Man arrested for holding baby and BB gun

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Originally Posted by AlyssaEimers

I will agree with you that it was dangerous and stupid, but I do not see where it is illegal. At what age would it become legal then to have both a child and a gun? I went target practicing with my parents at a young age. I am not sure how old, but I would guess starting at age 5? It would have huge ramifications if you were to say you could not have both a gun and a child out at the same time. While this person did not appear to be carefully holding his gun, I do not believe that you can make the blanket statement that it is illegal to hold both a gun and a child at the same time.

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I don't have a problem with young children learning to shoot. I do have a problem with holding a baby and a weapon. If you are being responsible with your weapon (safety on, finger off the trigger unless you are pointing it at your target) it is hard to make it go off accidently. I don't know the status of the weapon in his hand. If it was handed to him, he might know the status of the weapon in his hasnd.

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Originally Posted by ftmom

And from my understanding of this debate, it would be because you have a genuine concern about what is happening in the picture. My point was, that if I was to report a picture like this of my ex and our child and I didnt already have concerns about him having guns around them, it wouldnt be due to being concerned about the picture, but because of other issues we may be having.

I like to belive I am not that person, but I know a lot of people who have gone through nasty custody stuff, from the cops being called because the other person wouldnt exchange the kids at 4am, to lies being told in court, facebook pages being scanned for anything incriminating, CPS being called, to a friend of mine who has actually lost his daughter because after the court appointed him joint custody, his ex took the baby and left the country. That was 6 years ago, and he is still struggling to track her down. In some cases it is jealousy the other person has moved on, mental health issues, and in the case where the baby was kidnapped, his refusal to marry the mother.

My point is that there are a lot of different issues in relationships, especially ones that have ended, but the couple is still forced together by a child. Because of that I cant take the mothers concern about this picture as an indication that there have been previous issues with the childs safety.

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I just don't think that is necessarily true. We don't own guns. DH has shot them before so he is comfortable around them. If we split up, currently I have no concerns on how would be with my kids. He's a good dad. If I saw him doing this....I would question it.

A few months ago a teenage girl was shot in the head with a bb gun from a passing car. The pellet missed her eye and was embedded in the side of her forehead. The only reason she got off so 'lucky' is that it didn't hit her in the temple. So, ya, these are real guns that can do real damage.
Calgary teen shot in head with BB gun while waiting at bus stop; incident random, police say

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Originally Posted by Potter75

Maybe. But in a room full of people like a baby and other children and the photographer the line of fire isn't important to ricochet.

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As a note, steel BBs are also very prone to ricochet, especially off hard surfaces such as brick, concrete or trees. Eye protection is essential when shooting BBs, more so than when shooting lead pellets, since a BB bouncing off a hard surface can retain a very large portion of its initial energy (pellets usually flatten and absorb energy), and could easily cause serious eye damage up to and including blindness.

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These aren't steel BBs. They are plastic. Air soft guns, especially pistols are not very powerful and ARE toys. You can get some that are a little more powerful but those are rifle style, and they are still plastic guns that shoot plastic BBs. The pistols don't get very powerful. The one my 7 year old PLAYS with is a plastic gun with plastic BBs. They sell them for $5 at the flea market. They don't just go off, because you have to c ock it EVERY time before it will shoot.

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Originally Posted by ClairesMommy

A few months ago a teenage girl was shot in the head with a bb gun from a passing car. The pellet missed her eye and was embedded in the side of her forehead. The only reason she got off so 'lucky' is that it didn't hit her in the temple. So, ya, these are real guns that can do real damage.
Calgary teen shot in head with BB gun while waiting at bus stop; incident random, police say

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If you are using a real BB gun with metal BBs yes. This was an air soft gun that uses plastic BBs. To have a pistol that actually shoots metal BBs you need a gas powered C02 pellet gun and those aren't things that you play with.

7 year olds shouldn't be playing with guns, plastic or otherwise.

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Originally Posted by GloriaInTX

If you are using a real BB gun with metal BBs yes. This was an air soft gun that uses plastic BBs. To have a pistol that actually shoots metal BBs you need a gas powered C02 pellet gun and those aren't things that you play with.

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Try explaining all that to a little kid who gets their hands on one.

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Originally Posted by ClairesMommy

7 year olds shouldn't be playing with guns, plastic or otherwise.

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Why not? If you don't let them play with a gun they will just use their finger, what's the difference? I don't let him put BBs in it if he is in the house because I don't want the BBs all over the place. So if he is actually going to shoot it he has to take it outside and wear eye protection. Inside he just play shoots it with no BBs.

My older son has been having air soft wars since he was 12 where a bunch of his friends get together and shoot each other in the back yard. That is what these guns are designed for. I have been hit before it stings a little but they hurt a lot less than a paintball gun.

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Originally Posted by GloriaInTX

Why not? If you don't let them play with a gun they will just use their finger, what's the difference? I don't let him put BBs in it if he is in the house because I don't want the BBs all over the place. So if he is actually going to shoot it he has to take it outside and wear eye protection. Inside he just play shoots it with no BBs.

My older son has been having air soft wars since he was 12 where a bunch of his friends get together and shoot each other in the back yard. That is what these guns are designed for. I have been hit before it stings a little but they hurt a lot less than a paintball gun.

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Why not? Because it promotes violent play in children. I don't think a bunch of kids running around trying to 'shoot' each other is all that cool, Gloria.

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Originally Posted by ClairesMommy

Try explaining all that to a little kid who gets their hands on one.

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My son is around real guns and fake guns all the time since his dad is a policeman. He has no trouble knowing the difference and knowing not to touch the real thing unless an adult is helping him. A C02 powered pellet gun is a real gun and should be treated as such. That type of gun should not be used without adult supervision.