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PiscesGirl Shot While Out Hunting with Dad!
Vivian Manning-Schaffel: It seems Barbie is passe in rural Western Pennsylvania.
WTAR in Pittsburgh just reported one hell of a disturbing story: A 10-year-old girl accidentally shot herself in the hand ... it gets better ... and nailed her father on the hand and leg when she dropped a rifle out of a tree stand!
Yes, a rifle. A tree stand. Did I mention she's TEN?!
Not only was this kid, who just perfected the art of tying her shoes, mind you, expected to handle a fully loaded firearm, she was expected to operate it while maintaining her balance atop A TREE STAND.
Tom Fazi, a wildlife conservation officer with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, says: "It's just an unfortunate accident that involved either the dropping or the slipping of a firearm from an elevated tree stand, and the gun discharged and unfortunately struck both the victim and her father."
Sure! Who needs Scrabble? Firearms are all fun and games for kids with merely "unfortunate" risks. Game Commission, how do I loathe thine idiocy? Let me count the ways ...
Apparently, it took about an hour and a half to get her dad down from the tree stand because they were deep in the woods in a rural area and firefighters had to ride four-wheelers to make it in to him. A medical helicopter got the girl's father to a hospital for knee surgery, while she went in for stitches.
The kicker in this whole scenario?
No safety regulations or rules were violated!
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has a "Mentored Youth Hunting Program" that makes it legal for children, gulp, under the age of 12 to hunt with a licensed hunter over the age of 21, as long as they don't carry the weapon around and shoot standing next to their "mentor."
This program sure does a lot of good when said tweens actually shoot their "mentors." You've got to wonder how many kids or their "mentors" have died an accidental death because of these outlandishly irresponsible gun laws.
Are you guys as appalled as I am?
 | Vivian Manning-Schaffel has written for Babble, Parenting, The Advocate, The New York Post, Business Week and a variety of other publications and lives and works in the heart of breeder Brooklyn with her husband and two kids. She authors two pop culture blogs: The Mad Mom and A Hag Supreme, and is on the web at vivianmanningschaffel.com. |
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- 28 Comments
“Just perfected tying her shoes” - wha?!? I think most of us had that one figured out long before age 10. For those of us who grew up in rural areas, handling rifles at a young age is not unusual. I started learning how to make shotgun shells for my dad at age 6. By age 8, I was learning how to shoot. Accidents happen, which is why safety training is so important. Personally, the gun lobby drives me nuts because they emphasize ownership over responsibility. That being said, I can’t say I see anything wrong with being taught how to respectfully handle firearms at a young age.
What is wrong with hunting? Or do you have something against a daughter spending time with her father doing “man things”. Far more children are hurt or killed because parents allow them to do way more dangerous things than hunting. Like giving them cell phones and the keys the car. I’ve never been shot or even felt threatened by a child with a firearm, I’ve been in 2 accidents caused by teens texting while driving.
Only appalled at your ignorance and idiocy… I’m positive I’ve read the last of your posts…
I was shooting at that age…
OMG - thank you to the people replying!! i thought i was going to be the only one on this post telling her she is CRAZY! my son shot his first deer when he was 7! he was tought gun safety from an early age and everytime we go target shooting or hunting he is reminded before we go. he is now 10 and is a near perfect shot. it was an unfortune accident about this girl, but there is nothing wrong with her age and the fact that she was hunting. p.s. its not that hard to stand in a tree stand.
Lots of kids in Texas hunt at 10. And I’m not just talking about rednecks. Hunting with dad is usually better for the kid then no attention from dad at all or no understanding/respect of firearms. I grew up around hunters all my life and I knew NEVER to touch a gun with out a parent’s permission.
just perfecting tying their shoes?? are you kidding me?!?!? MOST kids can tie their shoes before they enter kindergarten.
My children hunt, and LOVE it! Its VERY safe, and they LOVE the time out in nature with their parents!
My daughter killed her 1st deer at the age of 8, and my son at the age of 5….yes, I said 5! They do not carry the rifles, but are “trained” to use them once in the TREE STAND.
The tree stand is like a “club house” warm, has chairs, etc….its not like they are sitting on a little branch high up in the tree!
You probably need to do a little more research before you go insulting deer hunters everywhere!
There is absolutely no reason for children to hunt. You can’t even claim that “it’s ok as long as they eat what they kill.”
Since when are children responsible for providing food for the household?
I don’t understand the hunting/country-dweller mentality. Maybe I’ve just lived in cities for too long. A gun is an instrument of death and destruction. Give a child a book or a violin, not a GUN.
@Briellis - May I suggest pulling your big head out of your self-righteous backside? How condescending! “Country-dweller mentality.” Nice. Hunting teaches children useful life lessons. Contrary to what “non-country-dwellers” may think, it’s not just about killing animals. Biology, conservation, problem solving, and many other skills are utilized during hunting. It’s not just Bubba and his kids driving out to the woods and raisin’ heck. Get over yourself, really!
muddin mom of 2 and rachel, thank you! i really think this woman should have done some research or atleast known something of the subject before writing about it.
So all of you hunting enthusiasts are saying that subjecting your child to the risk of a gunshot is okay, and that these accidents are no big deal.
Just checking….
@ Anonymous - Firearms accidents are responsible for only .46% of child accidental deaths in this country. That’s behind Motor Vehicle Accidents (20.58%), Drowning (5.27%), and Fires (5.07%), plus a bunch of other things. Actually it ranks 12th overall in the accidental death category. So that basically means a child out hunting is 44.7 times safer than they would be in the back seat of your car (even properly restrained) and 11.5 times safer hunting than anytime they’re around water deep enough to drown in. And I think you’re smart enough to know that nobody is suggesting that a gunshot is ever okay. I’ll take your lack of willingness to post your name as a sign that you know your question is ridiculous.
@Rob G. - THANK YOU. I’ve always been perplexed by people who won’t let their kids go to people’s houses if they own firearms (even locked and in a safe), yet have no problem letting their kids go swimming at someone’s house. Irrational fear really makes people think and do some stupid things.
Rob G - THANKS for putting down actual facts!!!
I have to say I agree with Anonymous. You can cite all the statistics you want. I still don’t feel comfortable with kids having guns.
@June Bug
And that’s fine June Bug. If you are not personally comfortable with firearms and don’t wish your children to be around them then that is your choice. Your personal discomfort however doesn’t change the fact that children are killed way more often riding in cars than they are participating in the shooting sports. Opinions do not change facts.
@Rob G- While it may be true that firearms are only responsible for .46% of children’s accidental deaths, it’s also true that children are exposed to vehicles far more often than firearms; same with drowning, and even fires. So by your logic something that doesn’t make the list is safe… Let’s say methamphetamine? “Here darling, statistically, this shouldn’t kill you.”
Rob G doesn’t understand statistics. And to all you people who make the “argument” that guns for kids are perfectly safe because you yourself hunted w/ guns at that age or whatever, that is not proof of anything. It just means you were lucky enough not to accidentally shoot yourself or someone else. Also, thank you Briellis and Briellis’s husband for being the only other people with common sense on this board. I loved where someone commented that hunting with dad was better than no attention from dad. Now that is parenting!
It is an unfortunate accident but hunting at that age is no big deal. I started shooting BB guns by the time I was old enough to understand “don’t point it at anyone” and shot “real” guns at least by age 10. The thing is that when you grow up in a responsible gun household you learn to be responsible with the weapons. Yes, accidents happen. No, its not “irresponsible gun laws.”
And tree stands are nothing like what you seem to think they are anymore. Some of them are quite cozy with padded bench seats and enclosed in camouflage material.