In the article written by Carl T. Bogus, you can see how his viewpoints are also extreme when it comes to gun control. Bogus writes,

"The only gun control method that will ensure Americans' safety, he asserts, is to ban handgun ownership for everyone except law enforcement officers, military personnel, and others who can prove a special need for a gun permit" (34).

There are many anti gun-control advocates who are very responsible and know how to respect the power a gun can have in the wrong hands. They know what measures they have to take to ensure their safety and the safety of the people around them. They don't need strong gun-control laws. On the other hand, there are those who disregard all the safety issues on owning a gun. These are the people who leave guns out in the open where innocent children can find them. Because of irresponsible people like this, we need stronger gun-control laws.

Pro gun-control and anti gun-control supporters have different solutions to this problem. David B. Kopel mentions a program developed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) called, "Eddie Eagle" Elementary Gun Safety Education Program, that is geared toward children in kindergarten and up to sixth grade. In this program, the NRA introduces the children to a cartoon character named "Eddie Eagle." The NRA uses different methods in getting the kids to focus on Eddie Eagle: a video, a workbook, and safety activities. Eddie Eagle is a hero, who tells the children, "If you see a gun: Stop! Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an adult" (107). This might work with a timid child. However, we know that children are always full of adventure and curiosity. These children will be more apt to pick up the gun before they tell an adult. They have no concept of how dangerous a gun can really be.

In a talk show I saw sometime ago (The Leeza Show or Oprah), they did an experiment on kids and guns. To start with, they separated groups of kids (boys and girls), who were around five-to-seven years old. These children were taught by their parents not to touch a gun and to go to an adult if they saw one. The parents and the children were separated. The children were sent to a different room full of toys. Among those toys they put a gun where the children would eventually see it. Separate from the gun, they put bullets where the kids would find them. The parents were in another room viewing their kids on a TV set. It didn't take long before the kids started playing with the gun and even tried to put the bullets in it. The parents were very shocked that their children disregarded everything they were taught about how dangerous guns were. Some of the parents had tears in their eyes. I can still see the stricken look in their faces.

As I stated earlier, there are different viewpoints among people when it comes to their views on gun control, whether they are for or against it. One of those viewpoints is that children need more attention from their parents. Jeff Kunerth in his article states that parents are not paying attention to their kids. They are not listening and they are blaming everyone and everything, except themselves. Kunerth also writes,

"Kids aren't into the blame game, but they see what's going on and know who is responsible: It's the kids themselves and the parents who raised them"(2).

In my case, I knew that my mom and stepdad would be there for my brothers and me. We ate our meals together and everywhere they went, we went with them. If we couldn't go with them, we stayed at my Grandparent's house. They weren't perfect, but I believe we were as normal as any family could be. But, when I was eleven years old, my eight-year-old cousin accidentally shot me in the back. Because of an irresponsible, but very lovable uncle, my life was changed forever. I don't know how to describe the incredible pain I went through during the first year after I was shot.

I was not the only one seriously injured that day, so was my eight-year-old cousin. My pain was physical, but my cousin's pain was emotional. Even after all these years, my cousin still blames himself for what happened. We seldom see each other; when we do, I can still see the pain and hurt in his eyes when he looks at me. A few years ago we were at a birthday party, and I talked to him and told him that I never blamed him for what happened. I told him it wasn't his fault. I'm hoping that it made him feel better and that he would stop blaming himself. In accidents like this, not only the injured person is affected, but the one that pulled the trigger is affected, too. Now that I think back to that time, my cousin and I did not receive any counseling to help us cope with what happened. I guess people just figured we'd get over it. But, if there had been stiffer gun-control laws back then, maybe my uncle would have thought twice about putting a loaded gun in a diaper bag and taking it to a birthday party where a lot of children would be.

There are so many stories like mine in the news every day. For example, just recently, a first grader took a gun to school and shot a classmate. The gun was left where he could get it. There is also the story about 14-year-old Shannon who went outside because she heard a noise, and never came back in the house. She was killed when somebody, somewhere, shot a gun and the bullet traveled a mile or so until it hit Shannon. There are so many stories I could mention about kids killing kids, the list just keeps getting longer and longer. In his article Kunerth quotes a 13-year-old girl named Lawren McCord, "I'm afraid I'll die a slow and painful death like if somebody shoots me and I bleed to death" (2).

There are many laws that pro gun-control activists want. In an article by Michael Janofsky, he writes that in Illinois, Governor George Ryan signed into law a package stating that mandatory trigger locks should be put on guns to prevent children from hurting themselves or someone else. Another proposal is to hold adults responsible for acts of violence committed with their guns and be given more prison time (1). In another article written by John S. MacNeil, he writes about different high-tech safety devices that can be put on guns to prevent many accidents. He writes about personalized guns that will only work for an approved user and computerized fingerprint readers that read the gun owner's fingerprints so only the owner could fire the gun. In his article, he also mentions some drawbacks to these devices. He says that there is always the possibility of malfunctions (3-4). My daughter also mentioned to me that what if the killer was the one that owned the gun. What if we could get the gun away from him, we wouldn't be able to use the gun to defend ourselves. Because we were not the approved users, the gun would not fire when we pulled the trigger.