Juvenile Access to Firearms 

There has now been a second school shooting, committed by a teenager, in which the parent of the perpetrator is being prosecuted.  At first glance, I have mixed feelings.  Especially when dealing with a teenager who is legally an adult; at what point do we, as a society, hold the individual solely responsible for their actions?  However, in this most recent case, a 14-year-old juvenile killed four people with a firearm acquired from his household. 

We are dealing with one of many ramifications of the ever-diminished family unit.  All of us who are parents probably wonder, how could a father or mother not be aware of this level of mental instability in their own child?  Is it possible to miss such an inclination unless the parent is completely absent in the life of the child?  Where should we come down on the subject of firearms accessibility to children? 

Obviously, it should be self-evident that young children should have no access to firearms outside of strictly supervised range sessions.  However, when discussing older children, I am hardly unique in the fact that I was roaming the fields and woods with a rifle in hand by the age of twelve.  In the rural culture in which I grew up, this was the norm.  There were also no school shootings then, nor was there any “gun violence” in that time and place.  Those things are most prevalent in urban environments dominated by strict gun control.  Interesting how that works.

Individually, how should we determine the best approach for our own children?  I would submit that by being a parent who is present in the life of your offspring you should be likely to intercept such troubling mental and behavioral leanings.  If your kid threatens to shoot up his school, it might be a good idea to have a significant intervention, and leaving firearms accessible to such a child is beyond stupid. 

Generally, however, I remain a firm believer that any gun that is not currently on your person should be locked in a safe.  The age at which a child is given accessibility to firearms should be gauged by the responsibility level of the individual child, and any juvenile that shows signs of mental or behavioral problems should be barred from access.  Simple enough. 

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