Posted on 12/29/2009 3:55:35 PM PST by SmithL
BB guns and other nonpowder guns are often thought of as toys, but they injure as many as 21,000 Americans each year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. On Christmas day, a Florida boy was among those who got injured this year.
It's a scene right out of Humorist Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story, only this story takes place in Palm Beach, Florida, so the cast of charters is a little different.
A boy gets a pellet gun for Christmas, and tries out his new toy by shooting his autistic cousin in the buttocks, according to the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches news site. The boy's stepfather, Christopher Fred Cady, a registered sex offender, decides he needs to teach his stepson a lesson, so he grabs the gun and shoots the boy in the chest. Pow!
The boy ends up at grandma's house with a huge welt, and Cady ends up in jail with a child abuse charge, and he's being held without bail for failing to report a change in address or his name as a sex offender.
"Maybe Cady would have been better served to force the boy to watch the 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story to show him what happens when you get a BB gun for Christmas. Everybody knows you'll shoot your eye out - or get popped in the chest," writes Todd Wright in NBC Miami's Weird News column.
This story brings up a good question: Should young kids -- say, under age 16 -- have BB guns?
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
"target".
YES! We had stay-at-home moms who taught us right from wrong and fathers who came home for dinner most nights who were respected by the children. By 7, I had a BB gun and never once pointed it at another person, nor did I ever shoot a bird. We "played" target practice.....set up cans and took turns seeing who was the best shot.
Morality is taught and emulated....immoral parents can NOT teach morality to their children.
Irresponsible (immoral) parents breed irresponsible (immoral) children...neither the parents nor those children should ever be allowed to have a BB gun.
My outdoor shooting range lets my son shoot his Daisy Buck on the rifle range for free when it isn’t being used by paying customers. I know that my fellow 2nd Amendment supporters and the range masters appreciate the fact that I am teaching my eight year old gun safety by starting out with a spring loaded bb gun and teaching respect for every kind of firearm.
The kid is a crack shot and would try to protect our home with that little Daisy if he had to, I am sure.
“You’ll get yours Black Bart”
My brother shot me in the butt with his BB gun one time while we were out roaming around. I dropped my BB gun and beat him up. That said, a pellet gun is a lot more dangerous because of increased velocity of the projectile, the kid should probably get a whoopin’ and be sent to bed without dinner. That was a stupid move.
If somebody saw two kids in the woods with BB guns nowdays the local SWAT would probably be dispatched. And CPS would get involved, and at least one of the parents would likely go to jail.
What we need are more kids with BB guns and fewer squirrels.
I didn't think it could either until about a year ago not far from where I live.... this happened.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/14637705/detail.html
Six year old shoots 5 y/o sister, kills her.
Nope... no warning flags there....
Dad’s little lesson was stupid, but a “huge welt” isn’t that big of a deal. In other words, the BB didn’t even break the skin.
When I was a kid we used to shoot each other with BB guns all the time. Stupid, yes, but boys will be boys.
Of course, the best answer is for responsible parents to teach their kids responsible gun handling and use. But, short of that, getting shot in the butt with a BB is just part of being a kid, whether you’re autistic or not.
I’m very sorry to read that. Who shot him? How was he in harm’s way?
A pellet gun, as was stated in the story, will toss a BB at about 3X the speed of a BB gun.
Still, this is tragic. Adults required, and not just someone over 18 or 21, but real grown-ups.
If they outlaw bb guns...only outlaws will own them!!!!!!
My older brother has one of those Ithacas. It became mine (for awhile) when he was older. I could consistantly hit a bottle cap at 60’.
There was a creek by our cabin and we would stand up on the berm and shoot at sticks we would throw into the water. My friends with their semi-auto .22 would just waste bullets. After awhile I became the designated stick-thrower, and I’d still hit it first with my one shot.
I thought I was such a great shot, even tried out for the rifle squad at college. Couldn’t get a 10 in a couple weeks of trying with those big heavy .22 rifles! (I was tempted to have my brother send out that little Ithaca).
Believe it or not...my old man could fasten a match on the clothsline (the old kind with the white tip) and strike them at about 30 feet. Best shooting .22 I ever had.
Chain gun. Is that a Warthog?
Pellet guns are significantly different from a BB gun.
Some pellet guns shoot at 1400 feet per second. The average BB gun shoots and 300/400 feet per second.
Only a shot into the Eyesocket with the Eye already out could kill someone.
Yes...but these people are registered nuts to start with anyway.
But laws shouldn’t be based on the desires or stupidity of a few, or some ridiculous situation, no matter how it tweaks your sensitivity button.
That’s liberal thinking.
It makes me shake to think we could have any Americans who believe children shouldn’t have BB guns. Lord help us!
All I can say is....teach your children how to use a firearm.
We have 2 sons and 4 grandsons. Almost all have a couple of firearms.
Only the youngest (10) is without a shotgun or rifle, but he does have a BB gun.
Bless the little patriot. He’ll soon be getting his shotgun though.
M61 General Electric on an F-14 Tomcat.
“Should young kids — say, under age 16 — have BB guns? “
Don’t know - I had a .22 repeater well before I was 16.
Make that a two piece puzzle.
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