The Air Rifle: Deadly Weapon or Toy?

There was been quite a large amount of controversy surrounding the air rifle, and various other type of bb guns. With people striking out at an increasing and alarming rate, some individuals have used such guns to threaten and cause panic. There have been frequent reports brought to the forefront of our news in which angry and irresponsible individuals and sometimes groups, use air guns to assault innocent bystander’s and sometimes give the illusion that their guns are real firearms.

It appears that the majority of those individuals who do use such guns for unprincipled behaviors are usually on a younger generation and male. These persons in their mid to late teens and early twenties seen to have a vendetta against the world as dictated by their choice of tools when committing such crimes. Surely many of these younger people thankfully have no access to real firearms and so choose weapons of lesser force.

Everything from drive by shooting using paintball guns, and robberies using bb guns have become all to common. Additionally it is becoming increasingly difficult for both passerby’s and law enforcement to discern the difference between real firearms and their far less then lethal counterparts. This has caused uproars in those communities affected by such criminal activity. Many law enforcement officials have been left with no other option that to treat these cases as though the perpetrators are using real firearms.

There are some who have stated this is nothing more than an overreaction to an antiterrorist mentality but those on the other side of the fence are calling for more stringent laws to better govern those who own an air rifle, or other types of air based guns. Still there are others that cry out for all guns to be banned, both those capable of deadly force and those of lesser danger. Some smaller groups oppose all of these views and would rather see no additional action taken. These individuals believe that while an object may be used to commit a crime, it is ultimately the actions of irresponsible and angry people that cause others harm.

Who’s right depends on your personal opinion though one thing is for certain. When looking to point fingers when minors are involved in such actions, it is only fair to point at parents. In some cases parents have admitted to leaving an air rifle within reach of an irresponsible and immature teenager. What’s worse is that some parents aren’t even aware that their child is having trouble or had access to weapons, even when they are the owners of such things. I think that even the most troubled kids can be better managed by giving and paying a little more attention to them and carefully observing their behavior.