<p>^Newhope33: here it is</p>
<p>[Boy</a>, 8, accidentally kills self at gun show - Life - MSNBC.com](<a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27399337/]Boy”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27399337/)</p>
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<p>OK- it’s a horrible tragedy, and there should be a law on the books preventing 8-year-olds from handling submachine guns. What little kid needs that “experience”?</p>
<p>That is different from what I read and heard in the video of the father being interviewed:</p>
<p>[The</a> Associated Press: Boy, 8, fatally shoots self with Uzi at gun show](<a href=“http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hl-VtQImXVuBfNXTpNMvOgFOxj2wD943CULO0]The”>http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hl-VtQImXVuBfNXTpNMvOgFOxj2wD943CULO0)</p>
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<p>“There should be laws”…but how old is “old enough?” As some posters have stated, they shot firearms at age 10. Others teach their children at age 5 or 6. I learned at age 14. I knew 12 year olds who I would trust more than certain high schoolers! So, who should decide when a child is mature enough/physically able to handle a firearm under supervision? I do not believe the answer is 535 older men and women in DC. It should be the parents/legal guardians AND the range safety officer.</p>
<p>Is letting an 8 year old handle a submachine gun foolish? Under most circumstances, it certainly is. However, an experienced and cautious instructor could assist an 8 year old to SAFELY handle an Uzi. It is not as easy as a Ruger 10/22, and would almost certainly require the instructor holding the child’s hands to assist in recoil control.</p>
<p>From the news reports, it sounds like the father was prepared for the child to rock back (and shoot high, potentially letting rounds fire in an unsafe direction), which is why he would stand behind his son. Support to the shooter’s back/firing side shoulder usually is enough to counter mismanaged recoil. Unfortunately, they did not expect the firearm to rotate in a circular motion toward the child’s head. (That is VERY rare, as most automatics arc up and right, not toward the shooter.) Some theorize this instance occured because the Uzi design is naturally backheavy (since a significant portion of the reciever is behind the grip, and the magazine is inside the grip).</p>
<p>This is a tragic accident. Firearms deaths at supervised ranges are very rare.</p>
<p>There is no excuse at all for exposing an 8-year-old to this danger.</p>
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<p>To say I disagree is an understatement.</p>
<p>off topic
*Glad to hear the Boeing strike looks to be nearing an end. At least for this group. That $8000 signing bonus will do wonders *
Actually it is a $5,000 bonus and it won’t make up for being out of work/without medical insurance for two months but hey- it will be good to get back to work.</p>
<p>I was heavily involved in my D’s third grade class.
I know a range of 8 year olds- I can’t think of any of them that could handle a weapon the weight of a sub machine gun.
and why was that thing loaded?
[Uzi</a> submachine gun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzi_submachine_gun]Uzi”>Uzi - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>This never should have happened. It does not matter how experienced an instructor is or what the father was doing; the father said he was getting a camera, it sounds like the club is trying to spin it differently. I believe the father.</p>
<p>I am a gun owner. My own child learned to shoot a bb gun at age 10. I’m not anti-gun but this is nothing but a serious of errors on the part of the adults that resulted in the death of a child. That apparently a lot of adults let their children handle these weapons only speaks poorly of their judgement.</p>
<p>Civilian ownership of automatic weapons is illegal under federal law.</p>
<p>it is prompting a bill to prevent anyone under 21 from firing an automatic weapon.
[Uzi</a> recoils, questions echo - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/10/28/uzi_recoils_questions_echo/]Uzi”>http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/10/28/uzi_recoils_questions_echo/)</p>
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My mom learned the hard way when she let me take the Vette out one day. Really though, I hadn’t been a bad son up until that point.</p>
<p>Now that I think about it, a Turbo is probably a bit easier to drive. AWD does have some benefits.</p>
<p>Just a clarification – it is now reported that the firearm in question was a micro-Uzi rather than a standard Uzi.
[‘Micro</a> Uzi’ fires 1,700 per minute - BostonHerald.com](<a href=“http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1128279]‘Micro”>http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1128279)</p>
<p>The micro-Uzi is essentially a machine pistol with a short stock. It fires the same ammunition as does a standard Uzi.
<a href=“http://blogs.reuters.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/uzi300.jpg[/url]”>http://blogs.reuters.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/uzi300.jpg</a></p>
![http://blogs.reuters.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/uzi300.jpg[/url]](http://blogs.reuters.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/uzi300.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>There is a criminal investigation underway.</p>
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No its not. Brush up on NFA and '86 Firearms Bill.</p>
<p>Barbara…Shooting is a fun sport, and .22 is the perfect caliber to teach a younger person how to shoot properly. You don’t ‘need’ anything in life except food and shelter. Its not a question of ‘needs’. </p>
<p>The fact that its a uzi or a micro uzi is irrelevant. The number of accidental deaths from pool drownings is much higher than accidental firearms deaths. Why don’t you guys rant about that, too?</p>
<p>The fact is that the father and whoever gave him the weapon are absolutely criminally responsible. A Corvette is not a dangerous car. A Corvette in the hands of a 14 yr old is a dangerous car. A Corvette in the hands of a 14 yr old intoxicated off a fifth of vodka is a very dangerous car…Get the idea?</p>
<p>I must say that as a Democrat with libertarian leanings I wish that the immediate response to things like this wasn’t “There ought to be a law.” </p>
<p>I’d say there ought to be MORE common sense and FEWER laws.</p>
<p>I learned how to drive in a hot little red Triumph convertible sportscar with a stick shift, black leather interior, and walnut dashboard that went like a bomb. My mother taught me. But she took me out in the other car with an automatic transmission to teach me how to steer first.</p>
<p>There seems to be a lot of contradictory information being reported.</p>
<p>Emeraldkity4’s BG article has a lot of technical errors, but the bits about the instructors holding the firearms while the child can pull the trigger is how this sort of thing should be done, if the parents and child want to try it. Virtually all firearms are safe, IF (capitalized for a reason) the users know how/are assisted by someone who knows how to safely operate them. (Some medival firearms and a few WWII firearms are actually unsafe, but they are VERY unpopular for that reason!)</p>
<p>There are many laws surrounding NFA Title 2 firearms (select and full auto firearms, especially). Banning people 21 and under from firing them is stupid (especially when you realize it would preclude some military members from training with their primary duty weapon for 4 years).</p>
<p>^Obviously, LEO, Military, and anyone with jedi firearms proficiency should never be subject to the same unconstitutional restrictions as us plebs. /sarcasm</p>
<p>Doesn’t stop my old home state of Illinois!</p>
<p>Firearms laws wind up with all sorts of exceptions for those who wrote them (and their security teams). I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at Dianne Feinstein’s statements about concealed carry (she is against it, even though she had a permit). </p>
<p>It is quite amazing how firearms laws and culture have changed. Thompson sub-machine guns used to be marketed to ranchers. Before 1934, virtually anyone could buy a full-auto firearm. Before 1968, people could mail-order firearms from the Sears catalogue. Now, I cannot even handle a firearm at a gun store without a state-approved license (Illinois).</p>
<p>^Yup, same at most places. Hell, you can’t handle a firearm if the place’s FFL is suspended or getting renewed. Diane Feinstein isn’t the only one. Many hypocrite anti gunners have CCW/LTCF etc, or have bodyguards who have Class III weapons, etc. Gun control is the biggest joke ever. Well, if the repercussions weren’t sickening, it would be a joke</p>
<p>Gotta love Chi-town. Murder capital USA 2008. I am so glad they banned handguns, now no criminal can use them!! Oh wait…</p>
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<p>um, really? That can’t be the case - even in gun-hating CA, anyone can walk in off the street and handle guns at a gun shop. No need to even show your HSC (handgun safety cert) to rent a handgun at a range, either.</p>
<p>On the original topic, thats a real tragedy, and I feel terrible for the boy’s parents. Thats an awful way to loose a child.</p>
<p>Before you all get too smug and self-righteous about Dianne Feinstein you might stop to take note of the fact that her political career was launched 1978 when she became Mayor of San Francisco by operation of law after a Republican politician smuggled a pistol into City Hall and murdered the elected Mayor and a County supervisor. That kind of thing will color your views towards firearms.</p>