youngmafbog - " ...but surely being able to handle something and understand it is far better than a child picking it up. Curiosity killed the cat."
Surely not having guns where children can pick them up is better still?
Your argument that educating children about guns is safer than simply not having guns is not going to fly - as the posts pointing that out verify - and the absence of any agreement with your point.
I mow my lawns with a petrol mower. In the wrong hands it is a lethal weapon.
My nine-year-old grandson may be tempted to have a go with it, and lose fingers and toes as a result.
So, do I 'educate' him in case he is curious?
No, the mower remains padlocked the shed when not in use, the keys are hidden and he is expressly forbidden from going anywhere near it because it is dangerous.
I can't see that my argument could not be extended to guns - except of course that I don;t have the need to have a gun in my home, and I diposute that 99% of Americans really honestly need one - as opposed to wanting one, which is an entirely different argument.
Guns kill people - that is what they are designed to do. So keep them away from people who don;t have to have them, and keep them away from children full-stop.
How does that sound?