OUTRAGE!!! You Might Be A Doctor...But It SURELY Does Not Make You Smart!

[Mike Tarak]

I don't know what the rules about posting AP stuff are on SI, but right now I don't really give a damn! After you read this, you too should be shocked, amazed, pissed off, sad and asking yourself a multitude of questions.

I support our 2nd Ammendment that allows us to bear arms...Personally, I don't own a gun and probably never will. I don't have any issue with those that do and 3 of my best friends all have permits and very nice looking handguns...no problems, no issues. I simply choose not to own one.

After reading the attached story....I looked at my 8 year old daughter this morning and got sick to my stomach at the mental image I had of her in this scenario. The very thought of her entering the "show" was enough to make me cringe, then to think of her holding a piece of equipment that has one purpose and one purpose only....to kill people...that made me mad!

What transpired after that just flat out pissed me off because this falls squarely on the shoulders of the adult responsible for thinking that taking his kids to this was even remotely a good idea.

I hate to make light of a terrible situation but for this father (who is obviously well educated) to display the utmost stupidity I have ever read about in my 36 years (SEE BOLDED PART BELOW)...I guess some things can't be taught in school!

In closing....it only takes a second to make a decision that will last a lifetime....

http://ap.indystar.com/dynamic/stories/B/BOY_SHOOTS_HIMSELF?SITE=IN...

Oct 28, 4:33 AM EDT


Boy, 8, fatally shoots self with Uzi at gun show

By SUSAN HAIGH
Associated Press Writer

WESTFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- With an instructor watching, an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair aimed an Uzi at a pumpkin and pulled the trigger as his dad reached for a camera.

It was his first time shooting a fully automatic machine gun, and the recoil of the weapon was too much for him. He lost control and fatally shot himself in the head.

Now gun safety experts - and some gun enthusiasts at the club where the shooting happened - are wondering why such a young child was allowed to fire a weapon used in war. Local, state and federal authorities are also investigating whether everyone involved had proper licenses or if anyone committed a criminal act.

"It's easy to lose control of a weapon like that ... they are used on a battleground for a very good reason," said Jerry Belair, a spokesman for Stop Handgun Violence, based in Newton, Mass. "It's to shoot as many times as you possibly can without having to reload at an enemy that's approaching. It's not a toy. It's not something to play with."

Police said Christopher Bizilj (Bah-SEAL) of Ashford, Conn., was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., on Sunday afternoon, shortly after firing a 9mm micro Uzi submachine gun at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, co-sponsored by C.O.P. Firearms & Training.

"The weapon was loaded and ready to fire," Westfield police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said. "The 8-year-old victim had the Uzi and as he was firing the weapon, the front end of the weapon went up with the backfire and he ended up receiving a round in his head."

Nunez said the investigation is continuing.

Christopher, a third-grader, was attending the show with his father and sixth-grade brother, Colin. Christopher had fired handguns and rifles before, but Sunday was his first time firing an automatic weapon, said his father, Charles Bizilj.

Bizilj told the Boston Globe he was about 10 feet behind his son and reaching for his camera when the weapon fired. He said his family avoided the larger weapons, but he let his son try the Uzi because it's a small weapon with little recoil.

"This accident was truly a mystery to me," said Bizilj, director of emergency medicine at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Conn. "This is a horrible event, a horrible travesty, and I really don't know why it happened."

Police are calling the shooting an accident but are investigating whether everyone connected with the incident had proper weapons permits. Massachusetts requires licenses to own firearms, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issues different licenses to possess machine guns.

The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people from as far away as Maine and Virginia. An advertisement said it would include machine gun demonstrations and rentals and free handgun lessons.

"It's all legal & fun - No permits or licenses required!!!!" reads the ad, posted on the club's Web site.

"You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control - "FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL," the ad said.

The ad also said children under 16 would be admitted free, and both adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.

Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. It is legal in Massachusetts for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and they are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor, Nunez said. The name of the instructor who was with the boy at the time was not released.

"We do not know at this time the full facts of this incident," Nunez said Monday.

---

Associated Press Writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Ashford, Conn., and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.

[Scott Emmett]

You are absolutely correct, Mike. I just cannot imagine any logic behind owning an Uzi. A little boy was the unintended tragedy of a bad decision and all the adults present will have to live with that second of terror.

[Mike Tarak]

Again, I believe in the 2nd Ammendment....I think if we didn't have the ability to carry guns or keep them in our homes, things would be much worse in our country. I'm not even opposed to kids learning how to shoot and getting gun safety lessons in the right settings as mentioned above... .....but a .22 is much different than an Uzi! This is just outright definition of stupidity in my mind....lack of common sense....

[Stephen James]

Eight-year-olds with Uzis. . . sounds like third-world ethnic cleansing to me.

[Scott Emmett]

I'm not real sure why anybody would want an Uzi unless they are an end-time fanatic. Their use outside of combat assault is pretty much useless.

While we are on the subject of guns: I am fully a 2nd Amendment fan and believe an armed society is a polite society. We do need some work though. Here is my solution to gun control:

REQUIRE anybody applying for a gun permit to take the NRA (or similar) gun safety course (at their expense). I would make the one exception of honorably discharged military veterans and active law enforcement officials. Everybody gets a police background check. A convicted felon NEVER EVER gets a permit. Lastly, anybody convicted of a crime involving a gun gets 10 years hard time, NO PAROLE.

[Shoshana Harper]

When our son was taught to shoot by my husband, (NRA certified) it was a very controlled situation. We were at the gun club, outdoors, lots of safety instruction, ear protection, and my husband quite close and almost in as much control of the 22 as our then 8 year old son.

We are such safety fanatics and are clear that weapons are used to kill. True, my husband is a competitive shooter and shoots targets now and not anything living. It's just tragic. I can't imagine the pain.

I agree with Scott Emmett, the dad will have to live with this situation as well as the instructor.

[Scott Emmett]

I am a gun owner myself and find this a terribly sad tragedy. An Uzi is an incredibly dangerous weapon that should never ever be in the hands of anyone unless they are highly and thoroughly trained. I have fired these things and they are not easy weapons to handle. They are spray weapons, that is, meant to be pulled and sprayed.

This father will have to live with the horror of his decision the rest of his life. I cannot imagine bearing that kind of guilt.

[Hazel "The Queen" Walker]

Sometimes you have to shake your head. As a gun owner myself, I am completely shocked by this story. I cannot imagin why an 8 year old would be using this type of gun, and why his father thought it was cute enough to get a photo!

[Mark R Platt]

I don’t even know how to respond after reading the article. My grandfather taught all of us kids gun safety, but we had to be able to explain every function of the gun and proper use before we could even touch it. Then when we it came time for target shooting we had to go over the steps again and have adult supervision. All of this was for a 22 and I figure I was around 8-10 when we were taught. I do not see any reason for a child of 8 firing a fully automatic weapon, really there is no age and more body type that can handle that recoil. That is why the Military has height and weight requirements before you can join. The father saying it had "little recoil" on an Uzi is not 100% wrong compared to other fully automatic weapons, but that depends on the size of the person firing and their experience with fully automatic weapons. To be really honest we were taught to “aim small, miss small” and “one shot per target” (I can still hear my Grandfathers voice), so I have never really seen the point of having a fully automatic weapon for hunting. I would have charged the Parent and Instructor with child endangerment if I had the authority. I can see why you were so upset after reading the article.