The modern liberal (Democrat), is nothing more than an Old World Socialist. Their bag of ideas is empty and because of that, the only solutions they have for everything they perceive as a problem, are to bribe it with incentive killing entitlements, tax it out of existence, regulate it, or run from it rather than agressively pursue a workable solution. Regulatory law has the effect of creating criminals where none existed before. Laws that create criminals by saying that today something is illegal, that yesterday was legal, force those who find the laws unjust to either knuckle under, or become criminals, thus adding to the problem they hoped to eliminate. The gun issue is one of those problems. Just ask the British about gun control and crime. Liberals in general, are devoid of new ideas, cannot trust others, or find it impossible to believe that there are folks who actually have workable solutions to problems. They don't trust people and think they must control them, because they themselves can't be trusted.

It doesn't have to be that way. Trust and proper training are the sloution.

When I was a child, growing up during the Second World War, my friends and I played all sorts of games with toy guns, some which looked very realistic by the way and none of us were ever shot by a cop, thinking the guns were real. We went to war against the Japs and killed them by the thousands. Likewise the Nazis. Did we grow up hating the Japanese and the Germans? Of course not! Today I drive a Japanese car and I married a German girl. Both are top quality. We played cops and robbers and cowboys and Indians, again shooting, or being shot, depending on which side we were on that day. And no, I didn't grow up hating Indians either. As kids we knew the difference between what was real and what was make believe. Most of our families had guns, mainly rifles, but a few hand guns as well. We knew the difference between toy guns and real guns and how dangerous real guns could be, because our parents took the time to explain it to us and explain the responsiblity we each had when we used them. Most of the kids had access to B.B. guns, or .22 caliber rifles and we were allowed to take them to the local gravel pit for target practice. No one ever got shot, accidentally, or on purpose. The best time to show children about guns and the safe handling of same, is when they are young and still believe everything you tell them. Children who grow up in loving, responsible families and receive proper training, can usually be trusted to do the right thing once they know what that is.

Children are born empty vessels in need of filling. What they are filled with is the responsibility of their parents; not the federal government, not the village, not the family down the block, not their friends, but their parents. It is very often the unsatisfied curiousity that gets children in trouble. If the parents can't satisfy the child's curiousity, the child may attempt to find out on their own, which can lead to tragic accidents. Many families have guns and keep them hidden from their children thinking that they can prevent accidents from occurring by doing so. Wrong! The children know exactly where those guns are and if they get curious accidents can and do happen.

Although I grew up around and using guns, as an adult I never had one in the house until I had a need for self-protection. I had a job that required me to carry valuables and sums of cash larger than the average person would on any given day. By this time, I had four children, a girl and three boys, ranging in age from about nine to fifteen and my wife was concerned about mixing children and guns. So, the first thing I did, was teach my wife about safe gun handling and then we went to the local range where she could learn to use the gun. To this day she is not a gun person, but doesn't understand the loathing some people have for them. While she doesn't feel the need to use one, she understands the necessity of having one. One down, four to go. Each of my children were offered the chance to go shooting with Dad, if they first learned the rules of safe gun handling. Once they could recite them without problem, I took each of them to the range in turn and started each one with a .22 caliber pistol. In each follow on session we stepped up a caliber, .38, 9mm, .45 and finally, .44 magnum. By the time we got to .44 magnum all but one had dropped out, because they were bored. They found nothing mysterious, or very exciting about guns. From that time on, guns were a non-issue and only one of them owns a gun today. "Curiosity killed the cat." don't let it kill your children.

So, rather than banning toy guns, you should actually buy the guns and then, before the child gets to play with it, make sure they know the safe handling rules just as if the gun were real. If they break the rules, as children will, take the gun away until they understand why it was taken away, then give them another chance and repeat as often as necessary. They will eventually get it right and it will stick with them the rest of their life. For parents who aren't sure of the rules themselves, or if you want an excellent reminder, just CLICK HERE.