Is mental health the reason more elementary students are taking guns to school?

[Finance85]

The fact is an elementary student playing video games is much less likely to bring a gun to school if there are no guns in the home. We are talking about kids between the ages of 5 and 13, they do not have the means to get a weapon on their own.

There were guns in my home when I was a kid. I was taught not to touch them because they were dangerous. Handguns were secure, and long guns were unloaded. I was taught gun safety, and how to properly handle and fire all of them. I had my own shotgun when I was 15 or 16, and access to the shells.

Times have changed. Parenting has changed. Sense of responsibility has changed. I grew up in the 60's and 70's. There were movies, but the violence wasn't even close to be as graphic as it is now. I truly believe video games have desensitized kids, and that parenting has devolved in a major way. Kids are now raised by day care workers.

 

[gohawks50]

There were guns in my home when I was a kid. I was taught not to touch them because they were dangerous. Handguns were secure, and long guns were unloaded. I was taught gun safety, and how to properly handle and fire all of them. I had my own shotgun when I was 15 or 16, and access to the shells.

Times have changed. Parenting has changed. Sense of responsibility has changed. I grew up in the 60's and 70's. There were movies, but the violence wasn't even close to be as graphic as it is now. I truly believe video games have desensitized kids, and that parenting has devolved in a major way. Kids are now raised by day care workers.

Those things may all be true, but we can't control parenting. We could, however, set up some consequences for the parent/s of children under 12 that bring a gun to school. A significant fine and/or confiscation of the gun until the parent can provide proof that the have a way keep the gun secured from children. Of course, I'm only talking about incidents in which the child did not harm or threaten anyone with the weapon. Those cases would call for a more severe penalty for the parent/s.