I agree -- both those stories are just stupid people owning guns.
I think the opposition to gun safety training was a knee-jerk reaction though. Parents and teachers thinking they shouldn't have to submit their kids to that -- just fix it another way.They teach 'Stranger Danger' and 'Stop, drop, and roll' at schools. Why not discuss gun safety? It sounds a little crazy at first, but it shouldn't be a full blown how-to-handle-a-gun class. More 'leave it alone' training for the kids and maybe drag the parents into another room and tell them how to be safe with a gun in the house.
But, there are so many accidents lately. A couple years ago some dumba** shot a gun off 4th of July in KC -- killed a little girl a few blocks away. A toddler in Independence was killed last summer when he found dad's gun under the sofa cushion. A few weeks ago a 4 year old girl in KC was killed by a 6 year old boy. Last month a 12 year old kid in Breckenridge, MO killed himself while messing around with a gun. Some numbskull (who had a CC permit) accidentally shot his wife in the leg at a restaurant in Lenexa in January.
Along a different line -- this morning's paper had a story about a highly touted football prospect in KC who had offers from K-State and other schools. He and some other teens are accused of robbing some folks at gunpoint.
I think we've gotten to the point where guns are cool and people, especially younger people, who have no clue what they're doing are buying them just to be a bada**,