This was not a popular opinion when I spoke my mind the last time this happened, and I don't expect to be popular this time either. I don't really care, this is how i feel about where we are as a society. This is non applicable to the majority of us on this forum. We have raised our kids to be in the outdoors, hunting, fishing, camping, off-roading, etc. We have been involved in our children's day to day lives. unfortunately, this is not the norm these days. This generation of young adults is not our generation. We were raised with respect. We valued other people. We had both parents in the home. If we didn't, the one parent made up for the others absence. Todays youth is not who we were. They do not share the same values. The majority of us worked through school. We had chores. we didn't have 24/7 access to video games, smart phones, tablets, or the internet.
My oldest son bought an AR from my friend when he was 18. It stayed in my safe until he was 21, when he bought his own safe. I trusted him with my life, and still do. I never have thought twice about the implications of him owning such a weapon. He was always driven. Always respectful. Always appreciative. He worked from the day he was old enough to. He has never asked anyone to help him, or pay his way. He had respect for other people, regardless if he agreed with them or not. He just graduated from Embry Riddle with a major in Aerospace engineering and a minor in computer science. He is what we all strive for our children to be. I never knew how much he appreciated how much I was there for him until he had to tell the judge when I made it legal and adopted him after he was an adult.
Switch gears to my own biological son. He was always against the grain. Always fighting with anyone he could get a rise from. His mother played the mental game with him, trying to pit him against me, my wife, and my 3 adopted sons. I always(before my current wife and after) included him in everything I did. Hunting, fishing, fourwheeling, camping, etc. I coached his baseball and football teams. I went out of my way to make sure he was included in everything trying to counter the damage his mother was doing. To make sure he knew he was included and loved. I had custody of him, but she managed to do her best to pit him against anyone I cared about. Unlike my adopted children, I did not, and do not to this day trust him. He is unappreciative, unapologetic, self centered, irresponsible, destructive, and just not a nice person. He has a few hunting rifles that I got him over the years that he will never have access to. He is not an individual that needs access to a firearm. I've seen it in his eyes. Lets muddy the waters a little more. He has been in the Navy for just over 7 years. How do we say a person is not mentally fit to have these types of weapons, but can still serve, or vote? You can't drink, smoke, or gamble until your 21. The lines are very blurred between being a child or an adult these days.
I agree with the few of us that not everyone should have these types of weapons at the age of 18. A lot of people do not mature enough at the age of 18 to possess a firearm at all. But, its still not fair to the majority of our youth who are responsible. What do we do? I have two perfect examples that grew up under my roof that make the case either way you want to spin the debate. Is rolling semi auto centerfire rifles into the class III category going to do any good? I don't know. Will it stop school shootings? Probably not. Is it worth talking about openly and having a mature conversation, absolutely. The guns are not he problem. The mental state of our society is. If we can't find a solution or attempt to tackle this head on, the left will force it, and they will win.
Let the bashing begin.............
