20/20 Special on kids and guns - 1/31 @ 10pm EST

[monkeylizard]

They're trotting out their old "hidden camera shows kids doing what kids do while oblivious parents watch" dog and pony show again. This time it's guns instead of strangers.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/young-guns-diane-sawyer-special-21694484

 

No doubt they'll have a big "guns are bad mmmkay?" slant to it all, but it could have some interesting moments.

[Garufa]

This looks like one of those shows that will make me want to throw things at the TV.

[10-Ring]

It will be biased no doubt, I saw something about it this morning that claimed that "guns kill over 7000 children per year."  Yes, it was the guns and not the people pulling the trigger.  It's all about sensationalism, if you really want to protect the children ban the bicycles and swimming pools, which claim far more children each year than guns.

[TerryW]

Guns are evil !!!  That'll be the bottom line of the story!

[Caster]

They shoulda been at the range this weekend with me. Watching a boy who looked to 8 or 9 shooting next to his dad with a .22. Then take up with an AK, by himself, and start wearing some clay targets out. Too cool.

20/20 would have an epileptic seizure to see some TGO children I bet.

[Hozzie]

It will be biased no doubt, I saw something about it this morning that claimed that "guns kill over 7000 children per year."  Yes, it was the guns and not the people pulling the trigger.  It's all about sensationalism, if you really want to protect the children ban the bicycles and swimming pools, which claim far more children each year than guns.

 

To be fair, there are a number of idiots out there who don't secure their guns and the kids shoot themselves or others by just being kids.  That is an issue that can and should be addressed, not through new laws, but through severe punishment of the owners.  In theory, I agree that guns don't kill, people do, but it isn't like all of these kids are being shot by some crazy guy.  What I dislike more is the term "children" in the article.  I suppose technically a 16 yr old is a child, but it is different than a 3 year old finding a gun and accidentally shooting themselves or someone else.  They even mention that a vast majority are in the older age bracket.  

Edited January 27, 2014 by Hozzie

[Lumber_Jack]

I saw the preview.  they basically leave a kid in a room with a hidden camera and an unsecured gun and are shocked that the kids pick them up and point them at their heads.  Its no surprise to me.  If you have small children, secure your guns...simple.  There I just saved you and hour of your life

[10-Ring]

To be fair, there are a number of idiots out there who don't secure their guns and the kids shoot themselves or others by just being kids.  That is an issue that can and should be addressed, not through new laws, but through severe punishment of the owners.  In theory, I agree that guns don't kill, people do, but it isn't like all of these kids are being shot by some crazy guy.  What I dislike more is the term "children" in the article.  I suppose technically a 16 yr old is a child, but it is different than a 3 year old finding a gun and accidentally shooting themselves or someone else.  They even mention that a vast majority are in the older age bracket.  

I agree with all of that, just figured I'd be preaching to the choir talking about keeping guns away from kids here.  You are correct in assuming that they will figure 15-18 year old gang bangers into their figures as well.

 

My 4 year old gets a dollar if she finds an unsecured gun in our house and tells an adult.  We've tested her (unloaded gun with our direct presence and supervision,) though I'd never give her access to a gun at her age I feel confident she will do the right thing if she finds a gun.  Heck, she has a rubber band gun that she practices better muzzle discipline with than 1/2 of the guys I see at the range.  I find it ironic that my toddler who has been raised around guns would be much safer in that scenario than a kid who has been shielded from "evil guns" their entire life.

[TerryW]

We never once had a gun locked when I was growing up.  The gun wasn't a toy and my ass would get busted up if I messed with it.  And besides there was zero mystery with a gun so no need to pick it up and play with it when no adults were around.

[Hershmeister]

Silly experiment - now if the put a ice cream cone, bowl of candy, nintendo game and a gun in the room; i would bet the gun is completely ignored

[jcoosi]

Between 1979-2009 120k kids died from gun related events per Children's Defense Fund

 

 

Just in 2009 alone 784k kids were aborted in the US per CDC stats

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6108a1.htm?s_cid=ss6108a1_w

[Lumber_Jack]

We never once had a gun locked when I was growing up.  The gun wasn't a toy and my ass would get busted up if I messed with it.  And besides there was zero mystery with a gun so no need to pick it up and play with it when no adults were around.

 

 

I never touched a hot stove either.  and not from experience, but because when I attempted to, I was correct by and adult.  That's the main problem here, lack of education and discipline among children.  There is a point where children are too young to understand and you cant rely on them to act accordingly but as they grow up its certainly can.  My dad had all our guns in his closet, loaded or otherwise.  I was taught to respect guns and if I was curious, just ask and I could see them. 

[K191145]

I'm going to "assume" that since it's 20 20 and ABC it's going to be some anti-gun message, that's one of their favorite tactics to exploit children to scare a gun illiterate audiance to spread their anti-gun politics. I know there is a problem with idiots leaving unsecure loaded guns around with small children in the home and I agree with Hozzie that the negligent parents, relitives, friends ect. should be punished severly for their negligence. I saw a stat that ACCIDENTIAL child deaths from firearms are far lower than fire, drownings, falls, poisenings etc. and people are also negligent in allowing small children unsupervised around swimming pools, leaving cabinet doors unsecure with cleaning agents in them, leaving lighters around for them to play with, not putting barricades to stairs and can probably think of many other ways a child can be killed because of adult negligence. I'm also going to "assume" that the story will not focus on educating young children in firearm safety which would probably have saved quite a few of them, but attempt to send the message that guns are just bad peroid. Of course they will use kids who's parents are not gun owners, never been told what to do if they see a gun around and have only seen guns on TV shows and hollywood movies with actors and actresses pointing them at each other and shooting at each other. That's where not only children but most adults get their firearm education from anyway. Hollywood. Edited January 27, 2014 by K191145

