Report Card

There was an interesting article in the Gazette yesterday about <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com//index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/01/10/build/wyoming/50-fgrade.inc">Wyoming gets F for gun safety</a>. I don't know but <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org">this organization </a>sure seems like an anti-gun movement cloaked in a doing it to save the children campaign. I got real curious though about how Montana scored on this report card.<br />n<!–more–><br />n<i>Montana gun laws again received an F because it is among the worst states in the nation at protecting its children from gun violence. Gun violence in the state could increase because the federal assault weapon ban will expire this year if Congress does not reauthorize it and Montana has no state law restricting assault weapons or high-capacity ammunition magazines. Montana does not regulate sale or possession of guns by kids, does not hold adults responsible for leaving loaded guns around children, does not require child-safety locks to be sold with guns and has no safety standards for handguns. Furthermore, Montana forces police to let people carry hidden handguns in public and does not require background checks at gun shows.</i><br />n<br />nWell we failed too. You can see the full report <a href="http://www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/0104/rc04/mt.pdf">here</a> (PDF document). I don't understand why we need all these laws that they are pushing with this report. In a way we need to consider the personal responsibility thing that <a href="http://www.secularfranciscans.net/sfo_life/archives/000025.html">Randy</a> and <a href="http://www.tlhines.com/blog/2004_01_01_archive.php">TL Hines </a>have been talking about. Guns are not toys to be played with. People need to be responsible for how they are used and for teaching there children proper gun safety and not allowing them to use them until they are mentally prepared to be responsible for them. My oldest is 13 and I am still not sure that she is responsible enough to handle firearms. Safety and responsibility are the answers. Not more useless laws that are ignored.<br />n<br />n<b>If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other. <br />nCarl Schurz (1829 – 1906)</b>