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I will echo what many have already said about taking the mystery out of guns. I grew up on a ranch, with guns literally in every corner of the house. From my earliest memory, the rule was, "if you want to see and handle one of the guns, come and ask. If you touch one without permission, you will receive the whipping of your life." (My parents never heard of spankings of timeouts. It was whippings all the way.) We took the same approach with our kids, beginning when they were about three, and old enough to understand consequences. When I first explained the rule, I spent the next week constantly being asked to see one of our many guns. Each time we went over how to make a fire arm safe, and how to safely handle it. As they got older, I began giving them hands on experience on how to make the firearms safe. Both kids began shooting at six. My son is now 15, and an excellent marksman. My daughter has less interest, but can handle both pistols and rifles with expert care.

The last thing I will add, I say knowing it will be controversial. Not everyone has the place or opportunity to hunt, but I highly encourage you to take advantage with your kids if you do, even if it is hunting rabbits. The experience of stopping an animals life, if handled in the proper way, makes a lasting impression on kids regarding the consequences of the use of a fire arm, and the dangers of its misuse. That is something I think many of todays youth, as well as many adults, lack, especially with the prevalence of video games featuring guns. They don't realize that once that bullet leaves the gun, you can't take it back, you can't hit reset, and its effects are permanent.