Kindergartner brings gun to Texas school!

[onelifecrisis]

Originally Posted by CptLolPants

Not sure if troll.

Haha, that's cute, especially from someone who registered only days ago and has a whopping 8 posts worth of experience here.

Originally Posted by Molon Labe

If responding with an F-bomb is an understandable and entirely appropriate response, then yes, it's a troll.

I didn't see anyone drop an F-bomb.

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

They exist.

You can tell a responsible gun owner when you go to his home, and perhaps aside from the 200 year old antique musket above his fireplace mantle, you can't really tell whether or not he actually owns any working guns.

Well if you say so GR, but that seems a little off topic. Back on track, here are some ways to prevent your child from getting his or her hands on your gun:

1) Keep the gun locked in a safe protected by DNA-sampling, eye-scanning, voice-sampling technology. And never, ever forget to put it in there after you're done playing with it.
2) Don't own a gun.

The second one seems a lot simpler to me.

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Well if you say so GR, but that seems a little off topic. Back on track, here are some ways to prevent your child from getting his or her hands on your gun:

1) Keep the gun locked in a safe protected by DNA-sampling, eye-scanning, voice-sampling technology. And never, ever forget to put it in there after you're done playing with it.
2) Don't own a gun.

The second one seems a lot simpler to me.

To each his own in that regard.

I could avoid being in a car accident by not owning a car, but i chose to own one.

Electing not to own a gun is just as much of a right as owning one is, and i fully respect your decision not to own one.

but the funny thing is you never see attempts to pass legislation requiring you to buy a firearm... the opposite is constantly true.

As for the gun safe: i think DNA / retinal scan / voice recognition lock tech is a little much for storage of just about anything in any average home.

a 4 to 6 digit pin code lock like the one i linked to earlier for only $80-100 will suffice. unfortunately, many people chose not to use locks at all.

for a large gun collection a rifle safe with a combination lock should do the job. (I didn't have the combination to my dad's rifle safe until i was 21 years old! despite the fact that guns I OWNED were inside of it)

I elect not to lock any of my firearms meant for immediate home defense, and why should i? i don't have children about.

but if there are children routinely in the home for any reason - whether they reside there, or you baby sit them once in a while... lock up any and all firearms.

[onelifecrisis]

Fair point with the car accident, GR. My counter: a car serves a practical purpose, a gun does not. Yes, you can shoot deer with it. Or you can just buy venison from the supermarket (much easier IMO). Yes, you can defend yourself with it... and tell me, how many times have you ever had to? I often see gun owners on this forum talking macho about what would or would not happen if someone tried to break into their house, molest their daughters, or whatever, but has any of that actually ever happened to you? Ever? Yes a car can kill, but that's not what it's designed for and driving to work is something I have to do every day - how many days a week do you have to shoot someone?

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Yes, you can shoot deer with it. Or you can just buy venison from the supermarket (much easier IMO)

While it is true that it is easy to go to the supermarket to buy venison, and there are many many people who elect to do that, there are some who prefer the sport and thrill of the hunt, and the satisfaction of cleaning and preparing their own meat - about 100 lbs worth in total - that will last their family many months for next to zero overhead cost. the price of venison at the supermarket for a similar amount of meat would be astounding.

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Yes, you can defend yourself with it... and tell me, how many times have you ever had to?

I've never had to. on the same note, I've never had to put a fire out with the fire extinguisher i keep in my truck either. I hope i dont ever have to.

on the other hand i do know a man who has *3 times* had to defend himself and his wife from immediate danger using his firearm as a deterrent. (he has not fired it in defense)

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

I often see gun owners on this forum talking macho about what would or would not happen if someone tried to break into their house, molest their daughters, or whatever, but has any of that actually ever happened to you? Ever? Yes a car can kill, but that's not what it's designed for and driving to work is something I have to do every day - how many days a week do you have to shoot someone?

again, see the fire extinguisher reference above. I keep one in my truck - never had to use it. but the worst day of my life would be listening to my wife scream as she burned in a car fire i would have otherwise been able to prevent if i were equipped with a fire extinguisher. (It happened to one of my mom's friends and her grandson - both dead now because they were trapped and had no way to combat the flames while waiting for help)

