13 year old Wesley shooting Holes in Holes his 1st time with a gun.👏

Father was super proud his son, a first-time shooter, did better than he did, even though the father had more experience.
His father Dan bought a handgun during the pandemic and hadn't touched it much, but wanted to make sure his son learned gun safety the right way.
We spent a good 2 hours just on the firearm safety, viewing the same graphic videos of what can go wrong that I show adults, and the real difference between accidental and negligent discharges.
It's even more relevant when I have teenage students when I talk about my own history of firearms as a youth: almost shooting a friend playing with my dad's gun at 15, witnessing a gun homicide at 20, buying my 1st handgun to commit suicide at 21.
Dan asked me how old a child should be to learn about firearms? I've seen totally clueless, careless parents taking their kids shooting, and it makes me cringe. I've also seen professional competitors teaching their kids from a very young age. It depends on the competence of the parent around guns. Parents are a child's first and most direct role model in all things in life, for better or for worse.
As a trainer, I only feel comfortable teaching minors who understand firearms aren't toys, that learning about them demands respect and careful attention, and they're mature enough to discuss the life and death consequences of doing it wrong.
Wesley is super intelligent, and by the advanced questions he was asking, I knew he was already curious and learning about firearms on his own. Dan says he follows gun influencers on Tik Tok.
So whether parents like it or not, kids will find information about guns, or even get their hands on one, with enough determination.
Just like abstinence is not effective sex education, guns are so pervasive in this society and so glamorized in pop culture, why not at least teach gun safety to kids?
Bare minimum, teach children if they ever see a gun:
STOP WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
DON'T TOUCH IT.
RUN AWAY.
TELL A GROWN-UP.
#laprogressiveshooters #safetyfirst #learntoshoot #HolesinHoles #progressivesowngunstoo #2Aisforeveryone