Phoenix boy 14 shoots armed intruder

[Bob Mayne]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/23/phoenix-boy-14-shoots-armed-intruder-while-watching-three-younger-siblings/?test=latestnews

But wait a minute, I thought guns in the hands of kids are dangerous?  After all, there are so many kids killed with guns every day.  Why, we need to ban all guns in houses with kids.  They are not responsible with firearms and can't be taught to be responsible either.  So let's ban them all before more legitimate self defense acts like this happen again! (sarcasm...lots of it!)

[Uninformed Opinion]

Good for him protecting his family like that. Now I just hope he gets the help he needs to deal with what he had to do.

[SirBrass]

Good on the kid for keeping his cool... now if only his marksmanship had been just a tad better the cops wouldn't have had to go looking for the perp... he'd be DRT or moving mighty slow.  Oh well... the kid was only 14.  Good shooting, kid.

[Panhead Bill]

Good on his parents for raising him to respect and learn firearms use and safety. And good call on Parents' part to teach him what to do when SHTF and for leaving a firearm accessible in case it did. As a dad, that's a tough call to make - when is he ready and able to do what's necessary when SHTF, and not to be , well, kids when firearms may be accessible. It's a tough balancing test to make.

Bill

[SirBrass]

As a dad, that's a tough call to make - when is he ready and able to do what's necessary when SHTF, and not to be , well, kids when firearms may be accessible. It's a tough balancing test to make.

And the reason it needs to be the parent's call and not some government agency or legislation is for this exact reason.  Dads will know best when that is.

[Devereaux]

Good on his parents for raising him to respect and learn firearms use and safety. And good call on Parents' part to teach him what to do when SHTF and for leaving a firearm accessible in case it did. As a dad, that's a tough call to make - when is he ready and able to do what's necessary when SHTF, and not to be , well, kids when firearms may be accessible. It's a tough balancing test to make.

Bill

Isn't it interesting that we even have this consideration today. 100 years ago, and most certainly 150 years ago this whole issue would have been moot. Kids learned to shoot early, and understood the use and application of firearms. But then, we as a society hunted a lot more for our food. And we certainly thought possession of firearms was simply natural.

[haskovez]

Isn't it interesting that we even have this consideration today. 100 years ago, and most certainly 150 years ago this whole issue would have been moot. Kids learned to shoot early, and understood the use and application of firearms. But then, we as a society hunted a lot more for our food. And we certainly thought possession of firearms was simply natural.

My parents farmed until I was 7 years old so I am coming at it from that perspective.  But I clearly remember the first time I shot a gun, I was 4 years old and we were out cutting wood (my parents had a wood stove that we used in the winter).  And by we it was more like my parents were working and my sister and I were running around playing.  After they got done cutting the wood my dad took out his .22 rifle and we shot at an empty pringles can.  We had to rest the rifle on the pile of wood as I wasn't strong enough to hold it up, and he helped me aim it.  All through my life growing up there was a big cabinet of guns in the house, and all of us kids knew where they were as well as where the ammo was.  And we never would have considered once touching anything in there.  I think the problem now is that parents aren't familiarizing their children with guns at a young age and that is why it is a safety issue.  I plan on getting my daughter a .22 cricket or something when she is around 4 or 5 and we will start working with that.  And I will do the same with my son when he reaches that age as well.

[SirBrass]

Isn't it interesting that we even have this consideration today. 100 years ago, and most certainly 150 years ago this whole issue would have been moot. Kids learned to shoot early, and understood the use and application of firearms. But then, we as a society hunted a lot more for our food. And we certainly thought possession of firearms was simply natural.

Actually it depended on where you lived.  150 years ago, the urbanite families were still more or less firearm tyros and while dad may have had a cap & ball pistol, or a musket, it wasn't used regularly.  It didn't need to be.  Though there were more rural areas than there are today, where the firearm was just a crucial to everyday work as the shovel and pick and so of course those people learned to use firearms early.

It still goes like that in the more rural areas.  But with more and more areas being urban, the same situation applies as it did back then but just on a larger scale.  It's not that times have changed (well, they have, but that's not the causative factor here, IMO), it's that the ratio of those living in rual to urban has gone even more heavily to urban.

[nate]

It makes me wonder how prepared my family would be in a similar situation.  Training maybe for everyone? How about a plan in case of an intruder similar to an evacuation plan in case of a fire. That's something I should do better with my family.

