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Kids Questions
And My Answers
This Page Last Updated 05/16/2007
Please check here to see if your question has already been answered.
Please keep your questions gun related. Non firearm related questions will not be answered.
Ask your parents for a Junior NRA Membership. Once they say "Yes", tell them to get out their credit card and go here.
Rules:
1.) You must be between the ages of 13 and 18 to send a question.
2.) Keep your question gun safety and firearm education related. Any question not related to the subject of this web site will be ignored and deleted.
3.) You must use only this e-mail address for a kid's question.
Kid's Questions
Please take time to check these questions and see if they match the questions you might have.
Firearms were invented sometime before the 1320's. Long
before Christopher Columbus came to America. When guns were invented, nearly
everyone in the world thought the world was flat as a pancake.
We have guns for many, many reasons:
We use guns for hunting. We have been hunting for food since the beginning
of time. Hunting for food is a right of all human beings. We have
only not HAD TO HUNT for our food for the last 140 years or so.
We sometimes have to use guns for self-defense. There are hundreds of
thousands of bad people, who think nothing of hurting or killing someone to take
their money, cars or belongings. Each of us have a God-given human right
to defend ourselves from criminals. Protecting our families from criminals
is a basic human right that existed before any form of government. Guns
are used for self-defense in the United States about six-thousand (6000) times a
day.
We Americans are proud of our history. God, guns and the courage to use
them, made America a free country. In the 1770's, Great Britain was the
single most powerful country in the world. And yet, they were defeated by
the farmers, fisherman, clergy and freedom loving Citizens of Colonial America.
If the need to defend our freedom rises again, like it did in World War I and
World War II, Americans will be ready to answer the call, with their guns in
hand and courage and bravery in their heart.
We also collect firearms as a hobby, shoot them for recreation and family fun,
target shoot in local, state, federal and international competition among other
things.
If you were a bit more specific on your question and what you were looking for,
I can help you further...
"I
like exotic firearms. Such as Uzi, AK
series and grenade launchers. I
never intend to kill anyone with my
guns but stupid liberals think I kill
a bus load of people daily. They
don't know me and are stupid.
Unfortunately I live in California
where Gray "Hitler" Davis
makes stupid laws that don't make sense.
When I go to college I'm moving to
Mississippi. Could you tell me what to
do about the liberals and gun control.
Guns are my life and I'll be damned if
some idiot 500 miles north tell me I
can't have my life."
When
I was your age, I thought just as you
do. I have contacted many State
Governors, including your Governor
Davis. I have found in my
activism, that many elected officials
who have anti-gun attitudes, actually
have very little knowledge about
firearms, when they were invented,
what their capabilities are and what
their limitations are.
Elected
officials are greatly influenced by
the newspapers and the electronic
media. Even though guns have
been around since before Christopher
Columbus came to America, tens of
millions of people still know nothing
about them except what they see in the
movies.
Human Beings
have always feared the unknown.
It is one of the reasons why the Human
Race has survived. Most anti-gun
people, really know very little about
them. All they know is that they
fear them out of their total lack of knowledge.
Firearm
ownership is a very private matter and
is not for everyone. There is
nothing wrong with enjoying the
shooting sports, as long as they are
enjoyed in a safe atmosphere. I
am not so sure about the "grenade
launchers", but there is nothing
wrong with enjoying a fine
semi-automatic firearm.
There are really only two (2) avenues
of approach when considering pro-gun
activism:
1.) Educate our elected
officials about the failures of gun
control measures to affect the
criminal mind. Tell them that
the Second Amendment is not about the
National Guard or hunting, rather it
is about a free people's control over
their own freedom and liberty.
Clearly, the Founding Fathers intended
the Second Amendment as a final check
on the scope of government power and
control over its people.
2.) If our elected officials
refuse to listen to the truth about
firearm ownership and the Second
Amendment, we must act together to
remove that individual from
office!!!! How can this be
accomplished? We can do many
things to help remove an anti-gun
elected official from office.
a.) We can start a petition in
that Congressman's district and send
it to his/her office and try to get
positive publicity about the petition
in local papers.
b.) We can join statewide
pro-gun groups and national pro-gun
groups that can concentrate more
resources on removing anti-gun
politicians from office.
c.) We can write editorials to
local papers, call in to radio talk
shows and openly criticize the
anti-gun politician in a public forum.
d.) We can seek out people who
would challenge anti-gun politicians
for office and do our best to help
them out in their campaigns. We
can help them by handing out flyers,
holding signs at polling places,
making phone calls, e-mail campaigns
and many other ways.
e.) We can make sure our local
gun clubs are involved
politically. Many gun clubs are
simply a place to shoot, when they
could be a rich source of pro-gun
activism.
"Would a pellet gun be a good starting gun?"
A pellet gun is a fine choice for a young child's first gun. As long as the child takes the air gun very, very seriously.
A pellet gun or BB gun, should never be regarded as a toy. All gun safety rules that apply to real firearms, also apply to air guns.
