Letter to the Editor

Speak out: Children should be taught life is sacred

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Nov. 18, 2010 Banner Graphic carries a half-page article with color picture trumpeting a six 6-year-old boy who has killed a 13-point buck with a .44 magnum rifle on land rented by the government as a reserve. The story includes the information that the boy likes to shoot his BB gun.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence publishes the following information: "Children and teens (0 to 19) in the most rural counties of the country are as likely to die from a gunshot as those living in the most urban counties. Rural kids have more gun suicides and unintentional shooting deaths, while urban kids die more often of gun homicides."

I ask the reader to put these two paragraphs together, reflect on the number of incidents of children shooting other children either deliberately or accidentally, and ask him or herself if preference for the childhood activities we endorse as a society should be those which demonstrate respect for the sanctity of life -- all life.