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What minimum age to carry a gun

What minimum age to Carry

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irfner

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expvideo wrote:
I think there's a good reason for 18 being the right age. Children under 18 haven't fully developed, and may be more apt to make poor decisions based solely on emotion.

That and you are legally responsible for your own actions at 18. If you aren't legally responsible for your actions, I would think it wouldn't be right to carry a firearm.

Bear in mind that I am only talking about CC/OC of a pistol in public. On your own land, or while outdoors, I don't see any reason that anyone but the parent should decide when a child is old enough to carry and use a gun. I do, however, disagree with allowing children under 18 to carry guns at school. I think teachers and anyone over 18 should be allowed to be armed, but I don't think it's ok to let your 10 year old pack his glock to class. 10 year olds tend to over-react and get in fights. They tend to bully or (even worse in a gun situation) be bullied. They may not have a fully adult grasp on what the appropriate response to bullying is. Shooting isn't it. Threatening to shoot isn't either. Most people under 18 aren't fully aware of the laws either, and couldn't be held responsible if they broke any gun laws. Not that I support any gun laws per say, but I do support the enforcement oflaw in general.

That being said, I think that it is the parent's decision when a child gets to own a gun or use a gun, but as for carrying a gun, that effects society, so I don't know about parents making that call. Maybe 16-17 would be a good thing to test and see if it works, but I would absolutely support 18 yo carry.

I agree about eighteen being the correct minimum age for legal unaccompanied carry of a loaded firearm with afew exceptions. Exceptions to the 18 minimum 1) When accompanied by aparent or guardian who could legally carry a firearm. 2) When legally hunting3) When participating in a shooting sport at a licensed facility.

Carry ofan unloaded cased firearm should be at the discretion of the parents until the age of 18. Meaning the kid could carry his gun to and from the shooting range on his bicycle as long as it was unloaded and cased. Proximity of ammunition laws should be preempted, thrown out or at least modified to only require a separate case.

I do not consider a BB gun to be a firearm and do not believe there should be any legal restriction on them other than that imposed by the parents.
 

expvideo

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Felid`Maximus wrote:
I admitI am young and unexperienced.

Expvideo, just curious, what was the first most retarded thing you had ever heard?

My aunt told me that Hillary Clinton was more "middle of the road" than liberal.



And I'm young and unexperienced as well. I'm only 24. I have a lot to learn about the world still. But I also know that when I was 18 I thought I knew everything and my emotions compelled me to make stupid choices. I know that not everyone is this way. I know that I felt the same way that you do, and that I hated hearing people tell me that I would understand more when I was older. They were right though. I was liberal then and thought that conservatives were stupid. Now I am a conservative. A lot changes about the way you see the world as you get older.

But what was true for me is not necessarily true for you. And I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but you may feel differently about this issue when you are older.
 

radwood

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I have to largely agree with expvideo on this. As I see it, 18 is probably the best option. From a legal and political perspective it is the easiest most logical choice.

Like Felid' Maximus I was never much of a wild child, and could probably have been trusted to have a firearm. My parents were responsible and knew that I was as well. It seems reasonable that parents should be able to decide if their children can carry a firearm. If you had asked me anywhere between 15 and 18 I would have said it should be up to a parent's discretion. I was an idealistic libertarian then.

Unfortunately most people can't be trusted to have that kind of responsibility because they don't want it. Is this a good thing? No. But that is the world we live in.

I know I'm probably going to take a lot of heat for this opinion, but I stand behind what I believe.
 

savery

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, Virginia, USA
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The FAA allows glider and balloon pilots to solo at 14 and have a private pilot certificate at 16. Airplane and helicopter pilots can solo at 16 and earn their private pilot certificate at 17. There are no restrictions on private pilots of any age (none of this silly shit like no flying with more than 3 people in the airplane or no flying after a certain time.) You can earn a commercial pilot certificate at 18. these ages have been in place for years and years and there has been no talk of rasing them. Accidents in this age group is rare as well.

I find it absolutely rediculous that there are plenty of people 18-21 that are on their own, have jobs, etc but they can't buy a pistol or ammo or get a CHP. While it's possible to buy a handgun at 18 in VA through a private sale few people know about it and I doubt that anyone would.

My personal opinion is that all gun laws, including age restrictions violate the 2nd amendment.

