Parents Protest Wii Zapper, Firearms, and the NRA

Parenting To The Max: Parents Think Wii Zapper Might As Well Come With an NRA Application – Gizmodo

Source material for Gizmodo’s piece – NJ.com page

Most people think it’s a bone-headed idea.

Great, this is what we need. Children with guns learning how to aim and shoot. Then we can sit back and wonder what is happening to our country with kids killing kids……what’s next? Could we make it squirt blood, too” one reader commented.

I’ve got several things rolling around in my head after reading this. There’s the part of me that wonders where our heritage went. There’s the part of me that wonders where responsibility went. There’s the part that wonders what the Founding Fathers would think.

And then there’s the part of me that’s just sick and tired of complete and total B.S. borne of ignorance.

My views on firearms are pretty simple really. They’re inanimate objects which cannot do anything without human intervention. They are no different from hammers or tire irons. Correction – they’re different in one important way – they require much more action and forethought to use. First, load the magazine or cylinder, click either into position, work the action to chamber a round (magazine fed weapons), safety off, aim, and squeeze the trigger. You only need to swing a blunt instrument.

But this isn’t just about firearms – it’s about firearms, kids, and ignorant or fearful parents. For some reason these people think that if a kid learns to aim and shoot that they’ll turn into a murderer. I’ve got news for them – that just ain’t the case. How do I know? I learned proper firearms safety and use as a kid. As a matter of fact, I grew up in a house with several firearms. So did many of my friends. None of us has committed any sort of violent crime.

Education and responsibilities are the keys here. Education first for the parents so that they realize that a firearm is a tool which can be used for good or bad like any other tool. Would they worry about a hand saw sitting on a table near their children or a Wii hand saw, hammer and carpentry tools? After all, those might just teach kids how to cut things apart – maybe even people. Next is education for kids which is different for each age group. Small kids – leave it alone and tell an adult. Older kids get basic safety to go along with adult supervision – treat every firearm as if it is loaded at all times, never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to DESTROY, and KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO FIRE!!! Let me say it again – basic firearms safety WITH ADULT SUPERVISION. If you’re not with the kids, neither are firearms.

As I said before, I grew up in a house with several firearms. You see, Dad was California Highway Patrol for thirty-one years. I think the first time I fired a gun was out in the desert when he took me out with a soda can and a .22 derringer when my age was still measured in single digits. I hit it, but it took a few shots. We went to the range a few times together. I enjoyed the rifle and shotgun ranges at summer camp when I was in the Boy Scouts. I earned my rifle merit badge the first time I went to a summer camp with a rifle range. We also had the chance to load and fire black powder muzzle loading rifles and shotguns. Indian Camp was great, too. Archery, muzzle loading rifles and single shot pistols. Funny – nobody was hurt and we had a blast (pun intended ). I received my rifle as a Christmas present after I turned eighteen. Responsibility, education, and adult supervision worked.

I remember back when I had one of the original Nintendo game consoles. My favorite games were Top Gun, 1942, Hogan’s Alley, and Duck Hunt. Top Gun and 1942 were air combat games. Hogan’s Alley and Duck Hunt used a gun to “shoot” targets on the screen. The thought of my friends or myself becoming a violent criminal was the farthest thing from their and my parents’ minds because they were confident that they had raised us right and educated us properly.

Come to think of it, I think it actually comes down to confidence and education or lack thereof. Some people just lack the confidence in their parenting skills and the education to understand the subject matter. Rather than gain those advantages, they fallback on the “keep it away” school of thought.

But that’s just my take on it.