Posted on 08/21/2002 2:15:20 PM PDT by LurkedLongEnough
(New Haven-WTNH, Aug. 20, 2002 5:12 PM) _ Does Connecticut law do enough to keep kids safe from gun violence? That question is being raised after two separate incidents with kids and guns had deadly consequences.
In both cases it was a child who pulled trigger and two young people were killed. The laws are there. They require gun safety locks and the person who owns the gun is responsible no matter who pulls the trigger. It's obvious those laws don't always keep guns out of kids hands, so the question is what can be done to prevent another tragic shooting from happening.
It was a gun in a child's hand that killed nine-year-old Edgar Ayala at a home on Quinnipiac Avenue in New Haven Monday. Last week in Hartford, police say a 13-year-old boy shot and killed his 17-year-old brother.
The two tragic incidents are raising concerns about kids and guns. It seems everyone agrees something needs to be done to keep guns out of kids hands but there are different opinion on exactly how to do that.
The National Rifle Association has a gun safety program called "Eddie Eagle." Local N.R.A member Bruce Stern says it's the best way to educate kids on the dangers of guns.
"The more you make something secret, the more you prevent education from being disseminated in any particular instance, the more curiosity is developed and curiosity can lead to disastrous results," Stern said.
State Representative Mike Lawlor, who chairs the general assembly's Judiciary Committee, is skeptical of the program.
"It seems as though from studies done it doesn't mean a kid that sees a gun is gonna call an adult," he said. "More often than not they're gonna play with it whether or not they've been through that program."
Rep. Lawlor says the best way to guarantee kids' safety is to keep the children and the guns separate.
Gun safety groups say even if parents don't have guns in the house they need to also make sure there are no guns in houses that their children may visit.
On the Internet:
Eddie Eagle
Demand for handguns has skyrocketed in CT since 9-11, so there are probably many more trained carriers than ever who might think about this program for their kids.
Anyone else in CT might want to write to Mike Lawlor about the importance of ~educating~ kids about guns rather than let Hollywood ideas grab hold of kids.
This person has no data to back this up.
Do an objective study and publish the results, otherwise, shut yer damn mouth.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We needn't bend our laws to accommodate the freak accident and tragedy born of negligence. Every one of these incidents then becomes leverage for additional restrictions on our right to keep and bear arms, although those restrictions have already proven ineffective in preventing these incidents.
I take it these addresses aren't next to the golf club. More like it's getting dark, bar the door and lock shut the windows neighboorhood.
"Ute shoot ute in urban slum" Standing headline. Fill in the city.
This very question (and the prevalence of similar ones) is the exact problem. It immediately open the floodgates for those in power to do something, anything, to "fix" a problem that is simply unavoidable in a free society. Their solutions inevitably fail (without consequences to those who implement them), the problem inevitably gets worse, and the majority of the sheeple beg for more government intervention, espeically from the federal level. This spiral is why our nation is failing as a Constitutional Republic.
Probably not as Connecticut has no doubt followed the lead of so many other states in restricting the possession of weapons and training of citizens and youth in marksmanship and gun handling.
It is time to re-install rifle ranges in our public schools and re-establish the American tradition of the 2nd Amendment.
Children should be taught from infancy up how to properly behave around weapons and when to handle them and how.
They should learn from the cradle about the 2nd Amendment- this critical foundation of a representative Constitutional Republic and practice its tenets until they are established in the very fiber of their being.
Otherwise the media inspired education of willful ignorance will continue to kill the youth of this country in these unnecessary incidents.
Best regards,
At any rate, I totally agree with you. Is there something we can do to make this happen? Do you have any experience with NRA programs / working with CT schools? You & any other like-mindeds FReepmail me.
At any rate, I totally agree with you. Is there something we can do to make this happen? Do you have any experience with NRA programs / working with CT schools? You & any other like-mindeds FReepmail me.
No. I'm not a teacher. I don't really know much about Ct.
Since it is my personal opinion those abattoirs of the soul known as Public Schools should be immediately abolished or converted back into the system known as the little Red Schoolhouse I'm not sure how working with various arms of the Octopus such as the PTA will help.
Certainly serious like minded parents who are tired of the status quo should descend en masse to various public hearings or meetings of the Board of Education and demand results.
On the other hand it should be possible for just about anyone to set up a storefront location and shoot single shot air rifles at 25 feet.
The Daisy Model 131 single shot pellet rifle for example, is an extraordinary value in precision and accuracy for the cost of about $100.00
This is NOT your Grandfather's BB gun!
It comes with fully adjustable windage and elevation iron sights and young eyes and reflexes should be able to easily fire groups of .25 inch at 25 feet.
All the basics-trigger control, breathing, front sight focus- can be taught with nothing more complicated than a pellet trap made from a cardboard box and an open area inside a strip mall storefront or even a good size garage or basement.
Depending on where you live any adult group should be able to organize this activity with little effort and expense.
And of course, other options in the air rifle world exist up to and including $2,000 Olympic grade varieties.
Certainly that would be a beginning in any urban area.
Best regards,
FReegards
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