Cheryl Gives Son Gun for Birthday

[GeoBQn]

Cheryl celebrated her son's 13th birthday by giving him a gun.

treasuresfromashoebox.blogspot.com/2014/01/our-first-boy-teen.html

Recently, Isaac has taken an interest in hunting. His goal was to kill a deer for a Christmas gift to his daddy. He began bow hunting this winter--without his dad's knowledge; without the wisdom of his dad, as well.

For his 13th birthday he was planning to add his birthday money with money he had saved to replace his old BB gun. He became suspicious however, when during our outing, I convinced him not to buy a gun. "If I thought you needed a BB gun, I'd encourage you to buy a BB gun..." I told him with a smile. He was already suspecting that maybe Daddy had granted his wish.

The box was long and his suspicions seemed to be confirmed even before he began tearing the paper. Daddy had indeed bought him a gun!

Imagine (or rather watch) this young man's reaction when he realized the gun was NOT a BB gun, but rather a .22 Mossberg rifle!

I believe this one step toward his "passage into manhood" was a memorable experience!

The Bontragers also gave one of their sons a gun for his 13th birthday. Am I overreacting to this because I did not grow up in an area with any kind of hunting culture, or is this something worth feeling uneasy about? I think what makes me uncomfortable is the way they explicitly tie guns to manhood. It reminds me of the news reports after Sandy Hook when they showed ads by gun companies that said things like "You just got your Man Card back."

[Rescinded and Mended]

I think this is something that is definitely worth feeling uneasy about. Isn't Cheryl the blogger who is married to a guy who shot her dog?

After that experience, I have no idea why she thinks having a gun in the house is a good idea. And 13 does seem pretty young to have any type of gun, much less a Mossberger rifle.

[DomWackTroll]

"Not 'til you're twelve, son."

[PennySycamore]

I know they were only talking about a BB gun, but I'm reminded of the famous line from A Christmas Story: "You'll shoot your eye out!"

[Marianne]

I live in a country where guns are prohibited. The only ones who can have guns are sport shooters and hunters, their records (legal, psychological) are examined, and weapons must be stored in a locked safe (police often check if it's done, if the police see that your gun is not in a locked safe, you lost your right to have a gun). I am also an old hunter (Not now because of my health). I am horrified to read this.

A weapon is not a game. A gun is not a gift. It's not for a 13, 14, or 15 years old. That's it. Endpoint.

[paganhomeschooler]

I grew up in a gun-owning household. I had my own BB gun when I was probably 10. (An official Red Ryder carbide action 50th anniversary model with a compass in the stock and a thing which tells time! lol) I shot 35 magnums, 22 rifles, etc. before I was 13. Had I asked for a more powerful gun, I have no doubt my dad would have bought me one. I will say, I was taught from the beginning of my life to respect guns and how to handle them properly. (NOT without an adult's permission EVER.) We got my older son a BB gun for Xmas last year. He was 8, but it was just a BB gun. (Also a Red Ryder!) I wouldn't get him a more powerful gun, but he has not been raised in a gun-owning household, either. I really think that makes a world of difference.

I should point out a RESPONSIBLE gun-owning household. As big of a dick as my father is, I will say he did stress the importance of gun safety and responsible gun ownership. The one and only thing I can thank him for.

[Dysfundamental]

A family that would let a 13-year-old child go bow-hunting without an adult (if this is what they did; maybe he went bow-hunting with an aunt or uncle?) doesn't seem like a family that could ensure that a 13-year-old understood gun safety.

I gre up in farm country and knew people who could use guns and other potentially lethal farm tools (tractors, threshers) safely by age 13, but their parents provided a lot of guidance and instruction.

[Vex]

Even before the Port Arthur Massacre happened here and gun control locked down, the only place you would ever find a kid (illegally) being given a gun to handle was on a farm, so that the kid could participate in controlling the rabbits and foxes. It sure as hell wasn't for fun or recreation. These days it's not all that hard to get a gun permit (in my state the guidelines are basically: can't have a record, must apply through the police, must be a member of a target shooting club where you can keep the gun), but you sure as hell can't have them around the house.

And this is emphatically a good thing. We have very little gun violence in Australia outside of gangs/bikies.

[LeatherCouch]

Where do they live? I'd be surprised if it's legal to deer hunt with a .22. It's possible, but a 13 year old kid just learning to shoot would probably not have the skill to kill a dear with one, and I think it's illegal almost everywhere, but I could be wrong.

[GeoBQn]

They live in Indiana. And yes, Cheryl is the one whose husband shot her dog.

[Vex]

I was just thinking at a .22 seemed a very small caliber for killing deer. He'd be more likely to get a kill shot bow hunting.

How is it legal for children to use firearms? They can't have Kinder Surprise because it's too fucking dangerous but guns are A-okay?

[LeatherCouch]

Yeah, not legal to deer hunt with a .22, it's too small. And I do know the difference between deer and dear, but my auto correct does not.

[LeatherCouch]

I was just thinking at a .22 seemed a very small caliber for killing deer. He'd be more likely to get a kill shot bow hunting.

How is it legal for children to use firearms? They can't have Kinder Surprise because it's too fucking dangerous but guns are A-okay?

They have to do a hunter education course to be licensed, and then until age 18 have to hunt with someone 18 or older who is not armed and is not also hunting. So his bow hunting alone was illegal. If he gets caught hunting illegally there will be hell to pay. Usually big fines, and some places they take your weapon and anything else you have with you, including vehicles. And she posted about her under aged son's illegal activity online...

[LeatherCouch]

Oh it says he's going to squirrel and rabbit hunt with it. Well at least he won't be wounding a deer that then runs off.

[NellieBell]

Can I ask where in Indiana? I'd like to have a heads up if I'm in the vicinity of some nutjobs that gave their thirteen year old son a 22. He will not be using that to deer hunt, but if a large number of domestic animals get mysteriously shot - I'll know where to look. Seriously wtf is wrong with these people? I raised a son and at 13, I wouldn't let him loose with a slingshot. My brother gave my son some sort of rifle when he was young. Thankfully he didn't do it in front of my son and just handed it to my husband. It's still lost up in the labyrinth that is our locked attic. Said son is now 25 and he' s still not getting his rifle.

[Koala]

I went to school with a young man (12) who grew up in a family of avid hunters. He was taught gun safety from the time he was knee high to a puddle duck. One day after school he walked home with a friend, and while showing off his father's gun he managed to shoot himself in the head. He died instantly. They had to literally reconstruct half of his face for the funeral. Why am I being so graphic? Because people need to understand that you DO NOT give a 12 year old (or a 13 year old) a gun. No matter how many safety lectures you give them, you can't get around the fact that the impulse centers in their brains aren't done developing. Foresight: they don't have it. I get that Cheryl's stupid, dog shooting husband thinks it's "manly", but there is nothing manly about a child accidentally shooting themselves or someone else. The kid I knew never grew up to be a man...he will forever be a 12 year old boy. No parent should ever have to bury a child over something so senseless, and certainly no child should ever die because they were give responsibility they weren't yet capable of handling. If I close my eyes I can still see that boy's mother standing at the front of the church screaming for a child that would never come back...

[Dysfundamental]

They live in Indiana. And yes, Cheryl is the one whose husband shot her dog.

On purpose, to put it down when it was suffering? Or by accident?

[PennySycamore]

I went to school with a young man (12) who grew up in a family of avid hunters. He was taught gun safety from the time he was knee high to a puddle duck. One day after school he walked home with a friend, and while showing off his father's gun he managed to shoot himself in the head. He died instantly. They had to literally reconstruct half of his face for the funeral. Why am I being so graphic? Because people need to understand that you DO NOT give a 12 year old (or a 13 year old) a gun. No matter how many safety lectures you give them, you can't get around the fact that the impulse centers in their brains aren't done developing. Foresight: they don't have it. I get that Cheryl's stupid, dog shooting husband thinks it's "manly", but there is nothing manly about a child accidentally shooting themselves or someone else. The kid I knew never grew up to be a man...he will forever be a 12 year old boy. No parent should ever have to bury a child over something so senseless, and certainly no child should ever die because they were give responsibility they weren't yet capable of handling. If I close my eyes I can still see that boy's mother standing at the front of the church screaming for a child that would never come back...

This, and the thing about bow hunting, remind me of this one boy in a class one or two years ahead of me in school who shot and killed his little brother accidentally with a bow and arrow. It wasn't a hunting bow either -just a normal bow you'd use in archery.

[debrand]

My husband had a friend who had a gun for hunting. I think that they were between 14-15 years old. Another boy found the gun and before anyone could say anything pointed it playfully at the owner. He pulled the trigger and my husband's friend ended up nearly dying from a shot to the chest.

