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posted by n1 on Friday August 29 2014, @08:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-not-with-an-uzi dept.

The accidental death of an instructor at an Arizona shooting range, killed while teaching a 9-year-old girl to fire a fully automatic Uzi, has touched off a debate among those who enjoy and teach the use of firearms: What’s the proper way to teach children about guns? The key, is training says gun instructor Butch Jensen. A gun is a tool, and like any tool — be it a circular saw or a kitchen knife — requires proper instruction. “It was clear that she was a beginner, and you don’t start a beginner in that type of firearm,” says Jensen, who watched a widely circulated video of the fatal lesson. “If you want to learn how to run Indy cars, you don’t start at Indy.” Blake Carrington, who serves in the Air Force, has taught his 10-year-old daughter to shoot a .22 rifle. “I personally would never give my child a fully automatic weapon,” says Carrington. “I feel terrible for that little girl having to live with that.”

Shooting instructors said in interviews that in some cases, a 9-year-old may be able to handle an Uzi, even though it has a tricky recoil and can fire hundreds of rounds per minute. The child would have to weigh enough to handle the recoil and have some experience with guns. The parent and instructor would have to jointly determine that the child is mature and skilled enough to operate the firearm safely. Tom, who practiced with an M1 Garand Rifle, says he shoots for sport and to exercise his 2nd Amendment rights. “I don’t think you should keep kids away from firearms. This shouldn’t keep people from taking their kids to the range.” Still, Tom says he could not fathom why adults allowed the 9-year-old girl to shoot an Uzi. “I don’t know what they were thinking. My personal opinion is someone under 15 years of age playing with a submachine weapon is not a good idea.”

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @09:09AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @09:09AM (#87504)

    By the time I was 8 I fired a [hull mounted] MAG and an AK [in a shooting range, not set to full auto, with a single round chambered] among all the other stuff you'd expect to find in your typical gun-show. They made a big loud boom and after discharging a few rounds I got bored and went off to play ball and get something to eat. "Supervision" was a pimply faced 18 year old girl fresh out of boot-camp that was more interested in chatting with the man around her then bother with all the snot nose brats running around.
    15 years later and every person I met in the service hated that broom (M16) he/she had to lug around all day and would just toss the damn thing whenever opportunity presents itself...

    I also had an M16 laying in a corner of my house with a 30(29) round clip laying beside it during my preteens. When it was brought home I was only told once "Don't touch it or you'll blow your leg off" and that was enough. I knew what firearms were for and it was obvious they're not a toy.

    But then again, that was the 90s and we did live in Israel...