I am writing this to post to post the link on another website.

Someone tried to shame me for giving my Godson a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. I got the usual crap that goes with it. 

For him I say he ought to make his opinion noted and stand up for it. I recommend he put this on his lawn.

Of course if I were his neighbor I would cheerfully post this:

Fact of the matter is I didn't give my Godson a BB gun as a toy to turn him loose with to terrorize the neighborhood. I gave it to him to teach him some responsibility.

By now his parents have had a serious sit-down with him and explained that it is not a toy and could cause serious damage to people. The 'shoot your eye out' line really isn't a joke. It's serious business.

Besides his parents, his fairly avid shooter uncle will coach him along and insure a proper education in firearm safety and basic marksmanship. One thing that he will learn in the process is personal responsibility which is something many adults know little or nothing about.

Between two parents and an uncle I'm sure he will be steered in a safe direction. Later if he accepts the responsibility of BB gun ownership he will probably graduate to a single shot .22 rifle. eventually when I pass my 30-30 deer rifle will be passed onto him if he still shows interest.

I've been in the shooting sports almost all of my adult life and hopefully I will pass this onto him.

I hear a lot of parents screeching to kid proof guns but that's a cop-out. For one thing you can't. Kids can get into everything and find the meanest of hiding places for things. Besides, one can't control what happens during a play date. Some kid could very well hand your child a loaded firearm they either discovered in Dad's drawer or elsewhere. While locking things into a safe may sound like a 100% solution, it really isn't. Motivated kids can figure out how to get into Fort Knox. Besides, when they eventually get handed one, as a child OR even later on as an adult they will be ignorant of the safety rules.

A far more proactive solution is to gun proof you kids. You have to pull your head out of the sand and realize that this is a heavily armed country and you're not going to change it. Get over it and face reality.

You expose your kids to firearms and teach them to handle one safely. It doesn't take much. The safety rules are simple.

I have a relative that carried a handgun in the line of duty regularly. His mother was constantly worried about the kids getting their hands on it. 

One day he placed his revolver on the kitchen table and took his mother into the living room and said, "Watch this."

A few minutes later his son walked in the kitchen door and called out to his father that he had left his revolver on the kitchen table. Dad told the kid to bring it into the living room for him.

When the lad came into the living room he was carrying the revolver in his right hand. The cylinder was swung out and he was carrying it safely by the frame, with his fingers in the hole the cylinder was usually in. His left hand held 6 cartridges. The boy has simply unloaded it and disabled the revolver.

He was six years old.

It doesn't take much to gun proof kids. The basic safety rules are pretty simple. 1. Never point a firearm at something you don't want to destroy.  2. Keep your finger off the trigger until you re ready to shoot. It really IS that simple.

Hopefully my Godson will accept the responsibility of a BB gun and through it learn safety. I bet he will.

A few years down the road I may put a .22 single shot under the Christmas tree if he show interest. If not, that's good, too.

Still, because his parents and uncle will take the time to teach him he will go into later life aware of firearms and responsible enough to be safe.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY