Does this bother anyone else

Soooo pizza and shopping are better for girls???
I have 2 daughters, no sons, they know how shoot a gun. They were the ones that asked their dad to teach them. My oldest loves to hunt, fish including all the skining and cleaning of the animals. My youngest likes to go with them but she doesn't like to clean any of her "kills". She rarely goes hunting to shoot something but enjoys the early morning and dusk hunting hours.
My husband also raced cars, the girls never came with us when they were younger ,the noise level was to high for them, but they did come out when they were a bit older and even drove some mini cars. They really enjoyed it.He even taught them to wrench on cars.
The point to all this and the orginal story also is that girls can do "guy things" and ACTUALLY enjoy it. Not because their dad forced it on them cause there is no boy, but because he was teaching them a skill that will come in handy some day. It will either help them to survive in the wild or if someone tries to harm them.

 

My first job was when I went to work with my now husband.he had his own shop when he was 17. I was the basic Gofer. I would go for this and fetch that. I graduated to light mechanic work. oil changes ect. Then we had a car lot when he was old enough to buy cars and now We do auto salvage. This life was not exactly what my parents had invisioned for me I am sure. But, 28 years later IM STILL STANDING.I walked in to my Aunt's house one year for Christmas . They kinda looked down at my steel toe boots. I said I play with dollies of a different kind.

 

I don't think teaching your kids to hunt is a bad thing nescessarily.... but , the age is a little scary.Also aside from mental maturity. I hate to even mention Columbine. I am sure that kid's parents tried to teach him responsibility. Sometimes things just go wrong.

 

skippy, I think that's what made me erie, the age of the girl. 8, in my own opinion, is a little young. However, the hubby may not agree with me. He wants to take the boy hunting as soon as possible. I think our age limit is 13 though...THANK GOD! Which I think is good. I think kids can get confussed about gun safety until they reach a certian age.

Crystal, I don't think Becky meant that shopping and pizza is better for them, I take what she said as tongue in cheek. I took it as, sometimes when a man doesn't have a son, they want one of their daughters to be a tom boy (not literally, but you know what I mean). Not that there is anything wrong with that. My niece is one of those. She can't wait to go hunting. As long as the child is doing what THEY want to do, not what their parents want them to do...as far as hobbies I mean.

 

An "indecent hour"? According to whose standards? I have a friend whose kids sleep until after noon; their homeschool day starts after dinner and ends about 1 AM. Not the way I'd do it, but it works for them. Hunters get out before dawn. That's the way it is, and any child that goes hunting with Dad (or with Mom as far as that goes) will be out there at that time.

Skippy, this has NOTHING to do with Columbine!!! Many kids are learning "gun responsibility" from shoot-'em-up video games. Gun laws just make things worse; it takes guns away from responsible people by giving more restrictive laws. The people who use them wrong don't follow the laws to begin with; adding more laws won't do any good.

 

I don't know Jackie. I think making more laws is a good thing. That's the only way to get rid of the irresponsible people. It may mean more work for the responsible ones, but those who are legitimate shouldn't make a fuss then if it means keeping people away from guns that shouldn't have them. It's all for the better safety of everyone.

Personally, whoever invented the gun is stupid. What happend to the bow and arrow way of doing things? At least you had a chance to duck and cover if someone threw one of those at you. I think laws should be added to make it illegal to anyone having a handgun who isn't in law enforcement and things of the like. I don't even allow the hubby to keep his hunting rifle at the house. It's up at his parents house up north. Guns are scary and I wish they didn't even exist personally. Just my opinion.

 

Oh, and we also have a hunting law that states which hours you can and can not hunt. Maybe Becky's state has something like that and that is what she meant.

 

Then why is it that when a gun ban goes into effect, the violent crime goes UP? When a concealed carry law passes, violent crime goes down. My husband is VERY responsible, but he's furious about new restrictions. I had to sit down and help him see that he cannot just ignore the restrictions; he DOES have to abide by it. But many people he knows are chosing to ignore it. They feel it's an infringement on our constitutional rights, and the government has no right to interfere with that. The criminals ignore the existing law; why do people think making new laws will take the guns away from them?

 

You know this also may be a country/city thing. I live in "the city". No country like surroundings. Things need to be a lot more strict around here due to so many people and it being in the city. Take the hubby's parents for example. They live in timbucktu, sp? (not literally) and they don't think twice about leaving their doors unlocked, car keys in the ignition, kids in the car, etc. All the things that I gasp over. Being in the country is safer, for one, because the crime is next to nothing. We don't have a huge crime rate, but being in a city where there are 100 times more people, you have to be more careful. Does that make sense?

