Should Buy Your Child a Firearm?

I've seen people argue about this often. A father (or mother) takes their son (or daughter) of 9 years to a gun shop and buys them their first .22 LR rifle. Afterwards, other parents hear of this purchase and protest that no child should ever be given a gun as a present.

This is an issue where I can see both sides of the argument rather clearly. Yes - a child is inexperienced, and from the outsider's point of view, it's the equivalent of giving a child a knife and telling him to go play with it. While on the other side of the argument, if a parent purchases a rifle for a child and takes the time to teach the kid how to maintain, use, and store their rifle properly, an accident is far less likely to happen. I agree with the latter. You hear stories about kids that accidentally shoot their parents or friends. If you look into it, most of these accidents occur because their parents were being irresponsible and left a firearm where their inexperienced child could get their hands on it.

This is my stance: If you want to teach your child about guns and gun safety, do so. But know that you, as the parent or guardian, have the responsibility to practice the same level of gun safety that you teach. You may be more experienced, but that doesn't make you immune to firearm accidents.