The road to hell is paved with implications, or something.

If I buy an outboard motor at the sporting goods store, I am implying I know how to clean, transport, and store it. I don't, but I can buy it anyway. I'll "learn as I go", mistakes and all. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! Pick up a pack of cherry berry grape acai gum, too, while you're there. :rolleyes:

Isn't it why there are driving licences and weapons carrying permits?

While I don't want to enter a debate on firearm possession in the US, wouldn't it be safer (at least from the accidental discharge point of view) to ensure that the owner of a firearm can show a modicum of good sense?

then Sarah Palin couldn't get NEAR a weapon let alone own one.

And that's just downright unAmerican.

You must be a fascist socialist Nazi. Huh.

I would LOVE it if good sense entered into it. I'm not against guns per se (and I too don't want a debate) but the fact is Joe Schmoe With Nothing To Know can get his hands on just about anything, at the local big box store) but I don't think they should be as available as a new beach towel or a 24 pack of toilet paper. :)

When one implies, one makes an imp out of lies, or something.

Something tells me that the backpacker did not have a permit.

What Bri said.

What about making guns freely available and ammo damn near impossible to get your hands on. Would that satisfy all requirements or just lead to scary homemade bullets? I never hear people moaning about ammo ownership rights.

Chris Rock did a segment on it:

Bullets should cost 5 thousand dollars a piece! There'd be no more innocent bystanders. "Man, I would blow your fricking head off if I could afford it. You better hope I can't get no bullets on layaway."

One of my favorites, here's the whole thing:

Chris Rock: Everybody is talking about gun control. Got to control the guns. Fuck, that, I like guns. If you've got a gun, you don't need to work out! Cause, I ain't working out. I ain't jogging. No, I think we need some bullet control. I think every bullet should cost five thousand dollars. Five thousand dollars for a bullet. Know why? Cos if a bullet cost five thousand dollars, there'd be no more innocent by-standers. That'd be it. Some guy'd be shot you'd be all 'Damn, he must've done something, he's got fifty thousand dollars worth of bullets in his ass!' And people'd think before they shot someone 'Man I will blow your fucking head off, if I could afford it. I'm gonna get me a second job, start saving up, and you a dead man. You'd better hope I don't get no bullets on lay-away!' And even if you get shot you wouldn't need to go to the emergency room. Whoever shot you'd take their bullet back. 'I believe you got my property?'

I should sue....

Eh, just shoot him. That'll learn him.

Then the rightful owner of that gun made a mistake.

I don't understand how country's views towards guns have been changed by a few incidents. When I was growing up, all boys carried a pocket knife to school. We never had anybody get stabbed. Guns - we all had them in our trucks because we liked to hunt before going to school. We didn't have school shootings

That was the world I grew up in as well Sarge. Kids grew up learning how to handle weapons and didn't seem to get in trouble outside of hunting accidents, which were used as "don't let this happen to you" reminders. Now we have rural people our age who just assume competent ownership coming up against an urban culture where only bad guys and police have guns. As we saw with Spex's kid, that culture sees things completely differently. Kids today, who don't belong to a shooting club or a hunting group with experienced older gun handlers have no idea what they are doing and threaten the rights of the competent.

Yes, I had a gun when I was a kid too, and Yes, I went hunting,
but population density is not what it was back then.
Few kids are going hunting before school now-a-days.
And yes, I know about the 2nd Amendment.

Why are attitudes towards guns changing ?
I don't know what constitutes "a few incidents".
In a way, it's sort of like old people driving with bad eyesight.
In small towns they can't do much damage, but on freeways it's a whole different risk.

Is this thread going to turn into a debate about guns in the US ?
Everyone has their own source, but Google is your friend.

I invite just this one Google search for:
"Child killed by gun"

Or, if you don't want to be concerned by suicides and violence, just
add one word:
"Child killed by gun accident"

This is about my kids' elementary school music teacher's family.

So very sad...

I hope you were able to comfort and reassure your son about all this.