 

Yes, there are laws as far as time goes. I think they're in all states, but I can't say that for certain. Pretty much dawn to dusk, I think. But I also know that hunters will get there EARLY BEFORE DAWN so they can be set up and ready to go. Dawn is the time most animals are up and moving; they want to be in their blind or whatever before the animals are up.

 

Because no matter how hard we try, there are always going to be criminals and stupid people that don't care. We have to do what we have to do, and personally, I think banning guns, period, is the only way. There is no way to satisfy everyone, especially in this situation.

 

That's when the hubby goes out, right before the sun it up. And it's illegal to shoot anything after the sun goes down. The sun goes down by 5pm here and it's pitch black by then. Do we know what time this girl shot it?

 

Your're right. I think that too many restrictions hurt us worse than they help. I was thinking of the mind set of the individual.Sometimes things happen that we can't explain. I"m still trying to deal with the news of the suicide this morning.I would not have a problem with my son handling a gun at age Five under parental supervision but, there are other children It would terrify me.I would rather my kids learn responsibility from us than some video game giving them the concept that killing is fun or acceptable.I am one of those parents that pay attention to the shows my kids watch. I let them watch pretty much what they want to. but I discuss it with them.just as I would discuss the use of a gun. I wouldn't kill for sport.Only to eat. or protection

 

I know how you feel Jackie. I feel the same way every time state licensing issues new rules that I have to follow because I'm a licensed center, even though it would not have an effect on me because I'm legit. More rules get enforced because there are many people who don't care and that need punishment. It's makes the legit people upset because they already follow every rule in the book, but I know they are just safety precautions.

 

Jen, when a ban goes into effect, the criminals know that guns are not permitted in that town. They know that law abiding citizens no longer carry them. They know that they can break into homes and not worry about being shot. And if they ARE shot illegally breaking into someone's home, they can actually sue the person who tried to defend themselves and their property!!! No law is going to take the guns away from the criminal. Well, that's not exactly true. Try setting up laws that say any use of a gun in ANY crime is an automic 20 years in jail, PERIOD. And if a person is shot (not neccesarily killed even!) it's a life sentence. And it doesn't matter WHO has the gun. If a group of three kids try to rob someone, and ONE PERSON has a gun that the other two weren't aware of, they all should get 20 years. That's how I would respond to it. Why should law-abiding citizens be punished?

 

I have a buisness on the interstate.Chances of getting robbed are increasing by the day. I carry large amounts of cash, and a gun when nescessary. When It is NOT nescessary I keep it under lock and key. I carry mace. I have never had to shoot anybody. But, the people that owned this buisness before me have needed to . If it is a kill or be killed situation, I am pulling the trigger.That being said. Life is more important than money. I don't think banning guns is the answer

 

I think here you can't shoot after dark, but that doesn't stop idiots from 'spotting' deer with flashlights from their cars. I wonder if they think they can't be seen on a pitch black back road.
And yes, I think an 8 year old girl- boy even- belongs somewhere other than shooting animals. I also see Skippy's link to Columbine. You can't tell what happens in a child's mind when they shoot and kill something.

 

That's fine, Becky. But let's let the parents make that decision. I don't want any laws telling me my child CANNOT hunt, no more than I want them telling me how to educate my child.

As far as Colombine, there is NOT a link! Kids have been hunting in this country since before it was a colony, and yet the shooting rampages are a relatively new thing. I'd be quicker to blame parent detachment and lack of attention, violence in the media, and lack of personal responsibility than I would blame hunting.

I do agree, however, about the "spotting".

 

Well Becky is mad at me today. Isaiah is hunting with daddy for deers. Has a 4-10 with him and he is 8. Knows how to use a gun properly and will be with daddy at all times in the woods. Gun will be unloaded while walking in and out of the woods. They will be in a blind together. I sure hopes he gets himself a deer today. Sorry Becky I guess I am a bad parent. LOL

 

Jumping in here, late....

My husband learned to hunt when he was about 10 years old, too (though he's not much of a hunter now). The first year he went out with his dad and grandpa ("rite of passage" type thing) he couldn't use a gun--his Dad gave him a camera.

He was told he had to treat the camera as if it were a gun (couldn't point it at anyone, had to carry it carefully, etc.). If/when he proved that he could handle it responsibly, then he got to hunt with an actual gun. He still has memories of sitting out in the woods (freezing) with his camera waiting for a deer! :lol:

I thought that was a pretty good exercise for him to learn how to handle a gun responsibly.