EDIT: there are plenty of people that start flying when they're young. I've met plenty of young folks that are commercial pilots and i've flown with a few myself. They get treated just the same as everyone else. The truth is that a 20 year old commercial pilot with an instrument rating and a flight instructor certificate with 500 hours is more experienced than a 30 year old private pilot with 80 hours.
 

PT111

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The one difference between a pilots license and carrying a gun is you have to earn your license as you stated. I don't think the FAA would think to kindly of letting anyone fly a plane or glider without some kind of training. Same way with driving a car. Lots of people with a drivers license shouldn't drive them and lots of people who carry a gun shouldn't. I had my drivers license at 14 and my father was legally drivingback and forth to school atage 6. Does that mean we should let anyone drive a car at any age?
 

savery

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, Virginia, USA
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PT111 wrote:
The one difference between a pilots license and carrying a gun is you have to earn your license as you stated. I don't think the FAA would think to kindly of letting anyone fly a plane or glider without some kind of training. Same way with driving a car. Lots of people with a drivers license shouldn't drive them and lots of people who carry a gun shouldn't. I had my drivers license at 14 and my father was legally drivingback and forth to school atage 6. Does that mean we should let anyone drive a car at any age?

IIRC, you can start unting alone at 12 or 14 (don't remember.)

If this is the case, why not allow the young folks to carry provided they've been trained? Should a 16 year old working part time at a convenience store be denied the right to self defence any more than an adult? To be honest, the arguments about how we shouldn't let anyone under the age of X carry a gun sounds just like the arguments of the antis. Sure, young people make mistakes, but I really don't think that's limited to young people. What's more dangerous? a 16 year old with with a pistol in the console of their car or a 40 year old wife beater with a BAC of .18 and a gun? Which is more screwed up - a 30 year old woman that gets beaten half to death and raped because she declined her husband's offer to teach her how to shoot and help her get her permit, or a law abiding 17 year old girl who is beaten and raped because the law wouldn't allow her to buy a gun, and she could have faced criminal prosecution for carrying it if she had one? We always say that "well so and so wouldn't have been mugged/beaten/raped/killed if he/she had a gun!" It's just as equally as screwed up when that person is denied that right by law. And to be honest - I think this goes for felons, too. Look - if they're that f***ed up, they shouldn't be on the street anyway. But with damn near everything being a felony now, you're life is pretty much over unless you spend time money and effort in order to get your rights back. What ever happened to "paying your debt to society"?
If guns are "the great equalizer," it's pretty screwed up that we get to pick and choose who's equal.
 

PT111

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If this is the case, why not allow the young folks to carry provided they've been trained?
This is a fine suggestion except that many are against requiring any kind of training requirement or permit for anyone. Your points are all valid but do you agree with allowing any 12 year-old to walk into a store alone, purchase a gun and walkdown the streetwith it on his side?


The one problem with the parental permission exclusion is that is there any parent that is going to say that their child didn't have permission if they get caught with a gun. Right now every time asomeone gets caught shooting someone their mother is on TV saying that thier child could not have done that and they have the wrong person.
 

expvideo

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savery wrote:
PT111 wrote:
The one difference between a pilots license and carrying a gun is you have to earn your license as you stated. I don't think the FAA would think to kindly of letting anyone fly a plane or glider without some kind of training. Same way with driving a car. Lots of people with a drivers license shouldn't drive them and lots of people who carry a gun shouldn't. I had my drivers license at 14 and my father was legally drivingback and forth to school atage 6. Does that mean we should let anyone drive a car at any age?

IIRC, you can start unting alone at 12 or 14 (don't remember.)