An air gun uses compressed air or Carbon Dioxide (CO2) to fire the "bullet", so they are not true firearms. Nevertheless, air guns can permanently disable, injure or even kill someone else if they are mishandled.
To be a "true" firearm, the gun would have to use gun powder to fire the projectile. Because air guns do not use gun powder, they are not real firearms, however, if they are misused or mishandled, they can be just as dangerous.
Air guns should be stored properly at all times, just like a real firearm. They should not be used without competent supervision.
They should NEVER, EVER, be pointed at another person.
If the young child treats an air gun just like they would treat their first real firearm, the air gun is a great choice for a first gun.
The most important aspect of considering an air gun for a child's first gun, is that the child takes this purchase very seriously and is made to treat the air gun like a real gun should be treated.
Great question!!!
"What is the first gun ever invented? Who invented it?"
Great question from a nine year old girl. This question has been asked many times. I get this question at least once a week.
The
when,
where
and
who
of
the
very
first
firearm
is
very
much
a
gray
area.
Nobody
is
completely
certain
about
the
origin
and
inventor
of
the
very
first
firearm.
The
inventor
of
the
very
first
firearm
was
never
recorded,
or
the
record
has
been
lost.
The
year
the
firearm
was
first
invented
was
not
recorded
either
and
is
also
not
conclusively
known.
It
was
so
long
ago,
that
comprehensive
records
were
not
made
or
kept.
It
is
possible
that
if
there
were
any
records
made
of
the
inventor,
they
may
have
been
lost
or
destroyed.
There
are
only
a
few
things
that
we
have
to
go
on
and
here
they
are:
The actual individual inventor of gun powder could have been a Chinese alchemist known as Sun-Sy-Miao. It wasn't until the year 904, that there was documentation of an approximate recipe for gun powder by a man from China named Siui-Tung. They used gun powder in their celebrations and military victory parties and as an incendiary device that could be mounted on arrows to start fires. In the year 1067, production of gun powder was put under the control of the Emperor of China.
Gun powder was described in a book called Liber Ignum which means "Book of Fires" around the year 1225. In the year 1248 an English monk named Roger Bacon published a formula for gunpowder.
Roger Bacon was known to have experimented with gunpowder in Europe between 1240 and 1270. Two of the three main ingredients of gun powder were known as "Chinese Salt" and "Chinese Snow", lending convincing credence to the notion that gun powder was invented in China. Today, we know the three ingredients of gunpowder as saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal.
It was recorded that in the year 1259, the city of Melilla
defended itself against attack with a cannon.
Evidence has shown that the first guns began appearing around the year
1280. The original inventor was either never recorded or has since been
lost in time.
In
1326
A.D.,
there
was
a
decree
in
Florence,
Italy
for
men
to
make
iron
bullets
and
cannon.
Other
documents
from
1326
mention
payments
for
gun
powder,
shot
and
cannon.
In
1345
A.D.
there
were
British
records
for
the
repairs
of
guns
that
fired
both
arrows
and
pellets.
One
year
later
in
1346,
records
have
been
found
of
a
shipment
of
guns
from
London,
England
to
France.
The
first
mention
of
the
term
"Handgonne"
(handgun)
came
in
1388.
Before
that,
they
were
known
as
"Hand
Cannons",
and
were
"set
off"
by
hot
coals
or
burning
embers.
Quite
likely,
the
first
gun
was
known
as
a
hand
cannon.
So
to
recap
what
we
know,
the
first
gun
was
probably
invented
around
the
year
1280 and
the
inventor
is
not
known,
but
may
well
have
been
a
man
from
China, but possibly Europe.
Nobody knows exactly what the first gun invented looks like, but it was more than likely a wooden pole, with a metal tube attached to it. Below is an example of a gun made in the late 1300's, but this is not the first gun made. A photo of the first gun made would be virtually impossible to find.
14th Century Hand Cannon (Inventor Unknown)
In the year 2000, a few firearms were discovered buried near the Tongjimen area of Nanjing in China. According to the markings, they were made in the year 1373. These are among the earliest firearms found, but because they were so well made, it is obvious that they had been making them for quite a while.
"What do you do if your friend makes you mad and you threaten him with a bb gun?"
This question is a very difficult one to answer. Losing your temper and threatening anyone with a gun, pellet gun or real firearm is an extremely serious matter and is an unlawful criminal act.
You had many options available to you for resolving your disagreement with your friend and under no circumstances was it warranted to threaten him with a bb gun. It was very wrong to use a bb gun to try to get your friend to take you seriously.
When we are angry with a friend or playmate, making certain that they know exactly how you feel is very, very important.
Most times when we have an argument with a friend that escalates to losing one's temper, the friend doesn't completely understand how you feel inside.
Calmly talking out your conflict with your friend and trying to view things from his position and working out a compromise is the best way to resolve a conflict.
There is never any excuse to use a bb gun or firearm to resolve your conflict. Using one in order to help solve a conflict will only bring on more serious problems that I am sure you never bargained for.