A kid with a gun can and will kill you just as dead as an adult with a gun. They may be more likely to shoot, since they have less developed brains, and reduced inhibitions since they’re capable of evaluating the consequences of their actions. Which, yes, gives them reduced criminal culpability (which is why juvenile justice is separate from adult justice), but that’s not going to make a shooting victim any less dead.
(And just because I know that shit gets taken out of context, I’m referring to a criminal action rather than negligent action, e.g., a child pointing what appears to be a firearm with the apparent intent of causing harm, versus a toddler that’s gotten dad’s gun out of an unsecured desk drawer.)
There have been stories […] about police regretting killing children […]
See my prior point. Personally, I’d rather live with regret than be dead. Given that the cop in question didn’t have any reasonable way of knowing that it wasn’t a real firearm, taking a shot seems like a very reasonable choice.
Considering soldiers do better
Uh, no? Soldiers can and do shoot children that are pointing guns at them. We know that the Taliban was using child soldiers, and there were reports that Hussein had recruited child soldiers as well; it is very highly probable that child combatants were killed by US soldiers in both conflicts. See my above point; when someone is pointing a gun at you, and has apparent intent, their age is not relevant.
Look, Airsoft guns are fundamentally not toys. Even when used as intended, they can cause significant injury (…which is why you’re supposed to wear safety equipment, and only shoot other people that are playing with you). They should not be sold to children, and parents shouldn’t be giving them to their kids.
…Not to kill a child?
There have been stories as long as there have been guns about police regretting killing children - it’s one of the central plot points of Die Hard
Considering soldiers do better, why can’t the domestic police on the streets of a peacetime developed country?
A kid with a gun can and will kill you just as dead as an adult with a gun. They may be more likely to shoot, since they have less developed brains, and reduced inhibitions since they’re capable of evaluating the consequences of their actions. Which, yes, gives them reduced criminal culpability (which is why juvenile justice is separate from adult justice), but that’s not going to make a shooting victim any less dead.
(And just because I know that shit gets taken out of context, I’m referring to a criminal action rather than negligent action, e.g., a child pointing what appears to be a firearm with the apparent intent of causing harm, versus a toddler that’s gotten dad’s gun out of an unsecured desk drawer.)
See my prior point. Personally, I’d rather live with regret than be dead. Given that the cop in question didn’t have any reasonable way of knowing that it wasn’t a real firearm, taking a shot seems like a very reasonable choice.
Uh, no? Soldiers can and do shoot children that are pointing guns at them. We know that the Taliban was using child soldiers, and there were reports that Hussein had recruited child soldiers as well; it is very highly probable that child combatants were killed by US soldiers in both conflicts. See my above point; when someone is pointing a gun at you, and has apparent intent, their age is not relevant.
Look, Airsoft guns are fundamentally not toys. Even when used as intended, they can cause significant injury (…which is why you’re supposed to wear safety equipment, and only shoot other people that are playing with you). They should not be sold to children, and parents shouldn’t be giving them to their kids.