Common Sense
By Nicki Kenyon, September 1st 2014
JPFO writer contributor, © 2014.
By now, we all have seen the video of the tragic events that took place a few days ago when a 9-year-old girl killed her instructor with an Uzi. The child lost control of the machine gun and accidentally shot instructor Charles Vacca in the head. The video went viral, and every gun grabber from Moms Demand Action, whose head hoplophobe Shannon Watts wasted no time in hopes ”that this event will lead to a national discussion about children and guns“ to the charlatans at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, whose scheming staff attorney immediately invoked ”America’s weak gun laws“ as cause for the tragedy, began to demand what they define as ”common sense.“
Way to dance in the blood of innocent victims, you opportunistic swine!
Unfortunately, the hysterics weren’t limited to the gun grabbing charlatans.
Many who claim to respect the Second Amendment – those who assert their commitment to gun rights – have also joined the call for ”common sense.“
It’s common sense, they claim, to not allow a child to handle an automatic weapon.
It’s common sense, they claim, 9-year-olds do not need Uzis. Need.
There is zero reason a 9 year old should have been firing that weapon, they claim. Common sense.
I will have to disagree.
This is the same type of hysteria that follows every media blood feast, after every tragic incident, no matter how rare. And this is what the gun grabbers hope.
They hope that Second Amendment supporters will stand with them to demand ”common sense“ gun laws, swelling their numbers, and helping them gain ground...
...something they have not been able to do no matter how many tragedies they parade as cause.
For the record, whether or not a child has any place shooting an automatic weapon depends entirely on the child’s level of skill and maturity. It is not and should not be the decision of onlookers, Shannon Watts, Michael Bloomberg, or politicians. It should be the decision of trained instructors and parents...
...trained instructors, who, by the way, know better than to allow a child to handle an automatic weapon, without standing behind her and helping her by keeping positive control of the firearm at all times while the new shooter familiarizes herself with it.
My own son fired his first automatic weapon at the age of 8 – instructed by an experienced shooter, who never allowed the child to handle the firearm without having positive control of it, and having at least one hand on it from behind as my son fired.
Young competitive shooter Katelyn Francis fires an automatic weapon in competition, with assurance and focus:
Families shoot automatic firearms, with young children under close and careful supervision without incident often.
And yet, the gun grabbers and those weak of principle use this uncommon and heartbreaking accident in an effort to rob us of our rights!
No, it’s not safety they seek. They would use this tragedy to further restrict access to all firearms – not just automatic weapons.
The tragic accident was just that. An accident. A rarity. One that affected the family of the instructor, and one that will haunt a young girl probably for the rest of her life.
It is not ”common sense“ to knee-jerk into a reaction which punishes the rest of us because of this tragedy.
It is not ”common sense“ to hysterically follow emotions instead of logic in response to a disastrous mistake.
And it is not ”common sense“ to abandon your principles, because of panic fomented by those who would see our rights destroyed.
Leave the histrionics to the gun grabbers. Stick to your guns.
Nicki Kenyon has been an avid gun rights advocate since she returned to the United States from an overseas Army tour in Germany. She began writing about Second Amendment issues in 2001 when KeepAndBearArms.com published her first essay, "The Moment.". She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Arts degree in National Security Studies from American Military University. Her area of expertise in those fields is European and Eurasian affairs. When not writing about gun rights or hanging out with her husband and son, she practices dry-firing her M1911 at the zombies of "The Walking Dead." Nicki Kenyon's Archive Page.
