When most of us were children, we were taught respect for firearms from a very early age.

As we got a little bit older we might have been enrolled in some kind of firearms safety course so we could either do target shooting or go hunting with our parents.

I was in a 4H shooting sports program for a couple of years and when I was twelve or thirteen I got an air rifle for Christmas. It was great. We had a lot of open area on the property my parents owned so I was able to set up a target area so I could practice shooting.

In the wintertime, it gave you a chance to work in as many conditions as possible. Added to that, it taught my a great respect for firearms from a very young age.

My parents told me when I first got the air rifle told me that as far as this thing was concerned was no different than a normal rifle in principle. That if you aim it at someone it better be because they are trying to attack you because while it probably won’t put a gaping wound in their chest it will definitely hurt.

Kids need to be allowed to learn respect for firearms as early as possible so that they know that they darn sure aren’t toys and are not something to be played with,

Via Breitbart:

The Pittsburgh City Council is pushing a ban on AR-15s and other commonly-owned semiautomatic rifles, as well BB guns and starter pistols.

The ban would prohibit the possession of some weapons, while limiting the possession of other weapons to one’s own land and/or residence.

Regarding “assault weapons,” the City Council says, “It shall be unlawful to manufacture, sell, purchase, transport, carry, store, or otherwise hold in one’s possession within the City of Pittsburgh an assault weapon.”

They define “assault weapons” as weapons that run the gamut between full-auto to semiautomatic. In other words, a machine gun with select-fire switch is an “assault weapon” and an AR-15–which fires one round per trigger pull–is an “assault weapon” too.

Semiautomatic shotguns are listed as “assault weapons” if they have two of the following features:

• A folding or telescoping stock
• A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon
• A fixed magazine capacity in excess of five rounds
• An ability to accept a detachable magazine

The ban also references “facsimile firearms,” which the City Council describes as “any toy, antique, starter pistol, or other object that bears a reasonable resemblance to an operable firearm, or any object that impels a projectile by means of a spinning action, compression, or CO2 cartridge.”