I was waiting for DH to get to my office and reading an article on KSL about guns.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=23760775&nid=148&title=can-guns-be-safely-stored-at-home
(If you're interested)

Reading the comments, I was struck by something funny. Many of the comments are from obviously LDS people (one says something about teaching this during family home evenings) and most of them are saying that the best way to be sure your kids are safe in a home with guns is to teach them all about them, to make sure they know how to handle them safely, know when/ where to use them, etc. The biggest point being that if it's not taboo, or a big mystery, the kids won't be tempted to 'play' with them or mishandle them. They will be prepared to make a good, informed decision if they ever happen across one.

What hit me was that many of these are the same people that think sex ed means telling kids to never, ever touch themselves, and that sex is evil and dirty and naughty until you're married.

How have they not put this together?

Mormonism: masturbation is more dangerous than guns! Lol!

What's even more striking to me is the dissonance between how they teach gun safety and how they deal with "anti-Mormon" information. They are preaching how important it is to be totally open and share all the information they can to avoid their children playing with guns (which is good and admirable), but if their kids had a question about some "anti-Mormon" stuff, they would immediately try to shut it down, shove the info under a rug, get it out of their house, and never speak of it again.

Mormonism: the truth is more dangerous than guns!

It's not funny, it's true. The whole bullshit about death v rape is predicated on the idea that the human body is expendable but if you fuck up the soul than your screwed.

My father felt exactly the same way as many of the responders to this article. Teach your children about guns, show them how to handle them safely, take the mystery away and your chances of them not being curious and everyone being safe goes up.

Right up to the moment that your pre-teen son and his friend are in the house alone and he shoots his friend through the carotid artery and he dies nearly instantly. Then, it was a great theory but a terrible reality.

Let's just say I take a long, long time rubbin' oil on my rifle.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I'm not a fan of guns, but I agree with the sentiment. If your child shows an interest in guns, it's better to let them handle them safely than to make their interest taboo. Same thing goes with sex. Some STD's can be as devastating as gun accidents, and while you may not be able to prevent every bad thing in your child's life, you can reduce their risk by teaching them to express their desires responsibly.

I actually agree with the teaching your kids all about guns approach if you happen to have guns in the house. Keeping guns is not for everyone, but if you are going to do so, and you have kids, then absolutely teach them about them.

Same thing about sex. If your children are going to walk around with fully functional sex organs, then you should teach them about all the ins and outs of having that sex pistol, and how to properly take care of it, and when to use and not use it.

Also reminds me of the line in Superbad when the teenage kid asks the cop what it is like to carry a gun, and he says, "I'm not going to lie to you. It's like having two dicks, if one of them could kill a person." The power to create a life, is second only to the power to take it away. Both deserve the same level of education and information.

Ha! I thought for this topic the M word was MACHINE.

Could also be mini. If you don't know what a minigun is, I suggest you look it up on youtube.

If you have guns, they should be in a locked gun safe. If you have mentally or emotionally fragile people in your home, you should not have guns.

My daughter was exposed to shooting as a competitive sport and most importantly, to gun safety. She was properly trained.

However, the thought of people running around with guns is frightening. I have seen supposedly competent shooters at a gun range turn around with a loaded gun to where it is pointed at people.

I have seen hunters at the range who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

At an indoor range, I watched security guards trying to qualify for their permits. Their level of skill was pitiful.

Untrained or self-trained people have no business putting others in danger.

I understand that in Utah teachers are allowed to have guns in the classroom without parents having been informed? Do you walk down the aisles with the loaded gun in a holster on your hip? Do you leave it in a handbag locked in a desk drawer that any fool can break into?

Or, like the retired sheriff hired to be a "guard" in an elementary school in Michigan, do you walk off and leave it behind in the boys' bathroom?

Sorry for the rant, but it is all ludicrous and very dangerous.

I believe in Utah the weapon has to be concealed and under the direct control of the carrier at all times, IE, on their body.

Personally, I feel that since guns are not going to go away anytime soon, we do need to find ways to get responsible armed security on school campuses, but I think they need to be in an official capacity. This can be a school resource officer, or it could be a teacher or campus administrator, if they meet very tough criteria. It shouldn't be a situation where anyone who wants to carry, goes out and does it on their own, but if you can find a couple teachers who are level headed, and can pass the police fire arms course, then find a way for them to carry with the weapon dangling on their hip, or sitting in the bottom of their purse, its a good start.

They should also have to train with the local police, both so that they have a competent familiarity with their weapons and use of force laws, but also so that the cops can have an easier time identifying them upon their own entry into the school.

At the school in our community in Nevada, the school cop is a city cop assigned to the four schools located within a 1 1/2 block area. At least he/she (have had both) is extremely well-trained.

Having been in many crowded hallways and in the middle of things when there were fights, the thought of having a loaded gun in a holster on my hip is absolutely nuts. It is a deadly incident just waiting to happen.

Police are highly trained and yet still make mistakes. I don't want my life to depend on some person, even if well-intentioned, with minimal training.

Sorry, I forgot to add that crowded hallways are always there. Fights happen very frequently, especially when the weather turns warm. Some crazy angry kid (i.e. momentarily so mad he's crazy) could grab the gun in an instant and ruin his life or mine or someone else's.

I could easily see this scenario happening

An armed assailant breaking in is much less likely to happen.

That is why these "arming the school personnel" ideas are so misguided.

I responded with a big long post, but it was getting political, and I don't think RFM should be political. My original post probably was also too political, but I will leave it so people can see what you were responding to.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2013 04:20AM by forbiddencokedrinker.

I read up on the subject of kids and guns a while back and studies found that educating kids about guns and gun safety made no difference as to whether they would play with them if they found one, even going as far as trying to load and fire them.

It also found that kids with parents who had a law enforcement or military background were more likely to be unsafe.

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/guns.htm

Edited to add a link



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2013 04:32AM by kwyjibo.

Thanks for this.