Guns to blame?

Jeff has an interesting post over at Alphecca. After you read it, come back and read my comments below.

When I was a teenager (age 13 or 14) in Houston, Tx, I walked into a Western Auto, bought a .22 rifle and ammo and walked out. White Oak bayou was near my house and my friends and I regularly walked the mile or so carrying our .22s for an afternoon of plinking along the bayou after school. Lest anyone think that this was somewhere in the country, I lived inside Loop 610.

Was this legal? Buying the gun was. Owning the gun was. Shooting the gun inside the city limits was not. But we knew gun safety and shooting down into the bayou was safe so we never got into trouble. And we knew if we did get into trouble with the police, we would be in even more trouble with our parents.

Our parents raised us, taught us right and wrong, taught us correct behavior, and reinforced that teaching with discipline. Discipline was not a negotiation of what we could do an not do. It was rules of conduct with real consequences for breaking the rules. That is another big change. Kids today are not disciplined and the law often prevents parents from doing so effectively. As a result, kids often have little respect for their parents' authority and consequently, they learn little respect for any authority. This doesn't apply to all kids, but it applies to way too many.