Hasbeen, "Amazing how much more mature we were 60 years ago isn't it?"

Political correctness is a modern scourge. They've got nasty, interfering, mischief-making, busybodies hyperventilating, acting shocked and hysterical at a kid's water pistol and panic-dobbing the kid via Triple O. That is a very dangerous thing to do. It can result in the attendance of police officers expecting a serious threat and easily perceiving one to exist (the brain does that, preparation for fight or flight).

In Qld, an enthusiastic young off-duty army bloke who was doing some extra training while carrying a heavy pack and piece of water pipe for weight was the subject of a number of triple O calls and found himself thrown to the ground, vigorously restrained face down under drawn, cocked police pistols and arrested. He was charged with public nuisance for allegedly causing a public nuisance after 'causing wide-spread panic'.

As in the US, you'd want to know, tourists too, how to react to preserve yourself if the police are attending and call to you. Ordinary public, especially youth, are not used to that and could get themselves into a lot of hurt by not freezing immediately and doing exactly and only what they are told to do and without question or hesitation. How is your hearing under extreme stress?

Yet it is not so long ago that thousands of young school cadets were carrying the 'best assault rifle of WW2', the Lee Enfield .303, home on their bikes and public transport.

The public have to understand that they are being manipulated. There are political forces and some from outside Australia and secretly interfering in our domestic affairs ('gun control' activists refuse to declare basics such as management, membership, political links, sources of funding and so on), who are spreading fear and distrust for their own agenda.

For the NSW 'Eastern Bloc' Greens the agenda is selfish and simple. They are desperately in need of some can to kick for easy headlines now that their days of hitching a ride on the gay bandwagon are coming to a close.

Dear Paul,

I don't think it is a crime to reminisce about having owned gun when we were younger. I had an air rifle at 9, another at 12 and an air pistol at 13. My .22 was a present when I was 12 and a .303 at 15. My brother and I owned a shotgun between us as youngsters as well. Enjoyed them all. That isn't to say there wasn't a few close shaves. I managed to send a .22 round 6 inches past my father's left ear out hunting one day. I tripped and fell backwards and the rifle ended up discharging behind me. On another occasion my 7 year old sister managed to load a rifle and shoot a can out from just beneath my father's hand while he was setting up targets for her. Luckily she was a very handy shot.

Both incidents were the source of family amusement for a long while. It is only after you have your own children that you start to appreciate how devastating it would have been for either of us if my father had been injured or killed.

We do now live in a different place. Violence in movies is the norm and highly realistic first person shooting games has quite probably desensitised many of this generation to the impact of weapon use.

My position has always been to those who want to go back to the old ways of doing things can first ban these violent mediums then come and have the conversation. Otherwise they can stick to the memories.

I don't know how any properly made and maintained rifle could discharge in the way you described. Had some idiot been interfering with the trigger and sear?
How in the world were you carrying it too? As well, you had one up the spout and cocked, which is in direct contravention of the safety rules. All in all a strange and scary story.

As for anyone holding a rife, let alone with one up the spout (again) and cocked and a finger on the trigger, while someone, her father in this case is up front? But she was aiming too? And where were you? There were no rules left to break in that case. Yet NO rule should ever be flexed. It is so simple, an idiot can be safe.

What you had was a father who was clueless and casual. He should never have been in charge of a firearms, chainsaw, axe, motor vehicle, kero, CHILDREN, the list goes on.

SteeleRedux, "Both incidents were the source of family amusement for a long while".
?! Absolutely stupid. What, no-one corrected that thinking until you say you had a family?

SteeleRedux, "Violence in movies is the norm and highly realistic first person shooting games has quite probably desensitised many of this generation to the impact of weapon use."

Normal people are quite able to discriminate between games and real life. Youth know that games are games. Where children can have a problem though is in the family environment you described as your own, where foolish risk-taking is the norm and parents are incompetent and do not lay down proper boundaries.

OLO readers should be aware that it would be most unlikely, damned improbable, NOT ON, that anyone who is so untrained, thoughtless and casual as your father and family would ever get past go for a licence.

You inadvertently made a solid case for minors being trained by someone competent, which would most certainly be the case if they were to attend a club.

I agree SteeleRedux reminiscing about the past is fine. The thing is we tend to look at the "good old days" through "rose colored glasses". I remember my grandmother going on about the "youth of today" and that was in the 1960's.
I am over 60, but unlike some, I realize we can't go back to yesterday, a time which today's generation don't appreciate or understand, through no fault of their own. The past is something to learn from and build on. As a forward looking progressive I believe there is a positive future, but there is a lot of hard work required to achieve that outcome.
We would not be communicating like we are here if it was not for some later persons good work with computers, etc. There are countless examples of achievements that have come through the work of today's generation. Something use older folk need to appreciate.

p/s My early life was on a sheep farm in the Central West of NSW. There were plenty of guns around, and as a kid I used a 22 to take pot shots at rabbits, bottles on fence posts and the odd tin can.

Totally unrelated; RIP Glen Campbell, loved his music. If you have a little time please play this YouTube of Glen, I find the words most rewarding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvswocNN-g8

The Minor's Firearm Permits promote outside activity for all and regardless of gender. Great for the brain, novelty and concentration, calming and social acceptance. Great for the body, movement, outdoors or in an enclosed range.

Best of all, it is a diversion that strongly discourages illicit drugs and builds confidence and pride. It is NOT the environment and social circle where drugs will be part of the life of contacts. Cheap fun and competition and grading up as one chooses.

Here are the people the kids meet and parents are of course very welcome to watch or take part,

http://tinyurl.com/y92osk93

Dear Paul,

I agree there are many things we have managed to improve on and I think we have empowered many more people today including victims of domestic violence and racism.

I also get the affection for guns in some of the older generation. But times have indeed changed. I can reminisce about carrying my rifle on public transport but would be absolutely appalled if someone tried it today.

Through some pretty forward thinking gun laws we have managed to dramatically reduce the toll firearms were having on our society. Many are now aware that having guns in the house markedly increases the risk to children living there but it has taken large numbers of residences to be without weapons for this statistic to manifest itself.

I often ask those advocating for widespread gun ownership what it would take for them to give it up? If laws were relaxed and the number of children who died from accidental or self inflicted shootings were to jump by a third would they acknowledge they were wrong? Most of the answers I get are just that penalties for those gun owners who permit such a thing would need to be increased. This is just such wrong headed thinking.

As for Glen Cambell By the Time I get to Pheonix was probably my early favourite.

But his guitar playing, damn! After his passing Alice Cooper said he considered him one of the top 5 players out there.

Do you remember the William Tell Overture?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUBhE00h9U0

Or Gentle on my Mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETkzK9pXMio

They seem to be dropping like flies.