Reporter Hit With BB Gun: Should Kids Be Allowed to Own Them?

by SodaHead News Posted 2011/08/01 19:00:00

Related Topics: Public Opinion, Christmas, Police, Murder, Guns, Live, Movie, Boy, Treatment, Hospital, Weather, Movies, Boys

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	Yes	1,193 votes	66%
	No	493 votes	27%
	Undecided	121 votes	7%

In "A Christmas Story," when 9-year-old Ralphie Parker begged for a BB gun for Christmas, all the adults objected, saying, "You'll shoot your eye out."

However, as a recent incident in California demonstrates, maybe they should have been more concerned that Ralphie might hurt someone else.

While doing a live weather report in Fontana, Calif., on Saturday, ABC7 Eyewitness News reporter Leanne Suter was struck in the hand by a pellet fired from a BB gun.

Together local police and the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department were able to pinpoint a house that was possibly involved. Police found several BB guns and arrested two boys, ages 16 and 17, for assault with a dangerous weapon, which is a felony.

According to authorities, the boys fired in the direction of the news van from their home's backyard, and hit only Suter and the van itself.

Suter, who was taken to a local hospital for treatment, was not seriously injured and was already back at work on Sunday.

"We are grateful no one was seriously hurt and we are fully cooperating with police in their investigation," said Arnold J. Kleiner, president and general manager of KABC-TV.

The case is now being forwarded to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office which will decide whether or not to pursue charges.

What do you think? With the potential to hurt themselves and others, should kids be allowed to own BB guns?

+31

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b man 2011/08/01 19:22:58

Yes

+37
Its really about bad Parenting....... The question should be, "Should idiots be able to have children"?

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Juliees to Ray G 2011/08/02 14:05:49

+1
In the state that I live in children can use guns with adult supervision. Lets face a lot more people are injured by someone with a gun than electricity having an adult teach a child how to use a gun reduces the accidents that can happen.

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Ray G to Juliees 2011/08/02 14:29:25

Actually, that is false. Also, most gun injuries are self inflicted. More people are injured when they are drunk and fall down. Most children are injured in falls, not BB guns or regular guns. That has never been the case.

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Juliees to Ray G 2011/08/03 00:39:59

What you are saying is false is that more people are injured by a gun than electricity. I DID NOT say that more people were injured by guns than by accidents because that would be a lie. What I said is true if a child is going to be allowed use of a gun then they have to understand how to use it properly and to respect it. I've heard too many stories where a child got a hold of a parents weapon and accidentally hurt themselves or others because they had no idea how to properly handle it. A BB gun is just that a gun albeit a low powered one and should be treated as such.

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Ray G to Juliees 2011/08/03 18:46:25

What I said is true if a child is going to be allowed use of a gun then they have to understand how to use it properly and to respect it.

I agree 100%. Just as with cars, electricity, water (swimming) etc....

The teens in this case should be prosecuted for battery and reckless endangerment.....but to ban kids totally would be too much.

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Ray G to Juliees 2011/08/03 18:50:56

THey USED to have gun training in schools. THey should return to that. We had archery in school....yet nobody is shooting people with bows and arrows....

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Playerazzi to Ray G 2011/08/02 14:15:38

Guns are designed for one thing only: to harm something, or someone. These other things are dangerous only as a side effect.

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Ray G to Playerazzi 2011/08/02 14:29:01

But guns are made so there are less accidents. Most gun injuries are self inflicted. Children all over the world, and here in the US used to have guns from 8-10 years and up, and taught how to use it responsibly. You seem to be a hoplophope.

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Playerazzi to Ray G 2011/08/02 14:38:15

The best way to avoid an accident with a gun is to not have one in the first place.

"Hoplophope" = A person who is afflicted with an irrational fear of firearms.

No, it's not irrational, and there is no fear. There is respect.

I live in Israel, I am a veteran of the IDF, and I live in an area where several people walk around with M16's strapped over their shoulders. Unfortunately, it's necessary, although it's getting less and less so these days. But there is no Second Amendment here, yet people still have these weapons, because they need them.

IMO, the US is drunk on the Second Amendment, and people are irrationally dedicated to this "right to bear arms" religion. It's foolish, it's dangerous, and this is one small indication of that. There is no way any kid would be able to get his hands on a BB gun here in Israel. The Second Amendment of the US Con is a key ingredient that aggravates the proliferation of dangerous weapons in the US, especially to places that don't need them. It's a bad law and it should be changed.

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Ray G to Playerazzi 2011/08/02 16:24:09

Even Jesus said, if you do not have a sword, sell your coat and buy one. People have a Natural right to have the means to defend themselves. I am in no way scared of a person with a gun. If I were, I would be scared of that same person without a gun. If a person cannot be trusted with a gun, they cannot be trusted in public.

