Firearms are a big part of Texan culture. Many Texans learn how to use firearms for both sport shooting and hunting at an early age. Naturally, many Texans are given their first guns when they are kids, which is why Texas was an interesting setting for this social experiment.
This clip comes from ABC’s hidden camera show What Would You Do?, a program that puts actors in real-life settings to see how bystanders will react to challenging social situations. This episode takes place at the Nardis Gun Shop in San Antonio, a city that has one of the largest military populations in the nation. One actor plays a father who is buying his son his first gun on his seventh birthday. Another actor plays a woman who scolds the father for buying his son the firearm.
As the show progresses, the father offers to buy his son more powerful types of firearms, starting with a .22 and ending with an AK-47. Watch how bystanders react to this awkward scenario.
Nearly everyone responds to the exchange by explaining to the woman that it’s important for children to learn firearm safety at an early age. The producers only chose to show one person who had an issue with the exchange — a man who explained there’s no sense in letting a seven-year-old kid have an AK-47. I’m inclined to agree with that.
In Texas, it is legal to buy a firearm for a seven-year-old. The state has some of the nation’s most lenient gun laws. What are your thoughts on buying a firearm for you child and teaching them how to use it? After you watch the video, let us know your thoughts.