GUNS: Prevention vs. Punishment, Parental vs. Child Responsibility
From: Joe Dees (joedees@addall.com)
Date: Fri Apr 14 2000 - 14:04:52 MDT
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As the Prez said, we punish reckless drivers, but we still install child seats and seat belts. We punish airplane hijackers, but we still have metal detectors and luggage inspection at airports. It is said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Why should firearms be the only thing where prevention is forbidden?
As for teaching children to be responsible, sure, do it, but this should not absolve parents of THEIR responsibilities incurred concommitant to firearm purchase, such as child-proofing their weapons with trigger locks (the keys to which they should keep on their person, not on a casually-left-on-the-endtable key chain) or by locking them in a drawer, or by locking up the ammo or ammo clips. Do not forget that children are not allowed to enter into contracts because it is assumed that before they reach an age of accountability that they are NOT RESPONSIBLE; the requirement of responsibility thus falls to their caregivers. Give the kids a safety class, sure, but require every adult purchaser who may have kids come into his/her home (and that is virtually eveyone) to take a gun safety class (including gun storage safety), and to abide by certain safety standards designed to prevent the deaths of children, rather than just waiting passively for them to die and then punishin!
g the culpable over their dead bodies.
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