Im not macho about home defense, and it takes a fool to talk a big talk about all the rambo stuff they would do to an intruder. You never know what might happen in the scenario of home invasion.

but i would rather be equipped to deal with the threat than not be.

you can bet anything that a home intruder is prepared to do harm to you and those you love... shouldnt it stand to reason that you should be prepared to prevent it?

i certainly think so.

and while any defense scenario can unravel - i think the logic of preparation is infallible - and you can never be too prepared.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

1) Keep the gun locked in a safe protected by DNA-sampling, eye-scanning, voice-sampling technology. And never, ever forget to put it in there after you're done playing with it.
2) Don't own a gun.

The second one seems a lot simpler to me.

Since your presumably from England as your location says as much, i suppose the 2nd option makes alot of sense to you. However to an American, it does not. Our culture has its colonial roots you know.

[Cohaagen]

That Yamamoto quote is a favourite line of right-wing internet posters, often cropping up in their signature along with George Orwell's "we sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf".

Unfortunately, like the Orwell quote, it is completely bogus. The man never said such a thing. Ironically, it was the likelihood that there would have been a rifle behind every blade of grass in Japan that in part led to the decision to drop the A-bomb instead of invading.

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by Cohaagen

Unfortunately, like the Orwell quote, it is completely bogus. The man never said such a thing.

Untruths on the internet tubes?!

OH NOZ!!1!

[mookiemookie]

"The problem with Internet quotations is that many are not genuine." - Abraham Lincoln

[Krauter]

Up here in the frigid North it's too damn cold for home invasions

On a serious note, when I was a kid, I used to always want to go out hunting with my uncle. Just the thought of shooting a rifle, or the thrill of the hunt, had me begging him to go out. Even still, he refused me until I was older.

However, prior to him actually having the will to take me out, I joined the Royal Canadian Air Cadets where I made it on to the Marksmanship team of my squadron. Mind you, this was only firing air-soft rifles. However, due to this, I was able to attend a course during the summer for firing actual rifles, mostly .22's. This taught me that, shooting a gun isn't all it's cracked up to be. And most importantly, if you don't hold the damn thing snugly, it'll dislocate your shoulder. Factor #1, but primarily factor #2 meant that when my uncle finally asked me to go hunting I said no

However, i do own an old .22 Bolt Action Springfield that I received after the death of my great grandfather. Albeit the firing pin has been removed (by him for safety reasons) and I keep the bolt separate from the the rifle itself. I only look at that rifle and think of my grandfather, not of firing it.

Anyways, back on topic...
BRING THE HAMMER DOWN ON THE LITTLE TODDLER.. and all that stuff .. Just a case of a student not being paid enough attention if they're able to sneak that stuff into class.

[gimpy117]

Umm...well why is a gun laying around so easily where a 5 year old can handle it?

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by Cohaagen

That Yamamoto quote is a favourite line of right-wing internet posters, often cropping up in their signature along with George Orwell's "we sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf".

Unfortunately, like the Orwell quote, it is completely bogus. The man never said such a thing. Ironically, it was the likelihood that there would have been a rifle behind every blade of grass in Japan that in part led to the decision to drop the A-bomb instead of invading.

Whooo hoo. First time i ever got accused of being on the right wing. All the local right wingers think im a left winger.

I did look up that quote out of curiosity after i hotlinked that picture. It sounded cool, but it sounded too cool, and looked it up finding it for the urban legend that it is. I was wondering if anyone would catch it or not. Anyway untrue of source or not, the sentence itself is reasonably correct. I'll wager there's at least one firearm in every Home, Apartment, and RV in America. And my point still stands, Firearms, much like car's, are embedded in our culture. Only the cultural roots of firearms in our society go way back to the very founding. Hell, i'm not a Gun nut, far from it, i acutally sit on the fence as far as Assault weapons go, but even I own a couple of guns.

