"Peter Lucas" > wrote in message
...
Bless those kids :-))))))))))))))

Thank heavens that senior primary school students see that the
presence of guns constitutes one of the great problems facing
Australian society.

A group of upper primary students from Queensland recently took part
in an OptiMinds program and chose the MAKING AMENDS challenge. They
told us:We have come up with three bad inventions. Using the lessons
learnt from the bad inventions we must create a new invention.

(Who came up with these "bad inventions", the kids or were they influenced
in the selection and direction of discussion)

The students nominated guns, cigarettes and plastic rulers as their
three bad inventions. It wont surprise you that I fully support such a
wise decision.

(And it wouldn't surprise me if you had considerable input into directing
the selection and discussion)

The students asked us for help in responding to the question whether
guns should be allowed for use in Australia.

(Now it starts to come out, did they really ask for help, or did you push
"help" down their throats)

These students were correct – guns were invented to kill living things
and all too often this produces heartbreaking situations in our
communities. I would like to invite all young people to help us design
a non-killing gun.

(We already have that, it is called the "Pop Gun")

It surprises us that gun devotees dont design such a gun, because they
always talk as though guns were not designed to kill. Perhaps it is
just their state of brutal minds.

(HaHa, "brutal minds", you wouldn't have the insight to know if your
arse hole was punched, bored or gnawed out by rats let alone have
the insight to determine if a gun owner had a "brutal mind")

(The purpose of using a gun is to develop and demonstrate skill with respect
to
determining trajectory of the projectile, develop coordination and control
with
respect to aiming the device, developing a state of mind that allows
concentration on the parameters necessary to become accurate when using
the device. These skills may be honed at the shooting range, accessed
through
membership of a shooting club. The capabilities thus developed may then be
combined with a multitude of other skills that relate to the attracting or
tracking
of ferral/game/food animals in a different environment to our daily
habitat.)

(This activity of attracting or tracking various animals is called "Hunting"
and entails a large number of enjoyable activities above and beyond the
shooting
of a gun. However, the gun is an instrumental aspect of building the
complete
activity the same as the hook and line is only a small component of the
total
activity when trout fishing for a couple of days in the mountain streams of
the Snowy.)


(Perhaps it is just your state of denial to the fact that guns have been
used to protect
the masses from invaders the same way bows and arrows were used in the past.
Prior
to that the weapon of choice may have been the club. In a few years time it
will be a more
fanciful weapon with little relationship to the solid projectile powder
propellant
devices used today. You need to get real regarding opening your lateral
vision to
the protection your ancestors have received through the repelling of
invaders through
the use of these various protection devices of the years. If you are so
against these
devices being available, whether it be to protect our food stock from
predators,to
protect our environment from erosion promoting damage, to provide a sport
that
gives many great enjoyment, supplements the many other activities that
co-join
their use such as camping, fishing, bushwalking, etc, etc, etc, then go and
put
yourself out of your misery. You will most likely then be in the same state
you
would have been in today if your forebearers hadn't had access to protective
devices that served the same purpose as those we have today.)


Taking the students lead, we are reminded that cigarette packets [and,
indeed, some plastic bags!] are legally compelled to contain a warning
about the dangers of using the contents. It seems obvious that all
guns should also have a message etched into the steel of the barrel,
the wood of the stock and the

glass of the telescopic sight:

THIS DEVICE IS DESIGNED TO KILL
THIS DEVICE IS DESIGNED TO KILL
THIS DEVICE IS DESIGNED TO KILL

(I don't agree with the sentiments, but just keep remembering those three
lines above,
and remember that there is a big difference between using a gun for sport,
food supply,
ferral animal control, humane put-down of stock, including birthing females,
that have
been attacked by ferral animals, etc, etc, and using guns for
illegal/criminal activities.)
--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia