I'm afraid that BlueJay's post is more supportive of my position than his own. None of the guns did anything wrong. It was the young gunners.

I would be willing to bet a large sum of money that Bluejay and his friends drove cars just as badly when they got drivers licenses, as they played with guns. They showed awful judgment in what and how to "play". There are many times more guns and people in the US than a century ago, but the accident rate is lower, because of the better training now in firearms safety. If you join a gun club, most make sure you've got a good understanding of firearms safety rules before they'll let you near their range. Every one I've had anything to do with preached safety and good judgement all the time.

Wesley lives in town where a 911 call gets a quick response. In the rural areas I prefer, my two 911 calls got 38minute and 41 minute waits before a Deputy arrived. So far I've been able to out-talk or run away from any trouble that sought me out, but I refuse to be a meek victim if I've got nowhere to run.

A related thought, about using inanimate tools with good or bad judgment; up until the huge increase in drug use in the sixties, more people were slashed with kitchen knives every year than got shot. Most of the fear of guns is fueled by dealer wars. FBI statistics label a dealer and his customer as "knowing" each other.   

Jeff Smith