I'm not anti-gun, I'll say that straight off the bat. I've suggested before that gun laws in states may be a bit too lax and I've taken some flack for it but seriously, what's happening to plain old common sense when it comes to the use of firearms?
A 39-year-old man - a shooting instructor to boot (although I really have to question his qualifications) - died earlier this week after being shot on the gun range. Accidents can, and do, happen in spite of all the precautions that may be taken, but in this case it all comes down to carelessness and lack of thought if you ask me.
Why? The instructor handed over a fully automatic Uzi to a nine year old girl!
Where to begin...?
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned in previous columns I grew up in a military family. My dad was in the Airforce and I have four brothers. Needless to say, there weren't a lot of girly, girl activities going on. I went hunting, fishing and did all the other stuff the guys did. I loved it. During it all though, we were taught to respect guns, how to use them properly, how to store them and about every element of safety that surrounded them. They were not toys nor were they ever to be treated as such. And they were certainly not something that was handed over without close supervision and plenty of rules.
So going back to the story...
I can see taking the nine year old gal to the range and educating her. Her parents were on site with her by the way. But did she really need to shoot an automatic Uzi? By herself? Anyone who has shot a rifle before knows what can happen. There's recoil. Imagine if you're a little girl? With an instructor who tells you after firing just one shot - "All right, full auto!"
Do you think perhaps size, strength, inexperience and surprise came into play?
It's all hindsight now but when she pulled the trigger, the kick back sent the gun over her head pointing to her instructor who was shot in his head. He died Monday shortly after being airlifted to the hospital in Las Vegas.
What a needless loss of life. Is it the fault of the gun? No. It's the fault of the adults who put that little girl into that situation. Can you imagine how she'll feel growing up after this?
Think people THINK. A little common sense goes a long way.
