Quote Originally Posted by Twisterdog
It sounds to me, though, that your big complaint with hunters is that they have guns? Now, I am the first to admit that there are a LOT of idiots who hunt who should not be anywhere near a gun. They are untrained and unskilled. However, for you to group EVERY gun owner and EVERY hunter in with the untrained and unskilled people "randomly" walking around with a gun is certainly very wrong and ignorant.
Well, I realize that my view of hunters came off as rather harsh- I'm not saying that hunters are "stupid" or that they are unskilled, I just think the risk of allowing people to carry guns and shoot at things where other people may be is a risk that greatly outweighs any potential benefit of having animals hunted.

Quote Originally Posted by Twisterdog
There are also a LOT of idiots who drive who should not be anywhere near a car. How many innocent people die in car accidents every year because some moron ran a red light while talking on his cell phone and drinking coffee? How many drunk drivers are on the roads? A LOT ... but does that make EVERY driver a distracted, dangerous drunk? Of course not. And if a car is not a "deadly weapon", I don't know what is!
Of course, anything can be used as a potential weapon. But that is not my point, and I personally think it is an irrelevant one. Guns were DESIGNED to kill other living things. Cars were not. Period. Guns frankly serve no other purpose. Maybe my argument is more anti-gun than anti-hunting, but I feel that hunting is just one more excuse we have to keep allowing guns, making the argument that it's a sport; it's a fun pastime.

Quote Originally Posted by Twisterdog
As for children hunting, define "children". I know in the state I live in, there is a definate age and hunter safety training requirement before a teenager can hunt. Just like there is a definate age requirement and driver's training requirement before a teenager can drive a car. Are you saying you think a sixteen year old is mature and skilled enough to operate a 5,000 pound vehicle moving at 75 miles per hour ... but not mature and skilled enough to operate a firearm with required adult supervision? I disagree.
I know for a fact that many such laws are openly disregarded. I grew up in Iowa! Many of my classmates were hunting with their fathers by the age of 12, which in my opinion is dangerous! They wouldn't let their 12 year olds drive a car or have sex, so why on earth would they give them a weapon? It honestly shocks me that some parents who are conservative in every other way would give their children a device to potentially kill themselves, easily. Until a few weeks ago my dad still lived out in the country. Occasionally on my way to his house (which required driving on several gravel roads) I would see bands of hunters. One time, I saw a father with 2 children, the youngest could not have been more than 9 years old, and he was holding a rifle. It really made me feel sad.