If this is the case, why not allow the young folks to carry provided they've been trained? Should a 16 year old working part time at a convenience store be denied the right to self defence any more than an adult? To be honest, the arguments about how we shouldn't let anyone under the age of X carry a gun sounds just like the arguments of the antis. Sure, young people make mistakes, but I really don't think that's limited to young people. What's more dangerous? a 16 year old with with a pistol in the console of their car or a 40 year old wife beater with a BAC of .18 and a gun? Which is more screwed up - a 30 year old woman that gets beaten half to death and raped because she declined her husband's offer to teach her how to shoot and help her get her permit, or a law abiding 17 year old girl who is beaten and raped because the law wouldn't allow her to buy a gun, and she could have faced criminal prosecution for carrying it if she had one? We always say that "well so and so wouldn't have been mugged/beaten/raped/killed if he/she had a gun!" It's just as equally as screwed up when that person is denied that right by law. And to be honest - I think this goes for felons, too. Look - if they're that f***ed up, they shouldn't be on the street anyway. But with damn near everything being a felony now, you're life is pretty much over unless you spend time money and effort in order to get your rights back. What ever happened to "paying your debt to society"?
If guns are "the great equalizer," it's pretty screwed up that we get to pick and choose who's equal.
It's crap like this that turns me off of this forum.
 

Doug Huffman

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It reads like a principled argument to me, much preferable to the personal privilege anecdotes so common here. The 2A says "shall not be infringed" and petty tyrant wannabes are tolerated as they pontificate on 'ifs', 'buts' and 'whereas.'

Make your case from first principles rather than in thoughtless gutter tongue.

Either we are equal or we are not. Good people ought to be armed where they will, with wits and guns and the truth. NRA KMA$$
 

expvideo

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Doug Huffman wrote:
It reads like a principled argument to me, much preferable to the personal privilege anecdotes so common here. The 2A says "shall not be infringed" and petty tyrant wannabes are tolerated as they pontificate on 'ifs', 'buts' and 'whereas.'

Make your case from first principles rather than in thoughtless gutter tongue.

Either we are equal or we are not. Good people ought to be armed where they will, with wits and guns and the truth. NRA KMA$$
Actually, I'm not going to sit here and argue that the sky is blue, just because someone else has different principles. 12 year olds are not responsible enough to be carrying guns. This is not something that is debatable in my POV. Saying that it is a constitutional right for them to carry is just proposterous, and as I said before, it really turns me off of this forum, and paints us all as whack-jobs. So no, I won't make my case, I'll just be a dick and tell you that you're all crazy, because there is no sense in trying to reason with lunacy.
 

Felid`Maximus

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PT111 wrote:
The one problem with the parental permission exclusion is that is there any parent that is going to say that their child didn't have permission if they get caught with a gun. Right now every time asomeone gets caught shooting someone their mother is on TV saying that thier child could not have done that and they have the wrong person.


That is probably what would happen, but then whenthe kidcomes home he's going to be grounded for weeks. (Most likely)
 

tarzan1888

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expvideo wrote:
Actually, I'm not going to sit here and argue that the sky is blue, just because someone else has different principles. 12 year olds are not responsible enough to be carrying guns. This is not something that is debatable in my POV. Saying that it is a constitutional right for them to carry is just proposterous, and as I said before, it really turns me off of this forum, and paints us all as whack-jobs. So no, I won't make my case, I'll just be a dick and tell you that you're all crazy, because there is no sense in trying to reason with lunacy.

Actually the sky is black. It only appears blue because of the diffusion of the light rays in the atmosphere. :)

I started to carry a gun when I was 10 years old. I was responsible and careful. My dad was an invalid and was not able to go out with me, so I went to the store, bought ammunition and went shooting.

I have continued to do thus from that day to this.

I started to shoot when I was 6.... got a BB gun, when I was 8 and after proving myself got a .22 when I was 10.

You can not argue the truth all you want Jack, but that is the truth, and I am not unique. I had a whole bunch of friends who did the same thing.



Tarzan
 

deepdiver

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I'm voting 20 years old. And that is not arbitrary. Some recent neurology and psychology studies have found quite a bit of difference between late teens and about 20 in the development of certain regions of the brain used for reasoning and impulse control. It appears that biologically, regardless of socialization, these differences mean that the average 18 year old is much more volatile than the average 20 year old and is significantly less capable of overcoming impluses with sound reasoning. Besides that, by age 20 everyone is out of normal high school classes and people are moving into adult roles for the most part by that point. AND it give them a year of carrying, prior to the legal drinking age, to think about the seriousness of their decision to carry a weapon.
 

PT111

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http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum54/7623.html

Almost 1/3 have voted that there should be no age requirement at all and yet the above link is about mom who has been charged because her 4 year old took her gun to school. Why should the mom be charged with anything if it is legal for her child to walk down the street with the gun strapped to his side?
 
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