Would you trust a ten year old to hold onto your cell phone for you all day? How about your iPod? Even under complete supervision, many parents would probably squirm at the thought of ten year olds holding their most precious forms of technology.
It's not because they don't trust kids at this age; it's because they understand that children at age ten are more susceptible to be clumsy, to have a small attention span, and are more likely to be jumping around when they should be responsible while holding on to these fragile items.
But what if they were holding a weapon? Would you trust a ten year old, even with supervision, with a gun?
The Wisconsin State Legislature has approved a bill to allow ten year olds the chance to hunt with "mentors," who must be 18 years or older and stay an arms length distance between their counterpart at all times while hunting. The two must only have one weapon between them, as well.
While it's commendable that the state legislature wants to preserve the hunting culture in the state, it's naive to believe that such rules would be followed during hunting season -- just ask any parent if they want to stay an arm's length distance of their prepubescent child for an entire weekend. Chances are, these rules are going to be broken. Parents will let their kids wander off, multiple weapons will be present, and so forth.
The worst part of this legislation? Ten year olds won't have to take a safety class in order to take part. Perfect -- ten year old kids going on hunting trips without knowing how to properly put the safety on the gun. Anyone else see a problem here?
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