[Jeff Higgins]

Why do so many folks treat firearms in their homes so differently from other hazardous items? A toddler with a kitchen knife could sure carve up his siblings. A todler finding a set of car keys could sure raise some hell. Don't even get me started on what one could do if he made his way into the average garage, with its tools, chemicals, and whatnot. The list goes on and on. Yet a gun is somehow "different" to a lot of people.

Well, they were never "different" in my house. Same rules applied to them as to any other potentially hazardous household item. They were just never a big deal, either when I was little or when my boys were little. I well remember going through, say, a kitchen drawer looking for a ball of string, or some batteries, or a tape measure, or whatever, and having to get the gun that was in it out of the way, just laying it on the kitchen counter. None of my brothers or sister or mom or dad would even look twice.

When my boys started shooting with me, I still had to bring a diaper bag along. Both were well versed in firearms by the time they recieved their first .22's (the old Oregon Arms "Chipmunk") on their sixth Christmas. Both got their first centerfire rifles at age 12 (the legal minimum to hunt in Washington) and killed game with them that year. Firearms have just never been any kind of mystery, or "forbidden fruit" in my family.

I think we have a mindset of trust and responsibility that many are lacking today. This same mindset dominates our relationships to this day. Both sons were 911 owners at the ripe old age of 17, having bought "fixer uppers" that the three of us pitched in on to fix up. Many friends and acquaintances cried out in much the same way they had about the guns - "how irresponsible! A kid that age shouldn't have a car like that, he'll kill himself! Yadda yadda yadda..."

Well, they are both still with us. Both are exceedingly responsible, well adjusted kids. Neither one has wrecked his car out racing with friends, neither one has shot anyone, the oldest graduated from the University of Washington with honors, and the other is carrying a 3.9 GPA into his second year of college.

Everyone's dire predicitions of their early demise or injury were just so much hand-wringing nonsense. Their exposure to some rather serious equipment, serious responsibility, and serious expectations have left them none the worse for wear. As a matter of fact, being exposed to such "risks" and trusted with them has undoubtedly made them better men. So, to the rest of you that insist on sheltering your children and minimizing the risks and responsibilities in their lives - please keep up the good work. My boys will always need folks to ask them if they "want fries with that..."