But First, They Are Our Babies

Before I could publish my post about Ferguson, another article popped up in my newsfeed. This time about a 9 year old who shot a shooting instructor at a shooting range:9 Year Old Shoots Instructor. It actually wouldn’t have bothered me that much- after all, any time you handle a loaded weapon you are risking death- except that the gun she was shooting was a Uzi. A Uzi. The real thing- an automatic weapon preferred by the Israelites in the 1940s. And she could not handle the recoil and started spraying fire, killing her instructor. It’s being called a “tragic accident”. But is it either? To be sure I understood that a 9 year old American girl (please don’t even TRY to compare our children to child soldiers) had been given a Uzi as a recreational toy (and yes, if it is used by a child, it is a TOY).  So I consulted Wikipedia and here is what I read:

The Uzi (Hebrew: עוזי‎, officially cased as UZI) is a family of Israeli open-bolt,blowback-operated submachine guns. Smaller variants are considered to be machine pistols. The Uzi was one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design which allows the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon.

The first Uzi submachine gun was designed by Major Uziel Gal in the late 1940s. The prototype was finished in 1950. First introduced to IDF special forces in 1954, the weapon was placed into general issue two years later. The Uzi has found use as a personal defense weapon by rear-echelon troops, officers, artillery troops and tankers, as well as a frontline weapon by elite light infantry assault forces.

Of course now we live in a world in which anyone can get them (thanks 2^nd Amendment) and anyone can use them. So why wouldn’t we want our kids playing with them on a family vacation? I have no doubt that there will be readers emailing me tonight, telling me about how it wasn’t “the good guys” fault. About how this was just another “tragedy”. About how teaching children to use guns responsibly at a young age is the best way to protect them from misusing a gun. I am the product of that family. I knew how to use a gun long before I could write my own name, or drive a car.  I feel I was taught well, and our current plan is to let Sarah Leighton shoot, if that is her interest. But NEVER, NEVER NEVER an automatic or semiautomatic weapon. I’m in awe that there are places inviting children under the age of 10 to "join in the fun" by firing off a few rounds. I'm more in awe a parent would allow their child to fire a weapon like that. Is that the difference in generations? That I was taught guns are not “for fun”? I was taught that they are serious and can hurt someone in an instant. I was taught they were to be used carefully and handled gently and that there were rules involved. Lots of rules. I never even shot a pistol before college.

I wonder if anyone explained that to this poor girl, who will forever carry around that she killed a person. Did someone explain to her that she might die playing with this gun? Did anyone explain to her what a body looks like when it hits the ground after being shot? Did anyone give HER  a choice? We scream about having choices, and pro-gun, pro-militia, NRA supporters scream about the “right” to carry. But what about her rights? Because I think if I sat down with anyone of my 4^th graders right now, and explained that they could play with an automatic weapon, they would think that was awesome. But I think if I went on to explain that by choosing to do that, they would be risking their lives and the lives of everyone around them, they might think twice.

                  I also wondered if her parents did any research, if they looked at the results of what happens when children are handed guns. They might have run across last year’s story, an 8 year old accidentally killing himself with an Uzi his dad bought him for Christmas. Or they may have come across the dozens of stories of parents coming home to find one child has accidentally shot another, one child found where the artillery was, a toddler didn’t know what a trigger was. They may have googled Uzi and seen the images, and that currently it is used by bodyguards, some military personnel and not very many other people.  I wonder if they ever THOUGHT about the terrible way a gun takes away a life.

                  If you are interested in what I think should have been done, please continue. I think the children in the family should have been removed. Because parents who choose to let their children play with weapons like that should be seeking counseling. Don’t even try to tell me that it’s not their fault. That they didn’t know their 65 pound daughter couldn’t handle the recoil of an automatic weapon. Because their daughter shouldn’t be able to handle the recoil of an automatic weapon. She is a child. I also think they should be charged with manslaughter. They put their daughter on a shooting range with another person, knowing she was inexperienced. They should be punished for their choice as parents, because their daughter will forever be punished. I want to pull her into my arms and tell her I am sorry she was born into a family that would take her to a shooting range offering weapons of that caliber. That I hope she will be able to forgive herself.

                  I don't think any of the above will happen. There will be no charges filed, and it will be chalked up to yet another accident. But WHY? Why are we so accepting of the incredibly high rate of deaths by guns in this country? Why are we so accepting that killing people is okay?  I hear so many people going on and on about their right to carry a weapon, to stand their ground, to defend their family. I have now read message boards in which people claim they take their guns to DisneyWorld. And all I can think about is the other people- people like me who are much more likely to be shot by a “good Samaritan” than a thug. People like this sweet girl who will have to carry this burden for the rest of her life. People like the children who accidentally killed their brothers or sisters or a parent because they were children who did not fully understand the consequences of their actions. We all want our children to be so advanced they know how to do everything grown-ups do. But they aren’t able to make the judgement calls we make. Because they are our babies. When will we learn that they are the most important part of us, that they are the most crucial part of our society? When will we start treating them like the precious future they are?  

      There will be people who will defend the parents. And I have no doubt based on the ridiculous Facebook statuses I have read, people who will tell me I don't know the whole story. But in my world, it is indefensible. It is the worst of the worst because it was a decision made in broad daylight. A decision I'm sure they signed, since I can't imagine even a gun range not making you sign waivers. A decision they thought would add to their family history. Please don't tell me about all the "good parents" out there taking their elementary kids out to show them how to use Glocks and Uzis. Don't. Because if you are doing that with elementary aged kids, you are NOT a good parent, and shouldn't fool yourself into believing you are. If you know someone doing that with their small child, they are not a good parent. Call me self-righteous, call me liberal, but anyone who is teaching their children to use military grade weapons is probably not a good person. Military grade weapons are used to kill people. That is all. They were designed to do it quickly and efficiently, and clearly they are effective.  If you are teaching your children that they have more than that use, you need to check your facts and change your ways. And please don't tell me about how resilient kids are, that she'll get over this. That's it's just "one of those things". Because this isn't cancer, or a car accident. This was completely preventable. 

     Am I against guns? No. I think if you want to have guns, go for it.  I even think you can have as many as you want. If you want to head out to a duck blind or deer stand or field, go for it- take your child and use it as an opportunity to educate them about hunting, about guns. If you want to go to the shooting range on Saturday morning, enjoy yourself! But do not, do not, hand a Uzi to your sweet baby and let them fire it. Do not teach them that nothing bad can come of a couple of rounds at the shooting range. And if you are at a shooting range that allows children as young as 8 to fire weapons like that, walk out the door. Change your fate, just for that day. And maybe change someone else's fate, too.