Two 13-Year-Olds Arrested but Not the Gunowner

Phoenix Arizona kids had a gun in school, not to hurt anyone, just to show it off.

Police were called to the middle school at around noon Tuesday. A student told a teacher that one of the boys had a .25-caliber gun hidden in his backpack.

Administrators found the loaded gun. The boy said he was given the gun by another 13-year-old student. That student admitted to stealing that gun from his mom's boyfriend, according to police.

The owner of the gun, who is obviously an irresponsible man, will probably get his gun back from the police with an apology for the inconvenience. That's how gun owners, both police and civilian, treat each other in Arizona.

The way it should be, in order to own a gun you'd have to be licensed. Any gun you buy would be registered to you, which would imply a legal obligation to maintain possession of the gun. You can't give it away or sell it to an unlicensed person. If it goes missing it must be reported so the police can track it down if possible.

The non-chalant shrugging of the shoulders, which is body language for shirking all responsibility and claiming "it's not my fault," should no longer be allowed. Gun owners should be held responsible.

What's your opinion? Do you think it's asking too much to require gun owners to maintain their guns securely? Is it so difficult to thwart the delinquency of a 13-year-old?

Maybe part of the problem is all that talk about guns being just like any other tool. You don't have to lock up your screw-drivers, after all. In Arizona they lead the nation in the normalization of guns, perhaps this kind of thing is the result.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.