Old enough for guns? Iowa family fumes over handgun law for youths under 14

[Jgarrick]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2014/04/16/handgun-fire-arm-state-law-code-family-daughters-girls-gibson-rifle-shoot-youtube-video/7766031/



Images of kindergartners firing handguns might startle some Iowans, but for Nathan Gibson, it's family tradition and a sport his daughters love. Gibson, an information security engineer from Johnston, has been taking his two daughters to shooting ranges since they were 5 and gradually teaching them how to tag along on hunting trips.

On weekends at the gun range, the girls put on their safety eyewear and electronic hearing protection ear muffs and take turns with a .22 pistol, as their dad stands behind them, focused on every movement, he told the Register. But this past Saturday, Gibson and his 8-year-old daughter, Natalie, were politely told to leave the Polk City shooting range because the girl isn't old enough to practice with the Walther P22 handgun she's been using all along.

The range's gunsmith told them a state law "no one knew about" has surfaced: Anyone 20 or younger must be under the direct supervision of a parent or instructor to practice with a pistol or revolver. Youths younger than 14 can't use a handgun at all, even with supervision, Iowa Code states. Gibson has contacted local and state officials about his belief that his daughters should be able to use handguns under his supervision. Natalie and her sister, Meredith, 10, have posted videos on YouTube advocating the same thing. Today, the Iowa Gun Owners organization plans to publicize the videos as part of its effort to build support for eliminating age restrictions altogether for youths using handguns under a parent's supervision.

The Iowa law barring any handgun use by youths under 14 gained attention earlier this year when a Democratic legislator tried to lower the legal age from 14 to 12. State law provides no minimum age for long guns. The rationale has been that long guns are used for hunting, and any child should be able to hunt with supervision from a parent.

(excerpt, remainder of article at link)

I was shooting my father's .22 revolver...while supervised...from age 7. What an idiotic law.

[rurallib]

1. putting a lethal weapon in the hands of a child

what could ever go wrong?

Taking children where live ammo is being fired.
What could ever go wrong?

We don't need wars - we can happily kill ourselves and claim freedom

flame away

[Dawson Leery]

3. Many of the same people who want to give guns to children

do NOT want to discuss sexuality with their teenagers. Backwards indeed.

[clffrdjk]

9. Lol, and a good portion of people that understand the value of sex ed.

Think that abstinence is the best policy when it comes to firearm education.
Funny how knowledge is a good thing in some cases but in others ignorance is the "best" policy.

[SQUEE]

6. And the odds of this child "accidentaly" shooting another

through ignorance of the mechanics of the gun. Very low indeed.

A child that is exposed to weapons in a safe and controlled setting, educated and warned, has less chance of being a statistic. I would think people would applaud this... but the cabal against guns are terribly afraid of an educated electorate I think.

[rurallib]

14. no, actually I would think it little different

than any other child. And I would not like to experiment and find out.

[gejohnston]

15. I think it is very different

judging from the articles I read. Most of them seem to be what I call casual gun owners why buy a pistol for home defense and don't take time or the few extra bucks to get a quick access (but child proof case). Granted you can't judge much from what the CDC claims is 62 such accidents per year (given age group, but still 62 too many.)
I got my first rifle when I was eight. Even before then (under supervision) I regularly fired my mom's revolver (that my brother picked up in a Hamburg FGR gun shop in 1965). My first gun safety class? At five, the same that my four year old step niece got three years later (at the same age.) It went something like this:
See that watermelon against the berm?
This is what a .357 does to it.
If you play with it, that could be your sibling or friend.
It is not a toy.

It worked quite well.

[SQUEE]

16. Really? you can say that with a straight face?

Well, since education and familiarization do not lead to caution and a safer environment, then we can save some conflict and money by no longer fighting for sexual aducation. And before you even try and say I am against Sex Ed, I am for it as well as gun safety for ALL children.

[Lizzie Poppet]

13. Because this used to be commonplace, and millions of accidents occurred.

Oh, wait...

[CFLDem]

2. Seriously?

I would think a child over the age of 6 or 7 using a handgun is ok as long as adult supervision is present.

Hell I did and I turned out ok.

[The Straight Story]

4. When I was young we shot off guns on new year's eve (into the side of a hill)

And my cousins had their own .22 rifles to target shoot with (which were kept in the gun case when not in use).

Here you have a controlled environment at the range, the parent is with their kid, I don't see a problem with letting them shoot.

[Jenoch]

5. When I was a kid,

my dad only had a single pistol, a pocket .380 colt semi-auto. We did not shoot handguns at that age but I think the law in Iowa should be changed. (I have never lived in Iowa, but I did grow up 8 miles from the border and one of my brithers was born an Iwegian.)

[ileus]

7. I didn't start my kids on pistols until they were 7&9

[NYC_SKP]

8. The 8 and 10 year olds are far more knowlegable and articulate than congressfool Kevin De Leon.

30 bullets in 1/2 a second....

[Eleanors38]

10. Parents, not the state, are the best judges of when children should use firearms.

[flamin lib]

11. Children under the age of 10 cannot learn to sail a dingy designed for kids weighing 40 pounds.

The issue is hand/eye coordination and dexterity. There is simply not the synaptic maturity in their young bodies to perform the tasks necessary.

So if they can't sail, might as well give em a gun . . .

[mog75]

12. My 4 year old does fine.

I bought a savage rascal about a year ago. He does fine with it, he has also shot my ruger mark I, my wife's sig mosquito, our ar15s and my 243. He is very good about muzzle/trigger control, and he loads operates these guns with no help. While I would not leave him unsupervised at this point I think it's good that he understands firearms, and respects what they can do. If he's ever at a friends house and sees a gun he will just ask an adult if he can shoot it.

[stone space]

17. I noticed in the video that the child is shooting at...

...a target shaped in the form of a human being.

Who in their right mind would actually teach a child to do this?