Somewhere in the United States someone at this very moment is wrapping a gun to give to a child for Christmas, and you will never make me understand this.
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
Teaching children to be selfish is the worst possible message at Christmas. And there is nothing more selfish than believing you have the right to decide whether another person lives or dies.
Or there are congressional officials getting their guns out to pose with them for Christmas poses on social media because they need to celebrate their ego and ammosexuality.
When my son was 3 my husbands sister bought him a toy rifle. I made her take it back. They were from that hunting era. My kid still doesn’t have a gun. It’s crazy how people idolize guns.
I never bought toy guns for my kids and never allowed them in my home. We live in an economically challenged area and people eat venison for sustenance. When my son was legally old enough (12) he took a hunter safely course. And now he hunts to fill his freezer- and to sit in the woods for silence.
I never have been. My family didn’t hunt. We are city peeps. My husband’s family are from a rural area. Everyone hunted. I hated it and always will. Guns have always give me a dread in the pit of my stomach.
The other side of this is I grew up hunting with my Dad and Grandpa. I got guns for Xmas. Not assault rifles. Shotguns. Rifles. Even a black powder rifle for the black powder deer season.
That's how I grew up. With a respect for nature and for guns, instilled by my Dad.
I was just talking to my son about the shotgun with a wooden handle that my son inherited from his great-grandpa. He plans on handing it down to his kids.
To piggy back on this, my children do not hunt. My guns are stored safely. Trigger locks on all and in a gun safe. I buy ammo as I need it and do not have any at home.
There is a way forward in this country. The guns designed to kill people need to go away.
That makes sense. Don't get me wrong. I taught my boys to shoot at 10 and 12. If they had been interested I would have maybe done something similar. But they weren't.
Same in my family…not me (I am not a hunter) but this was the case for my brothers. First gun was always a bb gun along with proper instruction and mandatory Hunter’s Safety. We grew up in a rural area…N Cali
This can be taken in all kinds of different directions, some very inappropriate, but in general there’s nothing wrong whatsoever with giving a child a gun and teaching them how to properly use it. A first bbgun, then probably a .22, then a .410 or 12 gauge, or their first deer rifle, at appropriate
ages, teaching them to shoot and hunt if they want to learn, under supervision and at appropriate ages, these are natural parts of rural life.
The condescension here and ignorance toward the cultural background of millions is off the charts.
Agreed & very well put. I grew up around guns. Our family were hunters & participated in shooting sports. So did most of my friends. We enjoyed shooting/hunting, but respected guns & handled them safely. Just because guns are part of some people's lives doesn't make them a gun nut.
Concur, and to add my unwanted two cents the simple way we should word it is that guns themselves should not have stronger protections than human lives
There is an American Christmas comedy movie that romanticizes this very thing...heck, i bet it will play on loop for 24 hours as its done for over a decade.
Got a bunch of funny kids, kooky parents, zany situations...and at the stories core, it's about a kid DREAMING about and getting a gun.
Never, ever....
How can a parent be so clueless and dense about all the things that can happen to a teenager with a real gun? Guns and kids will never mix.
I told my husband it was fine with me if he wanted to go to the flying club on Christmas and he said "Hell no, I'll get shot with all the Christmas presents.". That is ridiculously sad.
I mean, if it’s a hunting gun in a rural setting, so the child can be introduced to hunting with dad and/or mom that then keep careful control and limited access of said weapon, I can see it.
Unfortunately, way too often that is not the case at all.
It started a long time ago just look at the movie Christmas Story, what's the greatest gift a BB gun, we've just upgraded that's all. It's about competition at the work place: " Whats that Sam you bought your boy a BB gun?" " I'm buying my boy an AR-15 tomorrow hahaha. " this is how it starts.
Hell of a difference between a kid getting their first hunting rifle to be used under supervision and gifting a kid an assault weapon or a high capacity handgun. I think we can all tell which one is building a healthy respect for firearms and which one is not.
They truly don't think their kids will ever be "that" kid...
Not understanding that kids don't even know who they are just yet...
If it's a BB gun, which I did have at a young age to shoot targets (paper plates I drew on...lol), I get it, but as I told my son, if you ever shoot a bird, squirrel...
Gave my office staff son a 2 yr old m&m filled candy cane and the first thing he did is point it and say boom boom. I think my faced dropped to the floor.
Remember the days when, giving a kid a beebee gun was considered dangerous?
Now they're automatic & shoot real bullets 😒😳
(Don't worry about shooting that eye out, you'll just decapitate them)
Guns are a uniquely American social disease. We're the only developed nation with these mass numbers of gun deaths, that is now the leading cause of deaths of children. Why we never took action after Sandy Hook in 2012 still shocks me.
Comments
That's how I grew up. With a respect for nature and for guns, instilled by my Dad.
There is a way forward in this country. The guns designed to kill people need to go away.
The condescension here and ignorance toward the cultural background of millions is off the charts.
I would just ask the OP to consider this can look very different depending on the context.
Got a bunch of funny kids, kooky parents, zany situations...and at the stories core, it's about a kid DREAMING about and getting a gun.
How can a parent be so clueless and dense about all the things that can happen to a teenager with a real gun? Guns and kids will never mix.
Books over guns everyday. Even if the books are about war.
I mean, if it’s a hunting gun in a rural setting, so the child can be introduced to hunting with dad and/or mom that then keep careful control and limited access of said weapon, I can see it.
Unfortunately, way too often that is not the case at all.
So, yeah. What you said.
#ItsTheGuns
#EndGunViolenceNow
I do not find it at all nice or cute.
Not understanding that kids don't even know who they are just yet...
If it's a BB gun, which I did have at a young age to shoot targets (paper plates I drew on...lol), I get it, but as I told my son, if you ever shoot a bird, squirrel...
Now they're automatic & shoot real bullets 😒😳
(Don't worry about shooting that eye out, you'll just decapitate them)