Picture: Shawn Moore (C)
New Jersey resident Shawn Moore received a visit from authorities after posting a picture on Facebook of his eleven year-old son Josh holding a .22 rifle that had been given to him as a birthday present. I live in the Deep South, and being given a rifle or shotgun by your father is a common rite of passage in some families. I never had one as a kid, but most of my friends did, and I was the odd man out. In those families, the firearm was traditionally held by parents for safe-keeping and only brought out to use for target shooting or hunting under adult supervision. The South is still largely rural, and how to keep and maintain firearms is considered an essential skill for most boys – and some daughters.
I don’t know what life in New Jersey is like. I know that down here there’d be much outrage from political officials and private citizens alike if something like this happened.… Read the rest
