Posted on 10/09/2015 6:02:15 PM PDT by montanajoe
A kid in my daughters sixth grade class blew his brains out last night.
I support the 2nd 100% but I have serious concerns whether we live in a society anymore where the average citizen is capable of responsible gun ownership.
If gun owners keep their heads in the sand and continue to have loaded or easily loaded firearms in their residences, where kids or kids taking any medication coexist then the 2nd is gone within twenty years.
The founders could have never envisioned that there could be a distinction between gun ownership and responsible gun ownership. Yet today distinction is glaring.
The thousands of cuts will end the 2nd unless gun owners get in front of this issue.
It is a horrific tragedy. So was the shooting by that sick bastard who killed and wounded those students in Oregon and many more similar atrocities.
In the case of the 6th grader, her parents in effect murdered her by leaving an accessible loaded firearm.
The 2nd Amendment is all about the rights and responsibilities of a free people. The greatest proportion of us live up to that ideal and never harm others or allow our firearms to be used against others.
But when you have 330 million people, some small part of that number will not live up to that trust. That shouldn’t have anything to do with a fundamental right unless you’re a liberal looking for any excuse to eliminate that right.
So, why the panic? You either believe in our Constitution and the principles that brought it into being or you don’t.
I knew a kid in high school that took the family car out on the interstate and accelerated as fast as it could go and aimed for the support pylon on an interstate bridge.
(he left a note in his room before he left is how we know it was a suicide attempt)
They lingered on in the hospital in a coma for about 2months before they croaked.
When the car hit the pylon several pieces of the car flew off and landed in highway and caused a car with a family in it to have an accident and it seriously injured a few people in that car.
It might/would have been better if he had just blown his brains out in his room, less chance of collateral damage.
“I have serious concerns whether we live in a society anymore where the average citizen is capable of being A PARENT”
Exactly
A classmate of mine drowned in a spring flood of our local river when I was in the 6th grade. I wonder how many thousands of kids have drowned in rivers since then. We should outlaw rivers, especially those with floods......
Not avoiding your point - it is valid. Just disagree with the magnitude of importance that you are giving it.
It’s big to you and your family because it is close at hand. So was my classmate’s drowning. Profoundly affected me for a long time.
Okay, here is my list.
1. Negligent discharge (TOTALLY MY FAULT and nobody hurt except the wood floor) many years ago by my then 4 yr old daughter. Double actioned my Dan Wesson when I turned my back for barely an instant.
2. Good friends son and his teenage buddies “playing” with a shotgun. My friends son died a few days later.
3. Co worker did himself in with a .45 in his garage. Never found out the reason why.
4. Co worker OD on drugs on purpose. Reason to me, unknown
5. Co worker went in the garage with garage door closed and cranked up his caddy. I know the reason.
6. Co worker used a shotgun to the chin in front of a certain court house in FL due to bogus “I’m gonna make a name for myself DA.” pushing brandishing charges.
7. Co worker facing lay off jumped to his death.
Is it me? The only thing responsible in any of these instances is people. Not objects.
I have a 6th grader too. And he is not happy right now (he has a serious anxiety issue). But if guns are securely locked and the kids have no unsupervised access, and seriously, no supervised access for troubled or depressed kids (no guns in his possession, no shooting range trips, nothing), the child cannot use the gun as an easy, irreversible way to suicide.
It’s so sad. Life DOES get better, for nearly all kids. Suicide among people so young just tears your heart right out.
But guns are very useful and very important for protection. We just need to make sure they are always safely stored. No lazy moments, no shortcuts.
Maybe every town should have a “jumping cliff” with at least a 300 ft. drop and large craggy boulders on the bottom of it and you have to go through several turn-styles that only allow in one person at a time and there is a video camera making sure it isn’t homicide ie. person pushing them off the cliff.....
I know it sounds like a crass idea, but people are gonna find a way to off themselves no matter what tools you take away from them.
You take away guns, they will use rope, you take away rope they will slit their wrist with a knife, you take away their knifes and they will duct tape a garden hose to their exhaust and run it into the cab of their car, you take away hose and they jump in front of a train/truck, anything you take away opens up more avenues or just redirects them.
Weak minded individuals don't trump our Constitution.
Sorry to hear about this. I lost one of my close childhood friends to suicide much later in life. Also an alcoholic.
He kept firearms in every room of his home. He went out to his garage one evening and hung himself from the rafters.
” My point, and I think
montanajoe’s point, is that it is simply prudent politically to avoid the Left’s assault on
the 2nd Am. “
Nope, not what was said at all.
The “soooo concerned” and invalid “point” was this: “but I have serious concerns whether we live in a society anymore where the average citizen is capable of responsible gun ownership”
So just because ONE kid did this, ALL firearm owners are a problem.
That was the invalid point.
Which you said was valid and thought provoking.
I think people KNOW the right way to keep guns...it’s just whether they choose to practice it...
We need to ban alcohol!/s (killed several people I knew from my hardcore boozing days. Mike drank himself to death with the vodka. Frankie hanged himself rather than go to jail again. Pete died of a heart attack after a long night of boozing. Joe will die sooner or later, shattered hip from falling down drunk. All of them refused help. ) I can think of several more on the same path.
I was reading an article at the Troy University Library. There is a school for law enforcement training and they subscribe to several police periodicals. One was intended to administrators, chiefs, etc. and was very anti gun
One day they show a picture of a two year old girl who had shot herself to death with a revolver. You could see the brain matter on the side of her head. She was blond headed and looked almost just like my 2 year old daughter. It took a long time to get that image out of my mind. It really does bring home to you just how deadly guns can be.
I knew my beautiful daughter was not going to do that as I would not allow her access until she was old enough to understand safe handling. Still to this day I sometimes see that little girl in my mind.
Fair enough. I took away what I did, but maybe you are right. Perhaps montanajoe will weigh in.
The parents were at fault? Be specific, montana joe. You seem to be lying. Please, prove your story of unintended consequences, of gun ownership.
As far as guns go, One of my uncles blew his brains out. Guy at work shot himself under the chin with a .357. Twice. Survived and drank himself to death. Alcohol really is more dangerous than guns, but gov’t makes good money on the taxes. And the gov’t is afraid of an armed populace. They might not get on the cattle cars quietly./s
Well, where is you at, boy?
I'm simply pointing out that in twenty years the 2nd will be gone unless responsible gun owners advocate ways to keep kids and especially kids on medications from ever having access to a firearm.
For you dinosaurs out there that see no problem here...well I'm confident your views will be ancient history when my kids need guns but cant get them because of the brain size of today's dinosaur
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