Do you think 16-18 year old young ladies or young men should be able to go....

One of my main objectives is taking out the overall curiosity of Firing a Gun themselves it is just one more thing for a young adult to get over and done with it. In all we see and hear about shootings real or "movie Type" shooting. Young adults perceive that is a must do.
I agree about the morg. it is much more impact then just pictures as is shooting the gun for themselves.
as you have said you grew up with guns. now ask yourself before you were allowed to shoot were you not anxious, could not wait and after you were able to shoot a gun did you not feel somewhat relieved and could take it or leave it??
I agree it is a tough call but young adults have some preconceived ideas and guns is one of them.
One of the most dangerous ones. I would rather let them get it out of their system and say "that's no big
deal I have done that"

i agree with you soccermom,thats the age i was taught to use a gun.

YES! I was taught how to shoot a gun at very young age. I think if you teach child the proper way of shooting a gun of course teach safety issues about a gun and a gun is not a play toy. I think if you do this it take the mystery out of gun. They learn to respect the gun or use for it.

odachimaster-

I understand the intent of your post. I also definitely believe that all children, adults, everyone should have a healthy respect for firearms. I spent most of my tween and teen years growing up in Kentucky where it was completely normal to see rifles in the gun racks of my friend's trucks or in their homes. I have many friends who Bow hunt for fun and out of necessity. Having a respect for any type of firearm was a normal part of life for that area. I can remember instruction (at school) on the proper way to hold a firearm while hunting, etc. We did not have any classes on actually using the firearm though.

That brings up this thought. From you post and subsequent replies, it would appear that the main thrust of your intention is to show children the danger of IMPROPER use of any gun and why the should respect them because of that. If that is what you're suggesting, why not just take them to a morgue? The bodies that are available are ones that have already gone through an autopsy. The police definitely know what type of gun killed those people (the bullets are/were in them). If you want to show teens by example, forget watermelons, show them the real thing. You don't need to instruct kids on gun use to show them gun damage. Bullet entry and exit wounds speak for themselves. While you're there, have them look at the effects of drugs on the human body and what can happen from drinking (or even texting) and driving, get all the bad stuff out of their system. It isn't necessary to have a kid learn how to use a gun, to show them how dangerous they can be. If you are still interested in having them learn about guns, make them take a class about firearm SAFETY, not use.

I believe your intentions were good with this post. The only issue I had with it was the target audience you were speaking of. You are talking about teenagers, a group of kids who a unsure of themselves, their ability to effect change, have control or even decide anything about their own future. Now you're suggesting giving them something most of their parents have only given them in small doses, POWER. Fire a gun is power no matter what caliber the firearm. The ability to take (kill) or give (spare) a life is power. More power than I'd wager than anything they have ever felt in their short lives. You don't just wake up one morning and give a child that much power to play with. Having the knowledge of how to use a gun is not the same as being able to cope with handling the power the comes along with it. Let me illustrate my point this way:

When a teen gets a car, it is empowering. You many have him take drivers ed, learn the rules of the road and use driving simulators. But you can only gain experience in controlling any kind of new power through practice.It isn't driving practice until he actually gets behind the wheel and turns the key. The parent will normally let him gain experience in using that new power through running errands, picking up siblings, etc. All of which are ACCEPTABLE ways to practice using that new power. They wouldn't allow him to go out and get that experience by driving over people or misusing the roads. Cars can be used in a beneficial way. Now lets apply that to this discussion.

You can arrange for classes at a shooting range, give written tests on gun types and what ammo is needed. You can even have gun situation 'simulations' by having them fire the gun at the shooting range. But all of those things are just training. It isn't until you are actually looking down the barrel at another human or animal that you begin to practice using that power. There are plenty of police and soldiers who know how to strip down a gun and put it back together. But many of them after firing it the first time at another human, cannot cope with dealing with the power over life that came with that decision. Guns are not cars, you can't mow the lawn with one or feed your dog with it. There is only one way to practice or learn how to use a gun, go and kill something. Imagine instead of football practice, now you want Johnny to have KILLING practice. A sobering thought, isn't it?

Guns can only be used for one type of action regardless of the reason behind it. Killing in self-defense is still killing. When you look at if from that angle you have to ask yourself:
---- Is my need to have my child understand gun use more important than the trama I will put them through when they actually have to use that training?