# Of course a nine-year-old girl can handle a Uzi, right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631 "2014-08-27T14:12:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/41 "2014-08-27T18:06:29Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Insane madness. Parents, the shooting range, Las Vegas law… wtf. > > Is it any wonder that people outside of the US thinks Americans are fucking nuts? World opinion is of no importance in this matter. It is a matter that needs to be decided by Americans. ---
**Author:** ![PorchePine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@PorchePine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorchePine)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/42 "2014-08-27T18:08:37Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > World opinion is of no importance in this matter. It is a matter that needs to be decided by Americans. That it’s a bad idea to let incompetent boobs put dangerous items into the hands of inexperienced children? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/43 "2014-08-27T18:09:19Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Man, that kid’s life is ruined. How do you get over having shot and killed a guy at 9? ☹ Ask [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain), he was older but the dead person was his brother. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/44 "2014-08-27T18:15:50Z")
> [@PorchePine](#): > > That it’s a bad idea to let incompetent boobs put dangerous items into the hands of inexperienced children? No, the legality of owning such items in the first place. Whether you happened to notice or not, there is a long, on-going, often hostile debate concerning the private ownership of weapons in the US. That debate and the legal outcomes from it, must be decided by Americans. What people from outside the US think is of no importance. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/45 "2014-08-27T18:16:25Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Obviously gun instructors should be armed to protect themselves from little girls. You mean like Texas school teachers? “That’ll learn 'em.” _hot barrel fwoosh_ “Now, who else wants to recount the role of imagery and portents in ‘The Iliad’?” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/46 "2014-08-27T18:34:52Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > This is like the difference between giving a kid a moderately-powered, controllable pistol or rifle to actually learn something about gun handling, safety, and even fun… and tossing them the keys to your Enzo or Carrera GT for a few spins around the track. > > Just what do these moron (adults) \*think \*is going to happen? Does all red-state “fun” have to involve a high chance of maiming or death? Are the storm troopers so out of control that little Susie needs to handle full-auto assault weapons, in case mom and dad go in the first attack? When the bullies gang up on you at recess, a single-shot .22 just doesn’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![PorchePine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@PorchePine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorchePine)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/47 "2014-08-27T18:37:27Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > No, the legality of owning such items in the first place. Whether you happened to notice or not, there is a long, on-going, often hostile debate concerning the private ownership of weapons in the US. That debate and the legal outcomes from it, must be decided by Americans. What people from outside the US think is of no importance. Well, that wasn’t even brought up in this thread until you came along, so I was a bit confused. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/48 "2014-08-27T18:39:42Z")
> [@PorchePine](#): > > Well, that wasn’t even brought up in this thread until you came along, so I was a bit confused. Of the two of you, you aren’t the one that’s confused, believe me. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/49 "2014-08-27T18:48:09Z")
> [@PorchePine](#): > > Well, that wasn’t even brought up in this thread until you came along, so I was a bit confused. > [@](#): > > Insane madness. Parents, the shooting range, **Las Vegas law** … wtf. > > **Is it any wonder that people outside of the US thinks Americans are fucking nuts?** From this thread. Bolding mine. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/50 "2014-08-27T18:50:50Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > Posts in this thread indicate that the Uzi the little girl was using was FULL automatic. Help me out, aren’t fully automatic weapons supposed to be illegal? As in, NOBODY can get a license for them? IIRC, no **new** fully automatic weapons can be manufactured or imported for civilian use, but those that were already in civilian hands before a certain date were grandfathered in. I’d understood that such weapons were tightly regulated, though. Either I was wrong, or ‘tightly regulated’ has different meanings to different people. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/51 "2014-08-27T18:52:22Z")
Too bad this didn’t happen in Reno. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/52 "2014-08-27T18:52:48Z")
I would have liked to see the the whole video if it actually had been running through the whole accident. There would hopefully be enough information in it to see actually what happened. As with most things, there is no way to actually see what happened.` When something goes wrong, of course ‘they’ should have had better sense is always the cry. So, why let or teach 9 year old’s to do anything that could hurt them. Race go carts, motorcycles, sailboats, have a pocket knife, have a “Pit Bull” ( oh shit, that is so stupid to ever take a chance on… ) in the house and on and on and on. If people like us keep it in front of the kid for 10 years with microphones in her face every year, prolly going to not help, but we have a right to know who she is handling it. And Putting her in foster care while the parents are in prison for 10 years will help her get over it. Need to shut that place down along with the Indianapolis Speed way and all those other dangerous places or at least make it illegal to take a chile to the races, some have been killed just watching for God’s sake, the horror… and on and on and on… When my kids were little, I was always much more scared of my children being under a doctors care than being at a gun range. Feel sorry for all concerned in this. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/53 "2014-08-27T18:57:27Z")
