They say opinions are like noses (OK,OK, but this is a family site, remember?), everybody has one. Here's mine, from a decidedly Redneck Point of View . . .

The topic today is Juvenile Violence. Folks, we have got to do something about this!

I mean, it's bad enough to have grown folks acting up, but how do you punish a kid for killing? I just heard about the school where a bunch of girls were KILLED by a few kids. Seems they called in a fire alarm, and when the kids went outside, they opened fire!

Hey, usually the Redneck's got some pretty firm ideas about how to handle stuff, but this one's got me stumped! If anyone hurt either of my kids, I'd make durn sure they died - SLOWLY and PAINFULLY! Something about nailing part of their anatomy to a kerosene-soaked stump, handing 'em a dull rusty butter knife, lighting the stump, and walking away!

But what can you do to a kid? These ain't 17 or 18 year-old gang-bangers - these are KIDS! They're not old enough to know why they shouldn't kill, heck, some of 'em probably don't even know what killing really is! Do we lock 'em up? If we do, we're gonna have to have a special cell complete with day-care! Do we kill them? I don't know about you, but I don't think that would do any good (like it DOES with adults!). No, we just don't have a lot of options on this.

Well, like I said, I don't have the answers this time. If any of y'all do, then E-mail me with it. I do know one thing though, some how those kids got ahold of a gun.

We need to concentrate on that. What is a kid doing with a gun? If he got it from an adult, The Redneck's all in favor of stringing the adult up for giving it to 'em! That would be a good law - anybody who gives a gun to a kid is as responsible for the use of the gun as if he was holding it!

Did he steal it from his folks? Then his folks have made two mistakes - they should have had the gun out of reach, and they should have taught the kid better! I was taught that there are 3 rules to handling any firearm:

1) Always assume any gun is loaded

2) Never point any gun at anything unless you want to kill it

3) Only kill for food or protection (if you're shooting something that ain't attacking you, be ready to eat it!)

You know, if everybody would just follow these three rules, there wouldn't be a problem with guns. The Redneck believes in the slogan "Guns don't kill, People do!" and he wishes more folks would learn how to use a gun before they get one. Hey, it ain't hard, but you have to control your temper or you'll wind up shooting somebody you really didn't want to!

Here in Alabama, they passed a law that you have to pass a state-provided firearm safety course before you can get a gun - now there's one form of gun control that I can live with!

Well, that's about all I can say about this, but I do want to hear your ideas! Just give me a yell and let me know what you think. I'll try to post the responses here, and hey! Maybe we can get a discussion going! Who knows, together we might even come up with an answer!

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