Comments on: “A Gun is Not Fun” Conference Upcoming

By: David Yamane

David Yamane — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:40:16 +0000

In reply to Michael Johnson.

That reminds me that we need to compare schedules

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By: Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:16:21 +0000

If I was held in May, I could attend. Timing. *sigh*

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By: David Yamane

David Yamane — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:54:25 +0000

In reply to khal spencer.

Definitely. The title comes from the title of a children’s book written by the keynote speaker. His heart is in the right place, but he’s connecting the infrequent accidental injuries and deaths from firearms among very young kids to the everyday gun violence that especially ravages disadvantaged communities in the US.

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By: khal spencer

khal spencer — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:47:43 +0000

Reviewing the comments over at Substack, I think you probably have this conference covered. All I would add is I suspect the people naming this conference probably have developed their concepts of gun ownership in the context of places like Baltimore or Albuquerque, where the exposure kids have to guns may be by virtue of Dad’s sock drawer or on the street with other youth, using guns for illicit purposes. With no traditional gun culture safety concepts. That’s a far cry from the Gun Culture 1.0 immersion of my youth, where handling guns was tied to a lot of mentoring. Not to mention a lot of shot up empty tin cans.

Have fun!

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By: David Yamane

David Yamane — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 15:43:16 +0000

In reply to khal spencer.

I think it is just a basic unfamiliarity with firearms and a desire to do something good (child gun safety) but not knowing the best way to frame it. I think the title should actually be “A Gun is Not a Toy.”

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By: David Yamane

David Yamane — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 15:42:36 +0000

In reply to Old Guy.

Precisely. I note this in my Substack if you have access to that, and I will make this point at the conference, too!

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By: khal spencer

khal spencer — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 15:25:06 +0000

Telling kids or their parent that guns are not fun is like telling them ice cream tastes awful. These people need to stop emulating Orwell with their rhetoric.

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By: Old Guy

Old Guy — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 14:47:25 +0000

But the problem with that “Title” is that guns are fun. I run a jr. program that starts with 8 yo and the smile on their face is amazing the first time they shoot a rifle. Trying to say they are not fun is self defeating and it needs to be done more from the point of view that people can get hurt so you have to follow some simple rules, (see the Eddie Eagle program). This program has been around for 25 plus years and it has been very successful in instilling responsibility and safety.

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