I am a strong supporter of gun rights. I learned to use guns as a teenager, at my military school. Most Americans support a person’s right to own guns. But with gun rights come gun responsibilities.
A horrific accident happened at an Arizona gun club last week. A 9-year-old girl lost control of the powerful gun she was practicing with, killing her firing range instructor.
Children 8 and older are permitted on many gun ranges, if accompanied by a parent or guardian. The 9-year-old girl’s parents were with her, but they were letting her use an Uzi submachine gun. Why were they letting a child use such an assault weapon?
After all, Arizona is not the old Wild West anymore, where life and death may have depended on being able to hunt for one’s food, or occasionally save one’s life. Submachine guns were not available in the early days of our nation, so while children may have learned to hunt or defend themselves, they were not learning to use major assault weapons.
Many gun-safety experts have said that putting an Uzi submachine gun in a young person’s hands was reckless. Ronald Scott, a Phoenix-based firearms safety expert, said, “You can’t give a 9-year-old an Uzi and expect her to control it.”
There are two real issues here, even for gun rights activists to face. The first is whether pre-teens should be allowed to handle loaded guns. After all, we don’t allow them to drink or drive cars or live on their own. What lets some people believe that young children are mature enough to handle deadly weapons?
The second issue involves the use of assault weapons. Should even teenagers learning to use dangerous arms be limited to the use of single-shot firearms, rather than submachine guns? If you think so, what is your justification? Of course, with proper training and experience, children can safely handle many types of firearms, but not generally an Uzi submachine gun. All guns are lethal weapons, but submachine guns are especially dangerous.
In the case of the 9-year-old, the accident was declared a non-criminal offense, only a tragic accident. That accident took the life of the weapon instructor. It may also scar the young girl for many years to come. Just how this incident will affect the bereaved family of the instructor or the parents of the innocent child, is yet to come.
Children not old enough to handle firearms should be taught not to touch or handle any firearms that are in their house or other areas they visit. If they see firearms lying around, they should tell their parents about those firearms right away.
Gun safety rules for processing, storing or using firearms have many pros and cons, and there are differences of opinion between advocates for gun control and those for gun ownership rights. But whatever side you are on, you should support responsible gun use.
Education and safe handling are the keys for teaching children about responsible gun use. At the military academy I attended, I learned a lot of rules about the safe use of guns. For one, I had to keep my finger off the trigger until I was ready to shoot the target. Two, my gun should be kept unloaded until I was ready to shoot at a specific target. And three, I should point the firearm at the specific area I was targeting, being careful not to hit an unintended target beyond, in front, or to the side of it.
Guns are used for self-defense, hunting, target shooting, personal safety and home security. We need to protect firearms from theft and accidental discharge, by physically preventing access to them. Usable firearms can be stored in a gun safe or a lockable, closed cabinet. Apply trigger locks to prevent the possible discharge of a firearm. The trigger lock prevents the discharging of the gun by accident. Or as an alternate, chamber locks stop someone from unauthorized use of your firearm, by blocking bullets from being loaded into you gun’s magazine.
Guns are dangerous to use or to store, even in offices, homes or firing ranges. Whether you are licensed to own, to carry a concealed weapon or to learn shooting at a gun training facility, you must use caution in storing and in using your firearms. Whether young or old, it is best to start learning with a single hand gun and be responsible for using your weapon properly.
To maintain our precious gun rights, we all need to act responsibly.
— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist for the Journal Tribune and former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.
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