were anti-gun or something. Then we went to say how I would not have let my daughter use an Uzi at that age. Nope, at that age she was shooting a single shot .22. Only later did I let her work up to a .22 semi-automatic. Handguns came much later.

Then I went on to say what I thought about the Uzi in general. (I'm not a fan)

The lady at the next table was pretty upset with us. She chewed us out a little then left -only to come right back in because she forgot to pay.

Letting that little girl shoot an Uzi was irresponsible. Teaching children how to safely handle firearms isn't, in my opinion. In fact, my kids understood gun safety and could properly handle a gun long before they held one with a bullet in it. When they did it was under close adult supervision.

There's a perception out there that anyone who owns a gun is part of a single right wing conservative block. That's not the case. There pro gun folks who are very Liberal in all their other political beliefs. I know of one lesbian feminist fiction writer who also, under a different name, covered gun shows. In the real world, gun owners fall into a wide spectrum.

In spite of what the NRA would have people think, there are nuances to the whole gun debate. In fact, I don't belong to the NRA myself. They recruit using fear tactics that's a big no no for me. I refuse to be manipulated by fear and emotion.

I feel bad for the family of the instructor who died. I feel bad for the little girl who now has to live with accidentally shooting someone. That doesn't mean I don't think kids should be using guns -appropriate guns with responsible adult supervision. Knowledge is power.

-Sixbears