What are the age limits for gun ownership is in countries outside of the US? It is embarrassing to admit, but I don't know if the US has any age limits on owning or shooting guns.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05 ... shoot?lite

Remember the five year old Kentucky boy that accidentally shot his two year old sister last year?

Under federal law, children under 18 cannot buy guns themselves. Regulations on how children access firearms and who can be held negligent for a child’s use of a gun is left to the states, said Lindsay Nichols, attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

“Kentucky has certain laws to prevent children from gaining access to handguns, but those laws don’t apply to rifles or shotguns,†Nichols said.

[dawbs]

meh, Mr. Dawbs owned a gun well before he was 13--that doesn't mean he had unfettered access to it.

By 13, I was comfortable shooting a small long-gun.

If they divorced it from 'becoming a man' BS, it doesn't phase me. But I know I'm a touch more gun-comfortable than most of FJ. (I can't remember what caliber I've used shooting at deer--technically, I don't own that gun, so I've forgotten and it's not like I can go look)

[Joan of Snarc]

I was just thinking at a .22 seemed a very small caliber for killing deer. He'd be more likely to get a kill shot bow hunting.

How is it legal for children to use firearms? They can't have Kinder Surprise because it's too fucking dangerous but guns are A-okay?

Yes. Because 'Murica. And Freedom. And Jesus.

[tigerchild]

Age and the gun doesn't bother me.

The stuff spewed by the parents does.

Like dawbs though, I suspect that I am just more comfortable around "gun culture". I had a bb gun at 10ish. While I do not own firearms personally right now for a variety of reasons (respect for my partner who did not grow up around guns like I did and is uncomfortable with them, for a long time many small children in the house, unknown biological family mental health history), I still like to do target practice at the range since it's fun (to me). I don't have time to hunt right now, but as I absolutely love venison and elk and game birds, I have hunted in the past (and ate everything I killed).

[Chowder Head]

I do not know of this blogger. However , where I am from ,13 is usually a good age to be given a hunting gun( be it new or family ). Most kids are taught to hunt around 8 or 10 in some aspect, If the family hunts. Thirteen isn't seen as he is now a man, have a gun, but more in the lines as your 13 you should be able to be mature enough to handle a shotgun/ rifle on your own. Please understand that for some hunting is a cultural thing and woman and men both do it and hopefully teach their kids to be respectful while they learn to do it.

Now, on the other hand, the statement of her son bow hunting with out supervision makes me a little worried. I believe everyone should take a hunter ed class. All ages.

[Koala]

On purpose, to put it down when it was suffering? Or by accident?

On purpose

A stray puppy had shown up at our house and I fell in love with "Sergeant York". He was a beautiful dog, with a wonderful personality! Let me state here that I am not normally an animal lover, but this dog... oh my!

It was February and we were preparing for a big remodel of the 2nd bedroom and our bathroom. I was taking all the children, except Isaac (who was staying behind to help with the remodel) to visit friends in another state for a few days. Two days before we were to leave, our baby goat was brutally killed (which totally traumatized Stephanie). We didn't really know which dog was responsible (we had 3), but Sergeant was covered in blood moreso than the other two. Terry was furious and blamed Sergeant and he voiced his concern for the other animals on our small farm. He mentioned taking care of the situation and I asked him not to do anything with him while I was gone.

Long story short; he took the counsel of one the people who had come to help and did away with my sweet puppy. He didn't tell me about it until a day or two before we were to return home (once the amazing remodel was complete).

I believe her post was edited, because I think I remember it specifically saying the dog was shot.

[Koala]

I do not know of this blogger. However , where I am from ,13 is usually a good age to be given a hunting gun( be it new or family ). Most kids are taught to hunt around 8 or 10 in some aspect, If the family hunts. Thirteen isn't seen as he is now a man, have a gun, but more in the lines as your 13 you should be able to be mature enough to handle a shotgun/ rifle on your own. Please understand that for some hunting is a cultural thing and woman and men both do it and hopefully teach their kids to be respectful while they learn to do it.

Now, on the other hand, the statement of her son bow hunting with out supervision makes me a little worried. I believe everyone should take a hunter ed class. All ages.

I have to ask, because I truly don't understand...how is a 13 year old mature enough to have a gun? Much less a 8-10 year old? I am from Alabama, so I am not unfamiliar with hunting, but it seems ridiculous to me to think a child should handle firearms.