She didn't pee herself...
...or stick her finger down her throat to vomit on him...
She didn't pee herself...
Here's the commercial we should be seeing daily - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQHWTfFV3Vc
She didn't pee herself...
The position of "I have two kids, I won't have a gun in the house." is fallacious. She has the right to her choice, of course; it's her house. The fallacy lies in the basic premise, though. To illustrate, I like to use the example of the knife some have seen me use here before:
The knife is unchanged in many thousands of years. At its core, it is a handle one can hold and a point, edge, or both that was designed to rend flesh from bone and to force to penetrate through skin to cause physical damage underneath. It is still used for that today in most homes that are not vegetarian/vegan.
Now... parents of pre-teens... how many of you have started teaching your children to cook for themselves? You are allowing your child into the kitchen (ignore the hot burners and ovens for a moment) where your sharpest knives are, from the razor-edged paring knife to the butcher knife that is easily the length of an adult's forearm. This thing is like a sword to your child! Obviously, you didn't start them out there, though.
When they were still in their highchairs, you might let them have the butter knife: No point at all and no edge to speak of.
Once they were sitting at the table, you might let them have a table knife. Still no point, and an edge that could cut flesh with some serious effort, but not easily. They also started with this one with you holding it and doing the work, and their hand on it to get the feel of how to use it.
After much practice and finally proving mastery of the task, the child, again with exceedingly close supervision and adult hands present, might be able to use a steak knife. Here's where it gets really scary to parents, because this thing has a sharp point and a keen-honed edge. The child could do some serious damage to him/herself or a sibling... or even a parent... misusing that. But again, we hold it, we let them hold our hands while we do it, and slowly, agonizingly, let them take over the control, with our hands slowly backing away over weeks, maybe months.
Finally, the child is allowed to help in the kitchen with the preparation of food. That's kind of a misnomer: They're not helping much at all, in fact, they're slowing you down, because you have to instruct every step of the way. When they ask if they can cut something (veggies, let's say) to help you, you have to stop all else, then physically guide them, teach them, protect them, in the use of that deadly paring knife. Over time, sure, they prove themselves at each step, and then comes the day that they make a meal (that's actually good and you don't have to make faces to choke down!) that involved some seriously dangerous skills. You're not thinking about it at the time, but their ability to make that dinner started way back in the highchair. They built muscle memory, physical dexterity, and a basic knowledge base... and possibly got a few scars and shed some blood along the way... but all along, they were learning from not only holding the knife with you, but from watching every move you made.
Now... if you can train a child to properly, safely, and carefully use a knife, whose purpose is solely to destroy and cut apart, why can you not train them to properly, safely, and carefully use, with proper respect for its capabilities, a firearm, which by all accounts saves many more lives than it takes?
I'm not saying to give a hair-trigger Benelli 12g to your crib-sleeping infant... I'm not saying to fill your 2 year old's toy box with boxes of ammo and a sweet Kimber or two... I'm not saying your four- or six-year old should have his/her own gun cabinet with even a Crickett in it, though they could, provided they have proven to their parents' satisfaction that they understand and do not touch without the parent there.... as enforced by the key to the cabinet being kept with the parent.
I'm saying that two or three is not too young to start with things like Eddie Eagle. "Stop! Don't Touch! Leave the area. Tell an adult." Two or three is not too young to sit with Mom or Grandpa or whoever and watch the guns being safely cleared, then cleaned, then put back in their prior condition. (I think it might be too young to help, due to chemicals and their tendency to put things in their mouths, but I think they can safely watch. Hell, you could even get them a never-used cleaning pad and let them "clean" their squirtguns with you... with water-filled "Hoppes" jar and a spritzer of water for "oil"... But the point is that they are never too young to learn safe habits.)
BTW... if you use the idea of the water to "clean" squirtguns.... Do post a picture. That'd be REALLY cute to see. Not to mention, you can use the photo for blackmail when they get older.
Blessings
Bill
Bill, here's case-in-point for you: Boy fatally stabbed by 12-year-old at playground