Sunday, Apr. 12, 2009 - 7:24 p.m.
Guns & Posers
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The old high school where I live "used to" have a shooting range in the basement where students could learn how to be qualified sharpshooters, informed, safe, good gun owners, and if required: trained militia backups for the military.
It was for .22 rifles...small fry stuff. WW2 vets taught the course, they knew what they were doing. Shooting guns in the school basement was a regular part of the after school school clubs from 1940-1970 -- thirty years of accident free indoor target shooting .
As I hear it, that school shooting range was declared "anti peace" in the 70s and shut down, a half dozen weaving looms were installed, ( * girls only ) and then that craft lapsed, and the entire shooting/weaving range shut down, locked up and forgotten. an enormous heated, well lit public space -discontinued ..
a local gun club applied to use the shooting range
( the only one for many many miles that wasn't designated for police use only ) after school hours only- but were refused because part of their application was to offer_ free safe responsible gun craft courses to all any any residents. Heat from some parents and the regional police demanded the gunclub be refused from shooting in a school..and encouraging young people to learn the arts of war-- ( this was the nuclear age here )
The gunclub were shooting at paper targets for points. not instructing anyone in shooting people or pets.Today, this indoor shooting range is locked and dusty--No shooting has happened in there in 40 years, no weaving has happened in 40 years, legit request by a responsible gun club was denied on sissy emotional basis.. and the kids swipe their Grandparents_ unregistered guns. take a case of beer or some weed & shoot rats in the dump, with absolutely no instruction in rational guncraft, safety or proper use and care of these tools.
If a cop pulled up to see them shooting vermin - they would certainly end up in chains - so rather than that- these youth might well try to shoot the cop cars tires out-and escape as a laughtrack played in their minds, a scenerio based on the only firearms instruction they actually did receive- that being watching TV
