Sometimes you read a sentence and you think to yourself: only here, only us.

[kpete]

Sometimes you read a sentence and you think to yourself: only here, only us. Here’s one such sentence.

“A 9-year-old girl from New Jersey accidentally shot and killed her instructor with an Uzi submachine gun while he stood to her left side, trying to guide her.”

That’s from a New York Times account of the death of 39-year-old Charles Vacca, who worked for the Last Stop shooting range in White Hills, Arizona. He died Monday when his preteen student lost control of the Uzi. Apparently, the gun was in “repeat fire” mode, the recoil lifted the muzzle, the little girl couldn’t master it and Vacca was struck in the head. ...

What kind of shooting range allows a prepubescent girl to fire an Uzi? What kind of instructor does not guard against recoil when a child is handling such a powerful weapon? What kind of parents think it’s a good idea to put a submachine gun in their 9-year-old’s hands? And what kind of idiot country does not prohibit such things by law?

It is the last question that should most concern us. There’s not much you can do about individual lack of judgment. Some people will always be idiots. Some companies will always be idiots. But a country and its laws should be an expression of a people’s collective wisdom. So for a country to be idiotic says something sweeping about national character.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/30/4317169/leonard-pitts-jr.html

[Hoyt]

1. Can't get in the way of dads introducing their kids into gun culture.

[Veilex]

10. So many better alternative cultures to introduce kids too

Music, camping, hiking, fishing, videogames, Martial arts, Comic books, Science fiction and so on.

I'm partial to Martial arts and videogames myself.

[ncjustice80]

12. And this is why the Second Amendment needs to be repealed.

Its ridiculous that we allow people to privately own firearms, let alone automatic weapons. Single shot shotguns, heavily taxed and regulated, is all anyone needs.

[BlueJazz]

2. If somebody would have asked me two weeks ago.>

Can a 9 year old girl fire a submachine gun, legally, in the United States of America ?

My answer would have been:
1. Stupid question.
2. Look..we're not the brightest in the world but there's NO WAY that would be legal. I mean, come on..get real.


Turns out> I'm the uneducated one.

[bvf]

11. Sad but true.

My answer(s) would have been the same.

Government sanctioned child abuse--that's all this is, and it should be stopped.

[world wide wally]

3. I guess it's the only way a 9 year old can really be free

(sarcasm, of course)

[tech3149]

4. Good article but I had to respond to him on one small issue

He mentioned in a throwaway line "election fraud" while referencing voter id and restriction laws. I know it wasn't an issue to the thrust of the article but anyone interested in election integrity can't let those little slips happen without addressing them. That's how election fraud was sold as voter fraud.

[99Forever]

5. I wish I could reccomend this a thousand times over.

We are being held hostage by Gun Culture.

It's time this insanity be ended.

[Skittles]

13. there are DUers who think the answer to police militarization is civilian militarization

they make me sick

[Arugula Latte]

6. Countries around the world look upon us with disgust for our bloodthirsty, gunhumping culture

and who can blame them?

[liberalmuse]

7. Not only us

Take at a look at the countries where people put submachine guns in the hands of children, and train them to handle deadly weapons, then take a look at what sort of ideology drives that.

[thesquanderer]

8. Just as scary... Read the comments there. (n/t)

[lunasun]

9. Hope no one tries to take away children's free dumb and constantushunal rights !!

Damn pinko commies trying to keep guns out of the hands of our future fighters for the race war that is coming or when the government gits too powerful which is right about now so they need to learn how to defend themselves early,no fault of their own or their patriotic parents