Drizzt
Member
Children learn ABCs of shooting guns
Michelle Pinkard / The Times
Posted on December 29, 2002
Nearly a dozen children ages 8 to 12 attended a course Saturday morning at the Caddo sheriff's Training Academy to learn the ABCs of shooting.
The First Gun Course is offered this time of year to children who received their first gun for Christmas. The class, which generally lasts several hours, provides basic instructions for children who may never have fired a gun but want to learn how to use one safely. Children are taught about storage, cleaning and shooting. The first part of the course is classroom study. Then children are taken to a shooting range to practice.
The same course will be offered Saturday.
"It's really cool," said L'Anthony Davis, 10, of Shreveport. The fifth-grader learned how to shoot a .22-caliber rifle, a youth model gun cordially called the Cricket. "I learned that all types of guns can kill people and that it's not a toy."
The program started last year but got a boost a couple of months ago when Shreveporter Roy Broughton and Wal-Mart donated roughly $1,000 to purchase guns for the class. Now any child can participate, even if they don't have a gun. However, instructors advise bringing their own guns, including BB and pellet guns or .22-caliber rifles.
"When I was young, my Dad bought me a gun and sat me down for an hour to teach me the dos and don'ts," said Broughton, 68. "So when I heard about this, I just had to do something to help in the message of safety. ... Once you're taught, these lessons really stick with you."
Teaching youths about gun awareness can boost their confidence, he added. "If you want to build a kid's self-esteem, buy them a gun and teach them how to shoot."
Caddo sheriff's Deputy April Wright said the youngsters generally take the lessons taught in order to hunt animals such as squirrels and deer.
"Sometimes people pick up a gun without knowing how to properly use it, and that's why there are so many accidental deaths," Wright said.
Fox News was on hand to videotape the training. The material will be shown on that network at a later date, possibly Monday night, sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Chadwick said.
Sheriff's Lt. Kenny Sanders said Saturday's message was about preventing deaths.
"Parents are buying BB guns and similar guns thinking that they are toys when they are, in fact, killing people," he said.
"We can't ban guns, but we can educate people about them. If we prevented a death today, then we were successful," Sanders said. "And at the very least, we have a bunch of kids having fun with their Moms and Dads. With all these smiles, you can see we were very successful."
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/html/973143D4-624B-40B7-8DD5-C1D3424CBB13.shtml
Michelle Pinkard / The Times
Posted on December 29, 2002
Nearly a dozen children ages 8 to 12 attended a course Saturday morning at the Caddo sheriff's Training Academy to learn the ABCs of shooting.
The First Gun Course is offered this time of year to children who received their first gun for Christmas. The class, which generally lasts several hours, provides basic instructions for children who may never have fired a gun but want to learn how to use one safely. Children are taught about storage, cleaning and shooting. The first part of the course is classroom study. Then children are taken to a shooting range to practice.
The same course will be offered Saturday.
"It's really cool," said L'Anthony Davis, 10, of Shreveport. The fifth-grader learned how to shoot a .22-caliber rifle, a youth model gun cordially called the Cricket. "I learned that all types of guns can kill people and that it's not a toy."
The program started last year but got a boost a couple of months ago when Shreveporter Roy Broughton and Wal-Mart donated roughly $1,000 to purchase guns for the class. Now any child can participate, even if they don't have a gun. However, instructors advise bringing their own guns, including BB and pellet guns or .22-caliber rifles.
"When I was young, my Dad bought me a gun and sat me down for an hour to teach me the dos and don'ts," said Broughton, 68. "So when I heard about this, I just had to do something to help in the message of safety. ... Once you're taught, these lessons really stick with you."
Teaching youths about gun awareness can boost their confidence, he added. "If you want to build a kid's self-esteem, buy them a gun and teach them how to shoot."
Caddo sheriff's Deputy April Wright said the youngsters generally take the lessons taught in order to hunt animals such as squirrels and deer.
"Sometimes people pick up a gun without knowing how to properly use it, and that's why there are so many accidental deaths," Wright said.
Fox News was on hand to videotape the training. The material will be shown on that network at a later date, possibly Monday night, sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Chadwick said.
Sheriff's Lt. Kenny Sanders said Saturday's message was about preventing deaths.
"Parents are buying BB guns and similar guns thinking that they are toys when they are, in fact, killing people," he said.
"We can't ban guns, but we can educate people about them. If we prevented a death today, then we were successful," Sanders said. "And at the very least, we have a bunch of kids having fun with their Moms and Dads. With all these smiles, you can see we were very successful."
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/html/973143D4-624B-40B7-8DD5-C1D3424CBB13.shtml
A refreshing point of view to see in the media. Any media.