As you said, people have these weapons because they need them. People in the US need them too. If you are in danger and seconds count, the police are minutes, sometimes hours away. What do you say, "oh Mr Badguy, please don't hurt me until the police arrive to protect me?" The US Supreme Court has said over and over again that the police have NO DUTY to protect civilians from each other. Civilians are to protect themselves..... pretty hard to do without a weapon. (2nd amendment does not just apply to guns, but all weapons of defense)

Most places where civilians have guns (conceal carry, open carry is legal), crime is lower. Bad guys will still have guns whether they are legal or not, that is why they are bad guys. Why give them the advantage? Why give government the advantage? History has shown unarmed populations are at the mercy of corrupt governments and criminals, which are one in the same.

Cars kill more people than guns. Why are you not scared of them?

...

Even Jesus said, if you do not have a sword, sell your coat and buy one. People have a Natural right to have the means to defend themselves. I am in no way scared of a person with a gun. If I were, I would be scared of that same person without a gun. If a person cannot be trusted with a gun, they cannot be trusted in public.

As you said, people have these weapons because they need them. People in the US need them too. If you are in danger and seconds count, the police are minutes, sometimes hours away. What do you say, "oh Mr Badguy, please don't hurt me until the police arrive to protect me?" The US Supreme Court has said over and over again that the police have NO DUTY to protect civilians from each other. Civilians are to protect themselves..... pretty hard to do without a weapon. (2nd amendment does not just apply to guns, but all weapons of defense)

Most places where civilians have guns (conceal carry, open carry is legal), crime is lower. Bad guys will still have guns whether they are legal or not, that is why they are bad guys. Why give them the advantage? Why give government the advantage? History has shown unarmed populations are at the mercy of corrupt governments and criminals, which are one in the same.

Cars kill more people than guns. Why are you not scared of them?

There are four times more guns in the United States than there are cars, anti-gun people find this a shocking number and insist that these numbers need to be lowered; only certain guns should be legal, guns need to be registered, gun owners licensed, and gun crime needs more severe punishment than other crimes. For the most part, these people do not use firearms, they don’t know anything about using them, and they are frightened by them.

The fact is that there is much more harm done by cars than there is by guns. There are more than 52 times more automobile accidents than gun incidents in the United States. These result in 41 times more injuries by car than by gun, and cars kill more than 150% more people than guns.
http://itmakessenseblog.com/2...
(more)

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Playerazzi to Ray G 2011/08/03 16:07:50

In my opinion, people have a right to live a peaceful life. If that necessitates weapons, then so be it. But if it does not, then there is no need for weapons. This uniquely American self-righteous attitude of "I have a right to my guns" is foolish, and dangerous. Imagine of the gunmen at Virginia Tech or Columbine couldn't get their weapons? Imagine if the BB guns where quite simply illegal?

And it is fitting and proper to be scared of cars. But cars kill only by accident. Guns are designed for killing. It's their purpose.

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Ray G to Playerazzi 2011/08/03 18:49:36

Imagine if there were other armed students or faculty there....the shooter would have been stopped in his tracks. criminals will find a way to accomplish what they want to....why should they have the upper hand?

People use cars to kill on purpose, just as they use knives, bricks, baseball bats and poison. Should all of that be illegal too? Guns are designed for defense, hunting, and killing. just as are knives. And there is nothing wrong with killing.. THer IS something wrong with murder.

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JimTheGeek to Juliees 2011/08/02 15:40:26

You're assuming the adults who are supervising have common sense. With the debacle coming out of Washington, I'd say there's very little common sense around.

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Juliees to JimTheGeek 2011/08/03 00:31:29

If they don't use common sense and their child does something stupid with a firearm then the parents are held accountable and so is the child if they were old enough to know better.

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Steve 2011/08/02 13:58:07

Undecided

+8
Kids 16 and 17 years old should know better than to do something this stupid. My guess is that this is not the first stupid thing that these punks have done and they will eventually end up incarcerated, you just can't fix stupid.

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Judge P... to Steve 2011/08/02 15:00:06

My guess is that this is not the first stupid things these punks have done and they got off easy for the other stupid things they have done. They should have been arrested and charged for the first stupid thing they did then they would have thought twice about doing something like this.

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Jacob 2011/08/02 13:57:25

Yes

+2
I've seen a lot of people saying "it all depends on miturity and up bring". I agree with these people. Altough I never had a bb gun, air shoft gun, paint ball gun, or a real gun growing up. I did on the other hand have pocket knives. I later (16) got a bow and arrow. Then (17) paint ball and air soft guns. I was told never shoot at someone unless you are in a game ie. With the right protection. I was around the age of ten with a pocket knife. So really it has all to do with the up bringing of the kids. O and one more thing. These aren't kids these are teens almost young adults and the diserve their punishment.

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Jennie 2011/08/02 13:56:41

Yes

+2
You'll shoot your eye out kid!

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Michael... to Jennie 2011/08/02 14:10:46

+1
That's hilarious! Thanks for the morning chuckle.

