Parents, Do you think that kids should be able to own guns?

No, children should not be able to "own" guns; but they should be able to legally posses them under limited circumstances, and then only under an adults direct supervision.

By this I mean that children can learn to safely handle a firearm, but in order to do so, they must actually handle it. There are shooting clubs and other organizations that promote safety training and marksmanship for children, and they should continue to be able to do so.

These circumstances are quite limited, however; and there is no reasonable purpose for a child to posses a firearm otherwise.

If they come from a family of hunters, then yes.. as long as they have had hunter's safety classes, and as long as the gun is kept locked up in a safe place while it's not being used!

This is a touchy subject for me right now.. The stuff that is all over the news. That woman and I use to be friends while I was living in New Castle about 8 years ago. It's all very sad.

I think that ultimately the boy should not have had access to the gun in the first place. In our state he has to be tried as an adult because there is no juvenile charges for homicide, or murder. Someone as young as 10 years old can be charged with murder.

This kid is sitting in a county jail right now, and the jail can't house him, as all the other inmates are adults. They can't even find clothes to put on the kid that fit even a little bit!

At 11 years old there was a reason he did that, I don't know the reason.. only he does at this point...and that is IF he has even really done it...as he has not admitted to it yet.

The media is leaning towards his motive as being "jealousy" if that is the case... then he shouldn't be put on death row, he should be put in an institution until he is of a certain age....or gets better.. He should also undergo psychological screenings!

My brothers had guns passed down from the family at the age of 12... this is a family tradition when a boy wants to go hunting.. They have to go through a hunter's safety course, and the gun is kept locked up except when it's being used... Now i think that if my mother had enough sense to do this... being the way that she is... then there are several others that do this as well. But i do understand that many don't do this because they don't ever think something like this ever would/could happen... Those are the people that don't need guns!

It's not a stupid question as some may think.

In the South, kid's are raised around guns and learn to hunt at an early age.

My nephews were +/-8 years old when first carrying a gun and hunting on their own. Their Father was always with them or near by, but we all know anything can happen.

Safety classes should be a requirement for anyone.

I've hunted with adults that have scared the life out of me with the way they act with a firearm.

Of course, I've refused to ever go hunting on future trips, if these people are going also. They are going to kill themselves or a friend by their ignorance.

I'd rather hunt with my 8 year old nephew.

He has more respect for the weapon.

Kid's cannot legally own guns. They own guns that were purchased by their parent(s) and thus are registered to the parent(s).

So, the parents are ultimately responsible.

Also, as an adult, I've had accidents happen that luckily were not deadly but could have been. I've climbed a tree with my gun, only to drop the gun once I was getting settled in the tree. The gun fired when it hit the ground !

Could have killed me.

Lesson, Don't load the gun until your in the tree and settled in.

Also, I've trip walking in the woods with the gun, only to realize that I stuck the barrel of the gun in the dirt when I trpped and the end of the barrel was clogged.

I just saw your additional details.

What's a child's Gun??

Well I think it could be good or bad.Depends on the individual them selfs that is teaching them or showing them.If it's agood person then they will show them what is right, if not than yes it could be bad cause there is the stupid people that dont care that just show there kids how to shoot and nothing about safety.There are so many different answers that I can't honestly say what is the best answer.I guess it depends on the individual themselves.I have guns and a 20yearold and a16yearold both boys.But I brought them up to respect them like I do.Hope this helps you in someway.

By kids, I assume you mean under 18. Nobody under 18 (and some people over 18) has the maturity to properly handle such a lethal weapon. It's a good idea to have kids take safety classes and also use guns under trained adult supervision - they develop a healthy respect for how a gun is used/not used properly - so when they do turn 18 they are likely to be a responsible gun owner.

On the other hand, there's a least one study that disputes the benefit of early education (http://www.gunguys.com/?p=1154), so keeping guns away from kids in general is still the best practice.

Any adult that provides a gun to a kid under 18 should be held fully accountable for any outcome.

No, kids should not have guns.

That's not the same thing at all as saying that kids should never be allowed to use guns, safely and under supervision. But no child should EVER be using a gun alone, or be the one looking after it, or have any access to it at all without an adult, even if, size-wise, it is "their" gun.

I'm an international target shooter, btw, with a daughter who also competes. She has NO independent access to her rifle, and won't have until she is old enough for her own firearms certificate. I'd never let her have an airgun or BB gun for playing around, because guns are not toys.

I agree with the answer above. It depends on the purpose, and the type of gun. If it's for hunting, or shooting clay targets then I believe that if they purchase the gun(with parent with them), or have it purchased by or with an adult they should be allowed to own them, however the person using the gun, the kid, should show legal proof that they took and passed a gun safety class. Also kids should only CO-OWN the gun, not fully theirs. Guns are not something to mess around with and kids should be properly educated on how to use one, and should be used only when allowed to by the parents. Like if Jimmy wants to go shoot some clay targets out in the old field, then the parent must be aware of what Jimmy is doing so that is something does go wrong, his parents know what he was doing, etc. Also no kids under 12 should own, nor operate a gun. Parents and kids alike should be responsible for what happens, kids should learn the safety aspects of it, and Parents should know what their kids are doing with the gun, and making sure nothing goes wrong.

:]

Hope that helps.

i am a gun collector and shoot for sport i am teaching my son gun safety he comes with me when i take the explorers to the range to learn about guns yes guns can be dangerous in the wrong hands but remember the 4 rules of shooting

1.treat a gun like its always loaded(even if it is not)

2.do not point at anything that you are not willing to destroy

3keep the finger off the trigger(indexing)

4.make sure of your surroundings in front the sides and behind you

I believe in the whole "guns don't kill people, people kill people" but any smart person would agree that kids have no business with a gun without adult supervision.

And if a parent wants to buy their kid a gun, they are responsible for the disaster that might happen.

What's more important?

a) Life

b) Entertainment

One life lost due to an 'accident' whilst hunting is one life too many.

Ban hunting, ban guns.

And to all those people who let their eight year olds own guns- that is the most ridiculous, irresponsbile thing I have ever heard. Your children should be taken away to a SAFE environment. I don't care how 'mature' you believe your child to be- they are CHILDREN! Children, and many adults, do silly, irresponsible, clumsy things! Thank God there is no hunting where I live, it sickens me that children would be encouraged to kill an animal for entertainment!

I understand that culling is sometimes necessary, and the appropriate authorities will carry that out when required, but on what planet is it necessary for a child to kill? That's sickening.