At 5:31 AM -0700 7/20/96, Brad Dolan wrote:
My twelve-year-old daughter asked for and received a .22 for her birthday. Her four and six year old siblings enjoy shooting it, under close supervision.
Rural America has a very different culture than urban America and urban America's recent attempts to impose its values (like hoplophobia) on us really chafes.
Though it is well known that I am in favor of gun control regulations, I have to support Brad Dolan here. There is a huge and traditional gun culture in rural American, particularly in the midwest. The way most Jewish kids get Bar Mitzvahed at 13 as a rite of passage into adulthood, or the way most kids get their learner's permit to drive as such a symbol is the way many midwestern kids get their first gun. David