My son was forbidden to have toy guns when he was a child – his mother’s idea. Now, he sleeps with a .44 Magnum under his pillow. Not saying there’s a causal relationship there, but…
being taught the importance of gun safety and being taught to both fear and respect guns, at a young age is definitely important. I grew up with guns and was taught all of the above and I have no problems…
My Dad was a hunter and kept his rifles (hopefully unloaded, but not 100% certain) in a leather zip-up bag in his bedroom closet. When I was about 10 yrs. old, a friend and I found them one day, and took them all out. And then we had a great time playing with the bag. For some reason I honestly didn’t care about real firearms, though I enjoyed cap guns and the like and even filled a hollow, plastic banana w/ water once and used it as a water gun. So, kids are drawn to guns no matter what I guess. I honestly enjoyed playing with the dry ice that he brought his game home in more than the idea of playing with guns. (Don’t put it in your mouth, though. The dry ice, I mean. And heck, not the guns either.) And my older siblings were raised around guns and told MANY, MANY times about gun safety and what they shouldn’t do with guns; and yet when they were out by themselves they still shot at each other with their pellet guns and bb guns. My older brother had a bb lodged under his skin near his elbow for decades. Same thing goes for what they were told about fireworks, and what they actually did with them. Every well-meaning parent just tries their best, I suppose.
lanman03 about 12 years ago
My son was forbidden to have toy guns when he was a child – his mother’s idea. Now, he sleeps with a .44 Magnum under his pillow. Not saying there’s a causal relationship there, but…
williamh31980 about 12 years ago
being taught the importance of gun safety and being taught to both fear and respect guns, at a young age is definitely important. I grew up with guns and was taught all of the above and I have no problems…
mrsullenbeauty about 12 years ago
My Dad was a hunter and kept his rifles (hopefully unloaded, but not 100% certain) in a leather zip-up bag in his bedroom closet. When I was about 10 yrs. old, a friend and I found them one day, and took them all out. And then we had a great time playing with the bag. For some reason I honestly didn’t care about real firearms, though I enjoyed cap guns and the like and even filled a hollow, plastic banana w/ water once and used it as a water gun. So, kids are drawn to guns no matter what I guess. I honestly enjoyed playing with the dry ice that he brought his game home in more than the idea of playing with guns. (Don’t put it in your mouth, though. The dry ice, I mean. And heck, not the guns either.) And my older siblings were raised around guns and told MANY, MANY times about gun safety and what they shouldn’t do with guns; and yet when they were out by themselves they still shot at each other with their pellet guns and bb guns. My older brother had a bb lodged under his skin near his elbow for decades. Same thing goes for what they were told about fireworks, and what they actually did with them. Every well-meaning parent just tries their best, I suppose.