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Aug. 10th, 2001 12:30 amABC News had a story on gun safety and children.
Basically, they did a number of experiments where they had a big gun safety lecture, and then three weeks later, they put some kids in a room with some hidden cameras, at least one disabled gun, and a job to do that ensured they found the gun. In every example they showed, the kid didn't tell anyone, they either played around with it for a while, tried to steal it, or both. Even one kid, who had witnessed his best friend being shot, took the gun and pointed it right at his friend. His new best friend, I presume. And they also brought out the story of someone who had gone through all the gun safety courses and could have been a poster child for the NRA, who found guns under his father's bed, did the whee-looky-goof-around thing with him, and killed his brother and rendered himself quadroplegic.
The message, of course, was: Gun education doesn't work. In fact, nothing works, so eventually your kids will shoot themselves, unless you decide to suddenly become super-overprotective and totally shelter your children, like these mothers we interviewed after showing them the tapes. Because basically any teenager who finds a gun will load it and go on a rampage. Typical news scare tactics, and I do hpe Jason has something reassuring to say.
And I remember when I was 12 or so, a friend of mine was grounded for playing around with his dad's gun, and I wondered how he could be so stupid. This story, however, raises doubts as to whether I'd be just as stupid in that situation.
I also noticed that the story did not attempt this with adults. What if an employee was working at McDonald's and found a gun next to the packets of powdered beef? What if the guy in the next cubicle had found a gun at the bus stop on the way to work? Would the results be any different?
One thing is for sure: I must learn to never ever watch the news.
Basically, they did a number of experiments where they had a big gun safety lecture, and then three weeks later, they put some kids in a room with some hidden cameras, at least one disabled gun, and a job to do that ensured they found the gun. In every example they showed, the kid didn't tell anyone, they either played around with it for a while, tried to steal it, or both. Even one kid, who had witnessed his best friend being shot, took the gun and pointed it right at his friend. His new best friend, I presume. And they also brought out the story of someone who had gone through all the gun safety courses and could have been a poster child for the NRA, who found guns under his father's bed, did the whee-looky-goof-around thing with him, and killed his brother and rendered himself quadroplegic.
The message, of course, was: Gun education doesn't work. In fact, nothing works, so eventually your kids will shoot themselves, unless you decide to suddenly become super-overprotective and totally shelter your children, like these mothers we interviewed after showing them the tapes. Because basically any teenager who finds a gun will load it and go on a rampage. Typical news scare tactics, and I do hpe Jason has something reassuring to say.
And I remember when I was 12 or so, a friend of mine was grounded for playing around with his dad's gun, and I wondered how he could be so stupid. This story, however, raises doubts as to whether I'd be just as stupid in that situation.
I also noticed that the story did not attempt this with adults. What if an employee was working at McDonald's and found a gun next to the packets of powdered beef? What if the guy in the next cubicle had found a gun at the bus stop on the way to work? Would the results be any different?
One thing is for sure: I must learn to never ever watch the news.
