George Rebane
With the Las Vegas massacre still fresh in the news, and memories of previous such shootings indelibly burned into our collective memories, the ongoing debate in these pages about preventing children from accidentally shooting themselves or others assumes a heightened focus and an inevitably extended scope. We are all standing by for the new spate of progressive platitudes and proposed proscriptions of the lawful ownership and possession of guns guaranteed by the Second Amendment. This guarantee is not recognized by many of our newly educated citizens, most leftwing politicians, and all lamestream journalists. But the only guarantee we have is that when the dust of the latest tragedy settles, and it will settle, this next chapter of the debate will leave us more separated than ever – the Great Divide ratchet turneth.
So, back to preventing accidental gun deaths. I wonder what would happen to current statistics if children were taught about gun safety in kindergarten and/or first grade. Today concerned parents have no hope of denying their child’s knowledge of the existence and, yes, the romance of guns since the world’s cultures glorify their existence as objects of power, adventure, status, justice, crime, coming of age, … . Today all of this is drummed into the heads of the little darlins through immensely popular and engaging shoot-‘em-up computer games, realistic movies, and TV/online videos available 24/7 on the youngsters’ phones and pads. And the more such parents attempt to keep children from having early ‘gun experiences’, the more attractive guns become to kids as the forbidden fruit that when serendipitously discovered, must immediately be handled, explored, surreptitiously shared, etc.
As a youngster (and child war veteran) in 1950s middle America, I was as interested in guns as were any of my friends. In those days fathers (mine included) put guns into the hands of their sons (and many daughters) when they were, by today’s standards, very young. I got my Red Ryder Daisy BB gun when ten, and my first 22 mag-fed bolt action rifle when thirteen. (One of my grandsons now has it.) I taught my children and grandchildren about guns and gun safety before they were five, and to shoot before they were eight.
Before the age of political correctness it was rare to hear of a youngster tragically discharging a found firearm. Although kids did have their share of hunting accidents when improperly handling their firearms. But then such accidents were not political or politicized events, no one became hysterical as a result and started militating for some new draconian laws or regulations that proscribed or constructively denied the then legal ownership and disposition of guns. Overall, these were viewed as childhood accidents similar to when a kid seriously injured himself on a swing or other playground equipment, or riding his bicycle, swimming, climbing trees, or … . These were simply tragic accidents the solution to which was more/better safety training. We recognized that life lived to the fullest has inherent dangers, and their attempted eradication would also eliminate other unintended desiderata that contributed to our quality of life – in sum, the overzealous quest for safety itself has a price, as we see all around us today.
Are we really a better society as a result of fifty years of social histrionics wherein we have sought to impress each other with our social consciousness and caring that today mandates almost everything that we do, say, or think. How many mass shootings did we have when young people knew more about guns and had easier access to them?
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