The land of freedom...
There have been many things that have happened since my arrival in Denver that remind me how easy it is to access guns here. For starters you can buy BB guns (air rifles etc) at Walmart and boy do they look like real guns and by that I mean like real assault rifles! They even have pink ones for the girls.
Yes that is a toy truck on the shelf that shoots BB pellets as well! And the pretty pink Smith and Wesson BB handgun in the top left corner is only $9.97, so the price entry point is quite low too!
In addition to that there have been a couple of shootings within 5miles of our home that have made it onto the news in the past 5 mths as well.
But nothing has been as ridiculous as the last couple of instances:
Brett and I were eating at Street Kitchen Asian Bistro just across the road from our apartment complex recently when we noticed further down the street some teenagers using what we think were BB guns to shoot rabbits. As you can see this is a suburban residential area near shops and a train station - hardly an appropriate locale for the shooting of wildlife no matter how much of a pest they are!
Then I along with all the staff in my school I received an email this week informing me that a letter had been sent home to all families to inform them that one of our students had taken a BB gun and other equally inappropriate items on the school bus, which is an issue that has to be dealt with by the police. Keep in mind that I work in an elementary school with students from kindergarten to grade 6, hardly the appropriate age to have access to BB guns without supervision!
Don't get me wrong I have nothing against the sporting hunter it is as valuable a sport as any but I do think that something has gone awry with the culture of weaponry here in America.
So I am thankful that I grew up in a country which made the decision to introduce gun laws, I remember my dad marching on parliament in Canberra to fight it and I am proud of him for taking a stand, but I am glad that the government went ahead and changed the laws, one Port Arthur is enough!
 |
| BB Rifles |
 |
| BB handguns and BB assault weapons |
In addition to that there have been a couple of shootings within 5miles of our home that have made it onto the news in the past 5 mths as well.
But nothing has been as ridiculous as the last couple of instances:
Then I along with all the staff in my school I received an email this week informing me that a letter had been sent home to all families to inform them that one of our students had taken a BB gun and other equally inappropriate items on the school bus, which is an issue that has to be dealt with by the police. Keep in mind that I work in an elementary school with students from kindergarten to grade 6, hardly the appropriate age to have access to BB guns without supervision!
Don't get me wrong I have nothing against the sporting hunter it is as valuable a sport as any but I do think that something has gone awry with the culture of weaponry here in America.
So I am thankful that I grew up in a country which made the decision to introduce gun laws, I remember my dad marching on parliament in Canberra to fight it and I am proud of him for taking a stand, but I am glad that the government went ahead and changed the laws, one Port Arthur is enough!
Comments
Post a Comment