Photo Of A Woman Pointing A Gun At A Child's Head Sparks Debate on Gun Violence

This Facebook photo showing a young girl pointing a gun at the face of a young child have sparked fresh debates on gun violence. After the Newton incident in which several small children were killed with guns, and as I prepare to be a parent myself, I have begun thinking of how to raise kids in a way that leaves them well rounded and healthy emotionally, knowing to avoid what is wrong, and the ways to treat others right. One of the topics that have come up is allowing children to play with toy guns.

I want to believe that is a toy gun the girl in the picture is holding. Some comments suggest she is the mother of the child, and that is a real gun. She looks too young in my opinion to be the mother, more like a young sibling. Still, questions have been raised that even if the gun is a toy gun, is it OK to be pointing it so closely to the toddler?

What do you think, is it irresponsible for parents or carers of children to allow them play with guns? This is bearing in mind the news that seems to come up almost weekly of children either shooting themselves or their siblings with real guns, and sometimes their parents or other adults. Unfortunately some of the shootings result in deaths.

Let's discuss.