[Fish In The Water]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

"The problem with Internet quotations is that many are not genuine." - Abraham Lincoln

Rumor has it Lincoln first posted that at: sellmeabridge.com

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

As for the gun safe: i think DNA / retinal scan / voice recognition lock tech is a little much for storage of just about anything in any average home.

You'll only need a fingerprint reader. My safe has one and even my car's GPS has one. It's no big deal at all and comes at a cheap price. While those things of course always come with a backup key /password you won't need them often and therefore you don't need to go and get them every now and then, making it much more difficult for junior to find out where you are hiding them.

[onelifecrisis]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

I've never had to. on the same note, I've never had to put a fire out with the fire extinguisher i keep in my truck either. I hope i dont ever have to.

on the other hand i do know a man who has *3 times* had to defend himself and his wife from immediate danger using his firearm as a deterrent. (he has not fired it in defense)

Okay, firstly, there are only six degrees of separation. Everyone knows someone who [insert anything here]. Secondly, did he *have* to use a gun? Over the last 7 years I've spend a lot of time in the US in different states (mostly Ohio) and heard many stories in which guns have been used as a deterrent, but not one where it was actually necessary to do so. In every story, the person pointing the gun "in defense" was pointing it at someone unarmed.

I don't know the necessary stats, but it'd be interesting to compare the statistical chance of facing an armed intruder vs, say, winning the lottery or getting struck by lightning.

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

again, see the fire extinguisher reference above. I keep one in my truck - never had to use it.

I don't think fire extinguishers are often the cause of the deaths of innocent bystanders.

Im not macho about home defense, and it takes a fool to talk a big talk about all the rambo stuff they would do to an intruder. You never know what might happen in the scenario of home invasion.

I know, but the way some people talk you'd think they need to hold a gun to get it up.

I know this debate is old and I won't convince you, but when Plat made the comment about "responsible" gun ownership in thread where three kids got shot, I couldn't resist the urge to comment.

[GoldenRivet]

While i agree on the six degrees of separation comment: 1. I don't question his decision to pull out his firearm. 2. in 3 of those cases, threat was imminent one being an attempted carjacking, one being an attempted mugging by knife, and one being an attempted home invasion. i say attempted because all three were thwarted. 3. I will always prefer to know someone who had to use or threaten to use their firearm rather than be the person to have to do it myself.

What happened in Houston with these kids is tragic. i know there are responsible gun owners... but i also know there are irresponsible gun owners... and i simply pose the question; Which ones make the news?

you simply cannot make a blanket decision that all gun owners are irresponsible, car shooting, beer swilling red necks because a kid gets his hand on pappy's pistol.

In this case, someone was lax with their firearm security and a kid got a hand on it and took it to school and people got hurt.

That is unfortunate, but i wonder how many kids didn't bring a gun to school that day and shoot people?

I also know - as an educator - that good judgment is not a teachable skill. Good judgment is something that a person acquires (hopefully) through years of experience and psychological development.

some people acquire more than others. and other people still seem to acquire none. In this case, someone exercised poor judgment and we see the result.

fortunately nobody was killed, hopefully the gun owners of the world can learn something from the incident.

not that you are guilty of making this a case for taking people's guns away from them... but here in the states - its a constant issue.

every time something like this happens, it causes some folks to jump up on the soap box and shout and stomp their feet about how nobody should even be allowed to own guns.

and you have a very large segment of society in the United States that is very adamant about defending that right. Its a culture thing. Its ingrained in our national psyche. many view it as a right. many view it as a duty. and a few consider it absurd NOT to own one.

my fire extinguisher comment was not meant to illustrate that fire extinguishers kill people - im not sure where you picked that out.

i just think that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. thats why i carry a fire extinguisher in my car, its why i have a snake bite kit with my camp gear (even though i camp in colder months) and its why there is a firearm at my bedside.

i do these things because i've been in positions without such things when it would have been nice to have it.

I pray to God the only thing that me and my firearms ever shoot are paper targets. But im certainly not going to leave my wife at home for the weekend armed to the teeth with a cell phone and harsh language.