[Panhead Bill]

Although I've raised my kids shooting since a young age, and they're all familiar with firearms and firearms safety, can't help but have that thought in the back of my mind that they're kids - and kids are known for doing stupid sh&$ without thinking. I'm 99% sure that they know better than to do something stupid with guns, but the ramifications of that 1% chance are not something I want to risk.

That being said, when not on me, all my handguns are locked up in handgun safes - long guns are admittedly a little less secure, although they're still locked up. The article in the OP does motivate me to sit down with the kids though and have another talk with them about if something were to happen - and rethink whether or not to tell them how to access the appropriate firearms (which would mean more training with my kids that are less interested in shooting - I've got 3, and although they've all been taught to shoot and have shot, some are less interested and so go to the range with me less often).

Bill

[SirBrass]

Although I've raised my kids shooting since a young age, and they're all familiar with firearms and firearms safety, can't help but have that thought in the back of my mind that they're kids - and kids are known for doing stupid sh&$ without thinking. I'm 99% sure that they know better than to do something stupid with guns, but the ramifications of that 1% chance are not something I want to risk.

That being said, when not on me, all my handguns are locked up in handgun safes - long guns are admittedly a little less secure, although they're still locked up. The article in the OP does motivate me to sit down with the kids though and have another talk with them about if something were to happen - and rethink whether or not to tell them how to access the appropriate firearms (which would mean more training with my kids that are less interested in shooting - I've got 3, and although they've all been taught to shoot and have shot, some are less interested and so go to the range with me less often).

Bill

Bill, I went shooting with a family who I am good friends with this past day-after-thanksgiving.  Some of the targets were melons, aka "of about the same consistency as a human brain."  The father then took a .22 revolver and from about 5 feet away (this was in the desert and we had  established a firing line, etc. for safety) put one into the melon.  This was in front of the kids and some other folks he brought out who had an interest in shooting and showed the results.  Small hole in... enlarged hole out.  From a dinky little .22.  He then had me take my pocket .380 (loaded with speer GDHP's), and I did the same thing.  Small hole in, but everyone saw the massive spray come out the back.  About a quarter of the back of the "head" was blown out.

The kids got the message.

Now, seeing one of the un-molested melons get a full quarter of it's entire surface area get blown away from a single hit from .357sig was awesome (and from 10 feet away I still got splattered with melon bit).

Not disagreeing with you... in fact and whole-heartedly agree, but I think kids are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for, especially when we full on SHOW them what will happen when something goes "wrong" with something like a gun makes a big impact on them that "this is not something I want to play around with."

When I was at scout camp one year, the range officer at the shotgun range during "open shoot" took a 20 guage with #7 birdshot and as a demonstration of what it could do, pointed it at the hard ground and pulled the trigger.  It was a demonstration of WHY muzzle was to always be kept up and horizontal and DOWN RANGE.  "Imagine that that was your foot instead of dirt." He said.  The newbie shooters got the point loud and clear.

With kids (and, hell, adults just as much if not more at times I think): demonstrating works ALOT better than just telling.  It helps drive reality home.

[Bob Mayne]

I only have one child, a 14 year old son.  Since he was 7, I've put a gun in his hand.  First a .22lr Mossberg rifle, then recently, one of my Glock 19's.  I made him show me for 3 years that he could be responsible with his .22lr. 

He's decent with the Glock 19, but he needs to improve, he will by the end of the year.  At that point, I will teach him how to get it out of my safe if he needs to do what this 14yr old boy did.  (I hope to God he never does.)

But I think this story is about family preparedness.  I'm a prepper too and being prepared is also about defending yourself at home if needed.  It needs to be a family undertaking in my opinion. 

[Panhead Bill]

Not disagreeing with you... in fact and whole-heartedly agree, but I think kids are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for, especially when we full on SHOW them what will happen when something goes "wrong" with something like a gun makes a big impact on them that "this is not something I want to play around with."
....
With kids (and, hell, adults just as much if not more at times I think): demonstrating works ALOT better than just telling.  It helps drive reality home.

Brass - I agree, I've done the same sort of thing - melons, water jugs, etc. It does send the point home. And you're probably right about them being smarter than we give them credit - usually

Bill

[Panhead Bill]

But I think this story is about family preparedness.  I'm a prepper too and being prepared is also about defending yourself at home if needed.  It needs to be a family undertaking in my opinion. 

Bob - you're right on!

Bill

[SirBrass]

And you're probably right about them being smarter than we give them credit - usually

Bill

Yup, usually.