The USFG should prohibit children from possessing rifles

When the mother of a 5 year-old boy left him alone to play with his 2 year-old sister while she went outside on Tuesday this week, she must have thought "They'll be fine, what could possibly go wrong?" She must have thought her young son would be mature and responsible enough to be left alone with the 22-caliber rifle, complete with live ammunition, that she bought him for his birthday but, tragically, while she was out the little boy picked up his rifle and shot his baby sister dead. [1] In my opinion, this woman is clearly an out-and-out, card-carrying mental case who is utterly unfit to be a parent, and the authorities should take her remaining child into care and prosecute her for the criminal negligence that resulted in her daughter's death. But no, this incident happened in a place called Kentucky, which is in America, and the investigating police there just shrugged their shoulders and concluded that "It's just one of those nightmares - a quick thing that happens when you turn your back," while the coroner described the event as "Just one of those crazy accidents." Incredibly, no further action is being taken against either of the parents of the dead infant. [2] This is unbelievable! This frothing nut-job of a mother gave her five year-old son a real gun to play with and thought that that was a responsible thing to do! I wonder what she is going to buy her son for Christmas? A crate of dynamite and a box of matches, perhaps? Blimey, I bet babysitting that little boy is a tough gig... Babysitter: Put your toys away now, dear, it's seven o'clock and time for bed. Little boy: Shut your mouth, bitch, or I'll blow your fvcking head off. Now fetch me a beer from the fridge, you cheap whore. But surely this shooting was just a bizarre, isolated incident? Not so, unfortunately. The Kentucky police said: "it's not uncommon for a 5-year-old to have a gun or for a parent to pass one down to their kid." Indeed, on average, nine children are killed with a gun every day in America. [3] So what do little kids need guns for? To shoot trespassers such as the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus? To protect themselves from those monsters that live in the closet but only come out at night? Or just to make games of cowboys and Indians more realistic? I can't think of any legitimate reason why a minor should to own or carry a gun. If they are interested in target shooting they can go to a firing range and hire a gun there, and if they are interested in hunting they should go with responsible adults, borrow one of their guns and fire it under strict supervision. Children aren't allowed to drive, vote, drink, smoke, have sex, serve as jurors in court or do lots of other things adults are allowed to do because they are not deemed to be legally responsible, so why on earth are they allowed to run around with lethal weapons? Although children are not allowed to possess handguns there is no Federal restriction on their possession of rifles. This is madness: and thousands of innocent children are killed or injured every year as a result of the US Federal Government's failure to legislate to prohibit children from possessing rifles. Thank you. [1] http://edition.cnn.com... [2] http://www.kentucky.com... [3] http://www.med.umich.edu... [4] http://www.justice.gov...