Imaginos
04-21-2007, 01:47 AM
While we have to fight the current battle, the war will be won by our ability to reach future generations. I have started with my own daughter.
She has never seen me leave the house without strapping on a pistol.
As soon as she was old enough to ask (age 4), we started on the 4 Rules and learning how to check to see if a revolver is loaded by checking the cylinder on both SA and DA pistols.
We have read almost the entire "Little House" series and we talk about the guns that appear in those books and how/why they are used. We also watch a lot of Westerns and talk about the black and while moral values presented therein. We also talk about why it is necessary to carry a gun.
The other day I was preparing to go out for a business meeting and my girl asked me if I had my gun. When I said yes, she said "Don't forget to take some bullets." (That really warmed my heart.)
My daughter has not yet fired a gun of any sort. I don't allow toy guns in the house because I agree with Elmer Keith that it creates the wrong mental attitude of guns as playthings. She has a child's bow with suction cup arrows, and we practice the 4 Rules with it for now. When she is a little bigger physically, she will start with a BB gun and move to a .22 shortly after.
I'm sharing this to show how easy it is to show our children to be safe, and to regard guns as a normal part of everyday life. This is something that will stay with her in the face of the whining ninnies she will face later in life.
The perception and belief that guns are normal is key to winning the war. The main weapon of the Anti is the creation of fear of the strange and unfamiliar. This is simplified because most urban children do not see guns on a daily basis. Country kids have probably had a shotgun leaning behind the back door of their house for as long as they can remember. They don't regard it as anything unusual. We really need to create that sense of normalcy in the urban generation.
I am not suggesting a casual attitude on gun safety. I am talking about treating a
serious responsiblity in a calm repsectful way with no extra drama to make it exciting. The excitement will come when you take your kid shooting for the first time.
My $0.02
She has never seen me leave the house without strapping on a pistol.
As soon as she was old enough to ask (age 4), we started on the 4 Rules and learning how to check to see if a revolver is loaded by checking the cylinder on both SA and DA pistols.
We have read almost the entire "Little House" series and we talk about the guns that appear in those books and how/why they are used. We also watch a lot of Westerns and talk about the black and while moral values presented therein. We also talk about why it is necessary to carry a gun.
The other day I was preparing to go out for a business meeting and my girl asked me if I had my gun. When I said yes, she said "Don't forget to take some bullets." (That really warmed my heart.)
My daughter has not yet fired a gun of any sort. I don't allow toy guns in the house because I agree with Elmer Keith that it creates the wrong mental attitude of guns as playthings. She has a child's bow with suction cup arrows, and we practice the 4 Rules with it for now. When she is a little bigger physically, she will start with a BB gun and move to a .22 shortly after.
I'm sharing this to show how easy it is to show our children to be safe, and to regard guns as a normal part of everyday life. This is something that will stay with her in the face of the whining ninnies she will face later in life.
The perception and belief that guns are normal is key to winning the war. The main weapon of the Anti is the creation of fear of the strange and unfamiliar. This is simplified because most urban children do not see guns on a daily basis. Country kids have probably had a shotgun leaning behind the back door of their house for as long as they can remember. They don't regard it as anything unusual. We really need to create that sense of normalcy in the urban generation.
I am not suggesting a casual attitude on gun safety. I am talking about treating a
serious responsiblity in a calm repsectful way with no extra drama to make it exciting. The excitement will come when you take your kid shooting for the first time.
My $0.02