Bellbottom Blog

A Girl And An Uzi: My Thoughts

By now everyone has heard about the tragic shooting accident at an Arizona gun range.

The parents of a nine year old girl brought her to Bullets And Burgers to have some shooting time on a supervised range.

I don’t know why she was given an Uzi but this group of grownups allowed her to do just that and then this happened:

You can see when he switched the machine gun to full automatic that the kick of the gun overwhelmed her. The gun bucked free from her left hand, swung into the direction of the instructor’s head, firing all the while.

The instructor was shot and killed.

Let me be clear:

THIS WAS NOT THAT YOUNG CHILD’S FAULT!

It is really hard to state strongly enough how completely irresponsible it is to give a nine- year old child a fully automatic weapon.  I am sure the NRA has several examples of kids successfully brandishing an Uzi. That doesn’t make it right.

I posted a tweet yesterday that said, “I wouldn’t let a nine year old have a cellphone, let alone an Uzi.”

I am still getting favorites and retweets as I type this.

As a response to one person, I wrote this, “Gun people have bought into their own rhetoric to the point of absurdity.”

I don’t think it is being overprotective to deny a child the chance to spend time at a gun range.

I don’t think it is asking too much to ask gun owners and instructors to be smarter about their choices when it comes to kids and guns.

I am not asking for legislation.

I am begging for people to use common sense.

We see stories of kids shooting siblings or other kids almost weekly.  They don’t understand the power of a gun or the consequences of misuse of a gun.

Parents, grownups are supposed protect kids.

That’s why we have seat belts in cars. Child proof cigarette lighters. Nerf balls. Safety latches on cabinets.

And that is why we should never let a nine year old girl or boy use a fully automatic weapon.

It is long past time for people to be smarter when it comes to raising children.

Peace.