[Guest Lowbuster]

My daughter saw her first gun, probably the day she was born. She has grown up around them. While growing up when daddy cleaned guns, baby girl watched. As she got older she helped. A 11 she got her first 22. I kept it in safe, but it was hers. I find out when children are sheltered from something, that's when curiosity kills the cat. Teach them every day and it is an everyday thing for them. This applies to all things in life.
I'll bet this show will show biased people and children that have never been around firearms. Let them do tests with some of our children and I bet their findings will be much different

[JAB]

This looks like one of those shows that will make me want to throw things at the TV.

 

Heck, just the ad for it was enough to elicit a hearty, "Oh, [eff} you!  Kiss my a**." from your truly.

 

I am not always 100% on board with the things that Massad Ayoob says but he once wrote an article saying that the better solution would be to gun proof the child rather than trying to child-proof all guns.

 

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob68.html

 

Of course, I found a simple yet fool-proof way to circumvent the entire issue.  I don't have kids.

Edited January 27, 2014 by JAB

[monkeylizard]

Let them do tests with some of our children and I bet their findings will be much different
 

 

Instead of "OMG! The guns are going to kill our kids! Take all guns away for the good of society!", it would be "OMG! Those redneck parents have turned their kids into trained killing machines! Take all the guns AND take their kids away for the good of society!"

Edited January 27, 2014 by monkeylizard

[JAB]

When I and my sister were kids, I knew where dad kept his guns and his ammo.  They were in a closet.  They weren't locked up, didn't have trigger or cable locks or anything like that.

 

I also knew where dad kept his car keys.  I knew where he kept his chainsaw and where he kept his circle saw and where the key to the lock on the storage building he kept them in hung so I could have accessed the saws any time I wanted.  I would no more have gotten one of his guns out to play with it than I would have grabbed his car keys and tried to take his car for a joy ride, cranked his chainsaw or plugged his circle saw in and played with it.  It isn't like I ever tried and was punished for doing so - I simply knew better.  Maybe if some people would stop trying to dictate how the entire world lives and pay attention to raising their own, damn kids then there wouldn't be so much of a problem.  To me, it is kind of like parents who bitch about one or another television show and try to get it taken off because it isn't 'appropriate' for their kids to watch.  Well, here is an idea - don't let them watch it!

Edited January 27, 2014 by JAB

[Guest Lowbuster]

Instead of "OMG! The guns are going to kill our kids! Take all guns away for the good of society!", it would be "OMG! Those redneck parents have turned their kids into trained killing machines! Take all the guns AND take their kids away for the good of society!"

I hear you. By looking at the pic, you can tell she is up to no good.

[monkeylizard]

Yep, she barricaded the door with that tactical "holiday tree" and then grabbed her double-barreled assault rifle. Only a crazy person would be smiling while holding such a powerful death dealing weapon.

[K191145]

Instead of "OMG! The guns are going to kill our kids! Take all guns away for the good of society!", it would be "OMG! Those redneck parents have turned their kids into trained killing machines! Take all the guns AND take their kids away for the good of society!"

 

Of course they wouldn't "come and take them" themselves. They would expect others to risk their lives to do it for them while they have lavish $2000 a plate dinner parties and drink $500 a bottle wine for some millionare democrat Senator.

[Superman]

Well against my better judgement I watched this. It wasn't to bad, much more balanced than I expected.

[monkeylizard]

Shoot...I forgot all about it. Probably be on their website tomorrow.

[Chucktshoes]

David Codrea asks did they break Florida law in search of their story?

Florida Statute 790.174, “Safe storage of firearms required” mandates “A person who stores or leaves, on a premise under his or her control, a loaded firearm ... and who knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without the lawful permission of the minor's parent or the person having charge of the minor, or without the supervision required by law, shall keep the firearm in a securely locked box or container or in a location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure or shall secure it with a trigger lock, except when the person is carrying the firearm on his or her body or within such close proximity thereto that he or she can retrieve and use it as easily and quickly as if he or she carried it on his or her body.

“It is a misdemeanor of the second degree ... if a person violates [the above] by failing to store or leave a firearm in the required manner and as a result thereof a minor gains access to the firearm, without the lawful permission of the minor's parent or the person having charge of the minor, and possesses or exhibits it, without the supervision required by law.”

While ABC could argue that parental permission was obtained, the fact is, the children in the video were not under direct “supervision” of anyone “having charge” of them -- the "adults" were all in the “control room” watching their “experiment” on TV monitors.

 

 

 

Linky

Edited February 1, 2014 by Chucktshoes

[mikegideon]

Of course they wouldn't "come and take them" themselves. They would expect others to risk their lives to do it for them while they have lavish $2000 a plate dinner parties and drink $500 a bottle wine for some millionare democrat Senator.

 

I've actually told a few that they would have to do it themselves, because their "hired guns" are gun owners too. Then, I followed up with "Oh, and be careful". Haven't got a response yet :)

[-boatman-]

Well against my better judgement I watched this. It wasn't to bad, much more balanced than I expected.

 

Yeah, it could have been lots worse and I was expecting worse.