If You Give A Kid A Gun …

Posted on by under guns, Law and justice, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

Just one short snippet of snark tonight, for I’m a bit under the weather and shooting for an early bedtime (early, as opposed to my usual 3:30 a.m.).  But this one just begged for me to weigh in …

Why are we even having this discussion?  Why in the Sam Hell does a single person with an ounce of grey matter inside their skull think that this makes any sense???  Oh … you’re wondering what I’m on a tear about today, eh?  Well, I’ll tell you.  It pertains to guns and children.  There is a state somewhere in the middle of this country called ‘Missouri’ … the state motto is “Salus populi suprema lex esto,” which when translated into English means “Safety of the people be the supreme law.”  A lovely motto … and in light of Wednesday’s vote in the Missouri House of Representatives, one which is completely without validity.

There was a bill in the state legislature to ban children from carrying guns.  WHY is this even a topic?  WHO in their right mind thinks a child should even have access to a gun, let alone carry one in public???  But wait … I’m not finished.  It gets even better.  The Missouri House of Representatives struck down the bill to ban children from carrying guns!!!  They voted 104-39 to approve of children carrying guns – in public and without adult supervision!!!  Only one Republican voted in support of the ban – surprise, surprise, surprise.

The bill’s sponsor, Democrat Donna Barringer, said she introduced the bill on request from police departments in her district who said they wanted tighter regulations to stop “14-year-olds walking down the middle of the street in the city of St. Louis carrying AR-15s.”

One Republican, Tony Lovasco, defended the decision to allow children to carry guns in public, saying …

“Government should prohibit acts that directly cause measurable harm to others, not activities we simply suspect might escalate.”

So … we sit back and wait until some child, angry with his parents, teachers, or classmates one day, opens fire in his classroom, or in a McDonald’s restaurant!  Sure, that sounds like a real smart solution.  Not.

Now, you may be asking yourself if there isn’t a federal age limit on guns, and the answer is “yes … sort of.”  Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, shotguns and rifles, referred to as long guns, and ammunition for both, can only be sold to individuals 18 years old or older. All firearms that are not shotguns and rifles, referred to as handguns, including their ammunition, can be sold only to individuals 21 years old or older.  BUT … that applies to gun ownership.  AND … there’s a footnote … the age limit for handguns if being sold by an unlicensed person drops to 18 years old, while long guns have no age requirement if sold by an unlicensed person.  So, if I own an AR-15, not being a licensed gun seller, I can sell it to a 5-year-old child if I so desire.

Missouri is commonly known as the “show-me state” – there are numerous legends as to the background of that slogan, but in essence it means they are a stubborn lot who take nothing at face value.  So, I guess that means they don’t believe, until they see it with their own eyes, that putting guns into the hands of children is among the stupidest ideas ever proposed.  Well, I’m betting money that it’s only a matter of time before somebody shows them.  Now, think back to Missouri’s motto that I mentioned in the first paragraph … “Safety of the people be the supreme law.”  SERIOUSLY???  I think not. In the words of Forrest Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does.”

32 thoughts on “If You Give A Kid A Gun …”

  2. So when a 6 year-old child in Missouri acts out and shoots all the other kids in the sandbox, are the authorities going to give the child a death sentence? Anyone who voted that bill into law shoupd be charged with conspuracy to commit murder and sentenced to death by a firing squad made up of 6 year-olds! Stupid is too kind of a word to describe them.

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    • Hah! No, they’ll probably give him a damn medal … especially if the other kids in the sandbox were Black! Well, I agree with you that those who voted against that ban should be considered criminals, but I would stop short of sentencing them to death by a firing squad of 6-year-old kids! Imagine the lifelong trauma those poor kids would have to deal with!

      Liked by 1 person

      • We’d put a black curtain between them and their targets, just tell them they are practice shooting.
        You know I’m not srious, jill, I do not believe in the death penalty, so take some of my words with a grain of salt. I’m just saying what woild be fitting, if justo e were a real thing!

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  3. Pleases remember is Missouri is now home to the KKK and until recently gave wide latitude to 12-year-old brides. The state isn’t quite as backwards as Arkansas, but gives it stiff competition.

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    • I had forgotten about Missouri being home to the KKK these days, so thanks for the reminder. That explains a lot, as does the 12-year-old brides issue. I think perhaps it’s a toss-up between Arkansas and Missouri, and I would add Mississippi into that mix. Soon, we may be adding Florida in there, too.

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  4. Pingback: If You Give A Kid A Gun … | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  5. With this kind of mentality, EVEN IF a youngster decides to carry out some sort of mass shooting (or even an individual one!), it’s all A-OK because, after all, we don’t want to take away from anyone’s FREEDOM to carry out an act that “directly causes measurable harm to others.”

    There seems to be no end to the IDIOCY that’s taking over this country!

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    • I hear you growling the same low growl I’ve been doing since reading about this, Nan! Yes, it is unconscionable, but then … remember the Christmas cards by Lauren Boebert and Thomas Massie with their young children all holding guns? THIS is what the Republican Party stands for, and for one reason only … $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ How much, I wonder, did the NRA pay them to post those Christmas cards? How much has the NRA funded the members of the Missouri State Legislature for their votes on this issue? Yep, my friend, LUNACY has taken over a significant section of this country.

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  8. Jill, I was tickled but not surprised by the defense of the Republican legislator who noted taking a gun away from a fourteen year old on the basis of what he might do is not good governance. Really? A fourteen year old who still has that many more years for his male brain to fully form, whose hormones are in flux and who is surrounded by similar folks – we should not be worried? An eight grade counselor once told me that eighth graders are generally not very nice people – she would worry about this legislator’s thinking. We need legislators to act like adults and parents and less like puppets for a well funded lobbying effort. Keith

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    • Yes, I rolled my eyes at that one, too. Isn’t the whole purpose behind background checks to deny the right to own a gun to those who pose a potential danger to others? And yet … they would put a gun into the hands of, as you point out, a hormonal teen who has years to go before being deemed mature? Unfortunately, my friend, many parents are no brighter than their teenage children and think it’s somehow “cool” to see their kids toting a firearm. I’m beyond disgusted by it all.

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    • Indeed so. There are requirements for background checks, but in many states they are largely ignored or dispensed with. This nation has a serious gun crisis, even most gun owners admit it, but as long as the gun manufacturers and their lobby can keep buying members of Congress as they are doing, we will not solve the problem.

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  11. Turning babies into, killing machines, trained, assasins, to do the dirty work for the, government, and to, see how it turns out, letting the babies, run with knives (in this case, the GUNS!), and see what happens, I’m just, guessing, is WHY this photo got, “spread” out, online??? Or maybe, the adults are just plain, stupid, with absolutely, no sense of, how to be, parents…

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    • I think your last idea is probably the most logical — that adults are just plain stupid. Not all, of course, but ANY adult who is willing to put a gun into the hands of a child for any reason is lacking in both conscience and intelligence! ‘Tis a damn shame when people’s love of their guns surpasses their love of their own children.

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