by Pa Rock
Sad Observer
A few days ago I "tweeted" (PaRock@twitter.com) about a couple of Arizona gun stories that had been in the local press that day. One was regarding a five-year-old boy who died as a result of firing a loaded gun that he came across in his home. The other involved a twenty-year-old male who found a pistol in a closet. He pointed the gun toward his head and pulled the trigger to prove to a friend that it wasn't loaded. He was wrong about that - but he did go a long way toward confirming Darwin's theory of evolution. Nature has a way of weeding out the inferior members of a species.
A friend of mine from back in the Ozarks who has a different view on the gun issue tweeted back and suggested that the story of the 5-year-old was an urban legend that occasionally surfaces to discredit gun enthusiasts. I will admit that the story sounded a bit contrived, but it did, in fact, actually occur in rural Maricopa County last Monday. The youth, described by a neighbor as a "sensible little boy," shot himself in the stomach and expired at a local medical center. Other neighbors described the family as "tight-knit and religious."
The doofus who shot himself in the head was in the Queen Creek suburb of Phoenix.
The sources for those stories are:
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/141106
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/141116
Arizona, and particularly the Phoenix area, has an abundance of stories like the two mentioned above. Phoenix, by virtue of it size (the fourth largest urban area in America), is bound to experience a large chunk of personal tragedy. But the odds of gun mishaps are increased dramatically by the continuing efforts of our state legislature to remove any and all restrictions on gun ownership, as well as the local citizenry's determination to handle guns on their own terms. Many see government safety suggestions or regulations - trigger safety locks, for example - as an intrusion into their private lives. It's often a case of "the gummint ain't gonna tell me what I can and cain't do with my guns!"
Until that attitude changes, more parents are going to be finding themselves in the personal hell where the parents of that five-year-old are currently residing.
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys - because evolution will eventually win out.
2 comments:
Rights always come with responsibilities. A person who cannot safely store a firearm is not exercising freedom under the Second Amendment. That person is being licentious. A person failing to teach children the danger of firearms should not be permitted to keep either in their custody.
It is a simple lesson. When you point a gun at a person then you need to be prepared to shoot the gun and shoot to kill.
If that lesson becomes untenable then do as I did and disarm. I support gun ownership, just not in my house around my grandchildren.
Meanwhile, I have not changed my opinion about the citizens being able to form an independent and well regulated militia.
Enjoy the 4th, pray for the Marines as they are in one hell of a fight tonight over in Afghanistan.
Nicely said, Mike. Thanks for the reminder about our Marines. They deserve our prayers and support now and after they return from the combat zone.
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