I grew up in South Carolina. I owned a shotgun, a semi-automatic .22 rifle and a .38 pistol when I was 13. My grandfather taught me how to hunt rabbits with the shotgun. I used the .22 to hunt other small game and I was taught how to use the .38 for home protection. Almost everyone that I knew also owned similar guns. When disagreements would break out among my friends, no one ever threatened to shoot anyone and nobody ever ran home to get a gun when they lost a schoolyard fight or if someone was bullying them. I never heard of a shooting in a school until I was in my early 30’s. I was born in 1948 so every weekend, my friends and I watched cowboy movies where people shot at each other and routinely got in fist fights. Those shows didn’t cause anyone to shoot anyone else or be excessively violent. My opinion is that violent, interactive video games, gangster rap recordings and lack of two parents along with proper discipline in the household during crucial years have caused this wave of violence. My wife and I reared three boys in San Diego and I taught all three how to shoot and handle a weapon safely (along with my wife). All three are now adults and none have ever been involved in any incidents. Proper parenting goes a long way and there is a severe lack of that with today’s youth.
