"Disturbing Pics" of Young Girl Holding Guns Found on Suspect's Phone

"Toby Allen, 30, a five-time felon, was under investigation for the alleged robbery of equipment from his employer, a lawn maintenance company, when Brevard County Sheriff's detectives found pictures of an unidentified 6-year-old child posing with a pistol with her finger on the trigger, MyFOXOrlando.com reported."

"Other photos display Allen with an SKS rifle, according to the report."

"It’s alarming to say the least,” Detective Steve Hill told MyFOXOrlando.com. “While the photos are not enough make a case for a child abuse charge, we are very concerned about Allen’s actions and are continuing to investigate.”

Click here to view the photos.

Click here to read the full story.

Okay, aside from the fact that this guy is a five time felon and should be in jail, and aside from the fact that not all the pictures are the epitome of firearm safety, why is it that people always react negatively (mostly the media and liberals) when you mix children with firearms? Even though I wholeheartedly agree this criminal should be in jail, I saw the opportunity to use this story to discuss children and firearms. Now, in my opinion, this girl does look a little young to be handling firearms, but that should be up to each individual law-abiding parent to decide, not the government.

In fact, it was common, in the younger days of this country, for children to handle and use firearms. Nobody thought twice about it. In fact, one of our founding fathers, Richard Henry Lee, who was the 6th President of the Continental Congress after the Ratification of the Articles of Confederation, said this about gun ownership in America...

“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.”

But now that the country has become increasingly more liberal, people are shocked when they see children around firearms. Before the liberals get all up in arms, no pun intended, let me go through a few FACTS.

• Child Mortality Rates (Ages 1-14)
• Motor Vehicle Accidents - 7.8 per 100,000 population
• Drowning - 3.6 per 100,000 population
• Exposure to smoke, fire, & flames - 1.8 per 100,000 population
• Falls - 0.3 per 100,000 population
• Accidental Firearm Discharge - 0.2 per 100,000 population
• Poisoning - 0.2 per 100,000 population
• (Click here to view the report. It is on page 38.)
  

• Firearm accidental deaths among children 1-14 years of age are down over 50% from 1970 (Click here to view the report)

So, as you can see, children are more likely to be killed in a motor vehicle accident, by drowning, by being exposed to fire, or by falling than they are to be killed by accidentally discharging a firearm. The funny thing is, I don't see people getting upset when they see children riding in cars, or swimming in pools, or taking baths, or playing on tall playgrounds in the park. But put a firearm in a child's hands, and "Oh, the horror!".

Now, am I advocating turning children loose with firearms? Absolutely not. Firearms are deadly and children should always be supervised if they are ever around them, just as children should be supervised in a pool, in the bathtub, or on playground equipment in a park. All I am saying is that people need to make decisions and form their opinions around facts, not emotions.