> [@PorchePine](#): > > I’ve fired several automatic weapons from that age. It wasn’t abuse. What happened was a tragedy caused by the incompetence of this alleged instructor–not the parents. Then your parents should be charged with child abuse as well as far as I’m concerned. Just because you feel you didn’t suffer doesn’t make it abuse. It’s reckless behavior to let a minor operate a weapon that requires a federal license to own. Would it be OK if they let them play with rattlesnakes? Let them drive a car? Why is it any different from letting a kid go to a racetrack and drive top fuel dragster? You do know that there is a difference between a go kart and dragster right? A reasonable person would call that not only stupid but child endangerment. The parents should be jailed. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/54 "2014-08-27T19:05:55Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Insane madness. Parents, the shooting range, **Las Vegas law** … wtf. > > Is it any wonder that people outside of the US thinks Americans are fucking nuts? It happened in Arizona, but your point is taken. I agree. General chucklefuckery by the “adults” involved. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/55 "2014-08-27T19:15:10Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > World opinion is of no importance in this matter. It is a matter that needs to be decided by Americans. If you go to a party and make a scene, while everyone is telling you that you’re drunk and need to stop drinking, then you need to stop drinking. Same general rule applies here: if everyone is telling you not to give automatic weapons to young girls, it’s stupid to ignore good advice. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/56 "2014-08-27T19:19:33Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > So, why let or teach 9 year old’s to do anything that could hurt them. > Race go carts, motorcycles, sailboats, have a pocket knife, have a “Pit Bull” ( oh shit, that is so stupid to ever take a chance on… ) in the house and on and on and on. I’m not anti-gun, but none of these things is remotely related to giving a 9-year-old a fully automatic sub-machine gun…just sayin’. There are dangerous things, and there are automatic weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/57 "2014-08-27T19:25:47Z")
> [@PorchePine](#): > > That it’s a bad idea to let incompetent boobs put dangerous items into the hands of inexperienced children? Maybe you should ask your parents since they let you shoot automatic weapons at that age. > [@Ravenman](#): > > Same general rule applies here: if everyone is telling you not to give automatic weapons to young girls, it’s stupid to ignore good advice. Cite that other countries have been telling the US not to give automatic weapons to young girls? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/58 "2014-08-27T19:26:43Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > If you go to a party and make a scene, while everyone is telling you that you’re drunk and need to stop drinking, then you need to stop drinking. > > Same general rule applies here: if everyone is telling you not to give automatic weapons to young girls, it’s stupid to ignore good advice. Unless that good advice happens to come from a funny-talkin’ furriner, according to **Scumpup**. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/59 "2014-08-27T19:32:48Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > I would have liked to see the the whole video if it actually had been running through the whole accident. There would hopefully be enough information in it to see actually what happened. > > As with most things, there is no way to actually see what happened.` > > When something goes wrong, of course ‘they’ should have had better sense is always the cry. > > So, why let or teach 9 year old’s to do anything that could hurt them. > Race go carts, motorcycles, sailboats, have a pocket knife, have a “Pit Bull” ( oh shit, that is so stupid to ever take a chance on… ) in the house and on and on and on. > > If people like us keep it in front of the kid for 10 years with microphones in her face every year, prolly going to not help, but we have a right to know who she is handling it. > > And Putting her in foster care while the parents are in prison for 10 years will help her get over it. > > Need to shut that place down along with the Indianapolis Speed way and all those other dangerous places or at least make it illegal to take a chile to the races, some have been killed just watching for God’s sake, the horror… > > and on > and on > and on… > > When my kids were little, I was always much more scared of my children being under a doctors care than being at a gun range. > > Feel sorry for all concerned in this. The problem is an Uzi is (a) something very inherently dangerous when not controlled in use, and (b) requires more physical strength to fully safely control in full auto mode than the average 9 year old girl is likely to have. So giving a 9 year old girl one, and telling her to use it in full auto mode, is dumb. It is like giving a 9 year old girl a large, heavy chainsaw and attempting to teach her to cut down trees with it. It is completely foreseeable that she could lose control of the tool and end up harming herself or others as a result. There is nothing inherently wrong with intoducing children of that age to tools, even potentially dangerous tools, if they are mature enough to handle them. There is something inherently wrong with giving a child that age a tool that is potentially dangerous, and one which requires some physical strength to safely control. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631/60 "2014-08-27T19:57:11Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Cite that other countries have been telling the US not to give automatic weapons to young girls? Dammit! If only someone had said something earlier… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-course-a-nine-year-old-girl-can-handle-a-uzi-right/696631.md?page=4)