by Clarence Bell

Created on: March 18, 2009

As things go, while an air gun's purpose is evil, as an inanimate object, it is as evil as a blade of grass. Yes, an air gun is made to "shoot" people, yet it is how it is wielded that dictates its morality. A more valid question would be: Are people good or evil?

Pieces of plastic and metal are only dangerous when wielded by one with ill-intent. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 people died between 1993 and 2003 from air gun shots across the US. Liberals, and those against gun control argue that air guns will offer children a path to "kill". Watching the movies and playing the video games will intrigue children. They'll want to experiment, so they'll pick up an air soft gun and shoot their friend in the head with a pea-sized ball of plastic. No! Air guns aren't killers, it is those who use them.

If parents don't want their children to kill each other they must be better parents. Don't blame the R-Rated movies that corrupted your child at age 9. THE PARENTS should control their children and what they watch, what they play. A toy should not be blamed for a parent's negligence.

Safety is another important aspect. Most fatal injuries are around the eyes, where the skin is more tender and where sensitive nerves and organs lie. Parents should ensure their children where eye protection. Parents should also ensure the children are playing with appropriate weaponry. A Daisy Red Ryder is less lethal than the BB guns with 1000fps velocity. While these guns that fire chunks of metal (or the less fatal plastic) are dangerous (and have been used in suicides) they are only as dangerous as the finger on the trigger. I used my BB gun to shoot cans off a bench. I didn't cavort around the neighbor breaking into houses and killing the homeowners, or shooting kindergarteners in drive-bys. The feared aspirations of anti-air gun members are absurd and far-fetched. Responsible parenting can assure that any disaster would be avoided. While air guns are dangerous, they are not evil.

Satan did not fashion the first air gun in the world and throw it into the hands of a sociopath. The airgun does not have a will of its own to tromp around dealing death to all it encounters, so to say that airguns are evil is far-fetched. It summons images of guns with devil horns, muzzles opened wide with gleaming fangs. The true monster is not the steel, it is the flesh and bone, the moral (or immoral) human behind the trigger. The one who loads the gun is the one that pulls the trigger in the end.

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