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Jennie to Michael... 2011/08/02 15:27:20

You're welcome! My kids love bb guns and this movie. lol

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iman taheri 2011/08/02 13:56:23 (edited)

Yes

+2
If your kids are not reckless morons with no respect for humanity then no, Ive had bb guns all my life, respect them like they are real and no problems would occur

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JimTheGeek 2011/08/02 13:56:21

Yes

+2
With all the idiot reporters out there, we should be shooting MORE of them. And all the Tea Party Congress people.

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Debra to JimTheGeek 2011/08/02 14:04:19

Thank God for the Tea Party! Its just a shame they are too liberal!

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BoomLover to JimTheGeek 2011/08/02 14:32:13

Whoops, I'll only give you half a rave, for the first part of your comment....

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nukenova to JimTheGeek 2011/08/02 15:17:03
Leo 2011/08/02 13:56:13
brandon 2011/08/02 13:56:05

Yes

I have an AK-47, two SPAS-12s and M9s. I go to a place called toxic Airsoft. They host games every Saturday. The first session goes from 9am-3pm, then the next session goes from 7pm-11pm. Sure we spray an shoot each other with automatic bb guns, but they only hurt for a few seconds. I don't see the big deal.

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Dadgi to brandon 2011/08/02 14:20:01

Well this was not a BB Gun. A BB Gun would barely chip glass. A pellet gun can kill.

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brandon to Dadgi 2011/08/06 00:32:46

True

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mountainman 2011/08/02 13:56:00 (edited)

Yes

+1
YAWN!! Another bad incident done by 2 IDIOTS about to bring to and end tons of fun for MILLIONS of disciplined, responsible others. Hey, while we're at it, how about we not allow kids to ride skateboards anymore! Have you seen the injuries that can be obtained from them? The two idiots were caught, and are going to have a felony record for the rest of their life.

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Deb 2011/08/02 13:55:33

Yes

+1
I had one when i was 6 and i never shot anybody or any animals..its fine if parents take the time to get off thier lazy asses and teach them the proper ways to use them and supervise them..and accidents happen with people of all ages with guns

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silleeellis 2011/08/02 13:55:28

No

+1
Anything that fires a projectile faster than you can throw it should be own by the parents as they own the child and should be responsable for both, If the kids hard done by one of his mates parents would have one.

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Playerazzi to silleee... 2011/08/02 14:17:15

Agree completely.

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Wrinkleranch 2011/08/02 13:54:57

Yes

+1
The parent needs to teach the child proper handling of the gun. A gun is a gun no matter the caliber.

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MrSquid 2011/08/02 13:54:49

Yes

+1
Guns don't kill people; people do. Frankly, the way the media lacks ethics, I think the kids did the right thing. At least they didn't shoot for her eyes! Perhaps the kids need a bit of discipline tho. Oh, yes, discipline isn't allowed anymore. Go kids.

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mike 2011/08/02 13:54:20

Undecided

It depends. Some kids shouldn't have BB guns. Others are ok. If a kid is smart and responsible, then there's no reason he/she shouldn't have a BB gun. On the other hand, if the kid is an idiot who doesn't know the difference between harmless fun and taking it too far, then he/she should not have one. It all boils down to how the parents raised the kid.

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Michael Cavalier 2011/08/02 13:54:15

Yes

+3
Kids should be taught firearm safety, never to point one at another person or a pet, and be supervised when using BB Gun's. So long as the parent(s) are responsible and ensure that these things are done and that the child has all due respect for it, there is no reason they can't have or use one.

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brandon to Michael... 2011/08/02 14:01:26

What about Airsoft that I go to? Those are stronger than bb guns and fully automatic. We shoot at eachother and spray each other (one of the rules is that if you're under 16 you need to wear a paintball mask, if you're 16 or over you still you need to wear protection for your eyes). I don't see anyone complaining about those.

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songmanscott 2011/08/02 13:54:06

Yes

+3
I owned a BB gun and a bow and arrow long before that age. I HAD GUIDANCE on how to use them from my uncle.
These guys are almost adults and should be charged. Idiots!

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Scooterseats 2011/08/02 13:53:31

Yes

+3
This is as American as apple pie. BB guns have been the right of passage of American youth for as many years as BB guns have been available.

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Dadgi 2011/08/02 13:52:29 (edited)

Undecided

At one time not too long ago (10 minutes to be exact), I would have answered "YES". Then I thought about it. When I was a child, 50 years ago, we were reckless enough. Our parents were responsible and really taught us well. If we did not learn they put the fear if GOD in us, and if that did not work then the fear of the belt did. But we were still reckless. Today parents are not as responsible and to be honest rather stupid in some respects. Okay I will be nice rather ignorant in some respects.

After very little thought and the father of three children that gave BB guns to his children, there is no way I would buy my child a BB Gun today. If I did it would be under locked key and only taken out when I was there. Now this is written by a man that was raised where every home had a loaded gun, in the corner, so that you could grab it quick for varmints, four legged or two legged.

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