Just to be clear, it's a small minority of Americans who would actually consider it a fun idea to let their kid shoot an automatic weapon. People are free to call for the abolition of guns without being hypocrites as long as they call for a prohibition on selling alcohol right after the gun situation has been taken care of.
9yr old girl kills her gun instructor with an uzi
by EndofMysteries 137 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Simon
Utter madness. Poor guy, poor kid who now has to live with it for the rest of her life.
How many people die because of guns versus the often notional number claimed to be "saved" by having one?
Why not fire a soft-pellet gun? Why not learn how to shoot a hunting rifle? Who needs an Uzi if they believe they are in the best country on earth?
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AndDontCallMeShirley
It's not as if the parents just handed their 9 year-old an Uzi and told her to go out and play.
She was receiving instruction by a professional in a controlled setting.
Sometimes accidents just happen regardless of all the safety precautions taken.
Skateboards, archery, motorcycles, monkey bars, bikes, downhill skiing and gymnastics are also dangerous kid activities that carry varying degrees of risk (sometimes a high degree/potentially lethal).
Try as you might to make everything risk-free, it just isn't realistic. It's always easy to dissect, criticize and condemn in hindsight.
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bohm
AndDontCallMeShirley: There are ways to reduce the chance a 9 year old girl will shoot someone in the face with an uzzi: Dont give her a loaded uzzi and ask her to shoot it.
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bohm
I have recently been convinced that the high incidence of killings in america can only be solved arming citizens. Now I just wonder what sort of weapon this man should have been carrying?
Also I wonder if it is not more appropriate to give a todler a hand-grenade rather than an automatic weapon since (presumably) he will not be able to aim an automatic weapon and fire it.
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AndDontCallMeShirley
"There are ways to reduce the chance a 9 year old girl will shoot someone in the face with an uzzi accidentally kill herself colliding with a tree while downhill skiing: Dont give her a loaded uzzi and ask her to shoot it pair of skis and tell her to slalom."
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So the next time we hear a story about a 9 year-old who gets into the driver's seat of the family car and accidentally kills her dad by running him over in the driveway, I expect to hear a lot of JWN posters call for the banning of automobiles. The only way to make cars safe is to make sure no one has one.
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cofty
Gun control in one, of even a few, generations is probably impossible. What is needed is a gradual shift in mindset. America looks like a nation of frightened people. The fear is fed by a media that knows fear sells and a religious right who see the world in a similar light to JWs. It's "them v us" - with "them" being a flexible concept.
I admire a lot about America, and I think the democratic world ought to be deeply grateful for the big stick that is the US military. But I really think you need to chill.
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Caedes
The difference being that the car or the skis have a use and thus only caused an accident through misuse, the Uzi has only one purpose and that is what it was used for.
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LisaRose
Those are ridiculous analogies ADCMS. A person learning to ski can be supervised and given instruction that would limit any danger, for example, you would not send a beginning skier down a black diamond run. The instructor can observe and correct any issues before they become dangerous, they would quickly see if a student is going faster than they should and give additional correction. Most ski fatalities are from older skiers who think they are better than they are, not children on the bunny slopes.
A child holding an automatic weopon in can kill someone in the blink of an eye, the instructor can not anticipate such a thing. Studies have shown that even teens do not have a fully developed brain, they cannot always accurately assess the repercussions of a particular behavior. A nine year old would be even less able to do so.
And I for one did not call for banning of all guns, I was just commenting on the sheer stupidity of giving a child an automatic weapon. I am amazed that anyone would think this was a good idea.
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AndDontCallMeShirley
Flawed logic caedes.
Accidents happen, whether through deliberate misuse of something or if all safety precautions have been observed.
A firearm is a tool (whether for hunting, self-defense or target shooting) and has an inherent risk in using it. Power saws and air nailers are also tools that have an inherent risk in their use. And, even when done safely, accidents still happen.
The difference is when a carpenter accidentally cuts off a finger or hand with a power saw, no one begins clamoring for the banning of power saws.
If this girl was being instructed in the use of an air nailer, and she accidentally killed her instructor with that air nailer, would you use the same argument you used above??