ACV Democratic News: Dear Santa, I'm 4 and I want a Crickett Rifle

THIS is the tragic toddler who was shot dead by her five-year-old brother playing with a gun he received as a birthday present.

Caroline Starks, 2 Years Old

Caroline Starks, two, was killed after her brother accidentally shot her while playing with his own .22-calibre gun - called My First Rifle.

The tragedy, which took place on Tuesday shortly after 1pm local time in Burkesville, Kentucky, has shocked America and the rest of the world.

The young boy had been playing with a Crickett gun, specially designed for kids, which was given to him last year.

Crickett guns are manufactured for kids by the Keystone Sporting Arms firm on a web page that boasts of their "child-friendly" rifles.

The Crickett site offers a range of rifles for children, some in pink, with a dedicated “kids corner” showing images of toddlers posing with guns.

But gun firm owner Bill McNeal refused to accept any responsibility for the toddler's death, instead blaming the careless parents.     The NRA lobbied Congress to get a law passed that freed gun makers from all liability reguardless of what use their product was put to.      This no liability agreement is unique and only enjoyed by gun manufacturers.      The Congress of the United States of America is owned by the NRA and that makes rules of this sort possible.

Mr McNeal, a Vietnam War veteran, said:   "Children are under control of their parents and at some point they have to take responsibily, whether it’s a gun, an automobile, a pitbull or a birth-control pill.

“I’m heartbroken over this but are the parents even capable of understanding stuff like this?   There are some parents out there can’t even pronounce their own name or spell it.

“I know right now the gun topic is hot because of a mentally deranged individual who killed his mother and shot children at a school – but sometimes you can’t stop anything.”

The pair's mum had been at home at the time but was outside in the garden, according to cops.

Kentucky state policeman Billy Gregory said:   “The mother was home at the time of the incident but she had stepped outside.   It's just one of those nightmares -- a quick thing that happens when you turn your back."

He added that it was not "uncommon" for a five-year-old to have a gun which a parent had passed down to their kid.

Kentucky has some of the most liberal gun laws in America with almost 15 million gun applications in a population of just over four million in the last decade.

Gun owners undergo background checks if they buy their guns from a licensed dealer but do not have to hold licenses and children can use their parents’ guns.

The Crickett firm opened in 1996 and in 2008 produced 60,000 Crickett and Chipmunk rifles for stores which sell them for as little as $125.00.

Coroner Mr White later admitted the incident would be ruled as an accident, saying:   "It’s just one of those crazy accidents.”

Welcome to Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell country.

Guns for Kids Marketing Debate Ignited by Latest Child Death

I know lots of people who hunt but they all go out of their way to keep firearms out of the hands of children and would never give a 4 year old a gun for a gift.   They don't let 4 year olds drive or drink or smoke.    Child protection services would intercede should parents do most of these things with young children.    I said MOST for a reason.   It seems a parent can give a child a gun at any age
and society takes no stance on the sanity involved in that action.

The NRA lobbies and twists arms so that guns can be made and sold specifically for children.   It is called the youth gun market.   The guns are smaller and come in colors and are just as deadly as the adult version.   Guns for children is a big market and very profitable because there are enough adults buying guns for children to make the cash registers ring.   An adult makes it possible for a child to get their hands on a gun by not safely storing their guns or by buying the youth a gun.   I'm sure even the most greedy gun dealer would not sell a 5 year old a gun however if the 5 year old had cash money he or she might score at a gun show.

Here's a description of the Cricket Youth rifle.    The Crickett rifle is specifically designed for the beginning shooter, backpackers, trappers, campers, gun clubs and youth clubs.   As a further guarantee of the exceptional quality of this rifle, a lifetime warranty against defects in material and workmanship is offered. Adult length of pull is 14 1/4". Youth length of pull is 11 1/2". Comes with Gun Lock.   A girls model comes in Barbie Pink.

With President and Vice President at White House after Congress failed to take any action to control gun violence. The NRA kept its employees in line and the magic 60 votes could not be reached.

Wayne LaPierre is clearing his throat now and approaching the mike to tell America that if all the 6 year olds at Sandyhook carried Cricket rifles the masacare would not have happened. You can count on the NRA to break ignorant each and every time. 500 Children die each year due to gun accidents and violence. Wayne wants you to know that even 4 and 5 year olds have Second Admendment Rights. This foolishness will end soon, there are too many guns in the hands of irresponsible people and the general public is getting tired of the same old do nothing from Congress.

BURKESVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A 5-year-old boy accidentally shot his 2-year-old sister to death in rural southern Kentucky with a rifle he had received as a gift last year, authorities said.

Caroline Starks, 2 years old

The children's mother was home at the time of the shooting Tuesday afternoon but had stepped out to the front porch for a few minutes and "she heard the gun go off,"   Cumberland County Coroner Gary White said. He said the rifle was kept in a corner and the family didn't realize a bullet was left inside it.

White told the Lexington Herald-Leader the boy received the .22-caliber rifle as a gift.

"It's a Crickett," White said, referring to a company that specifically makes guns, clothes and books for children.    "It's a little rifle for a kid. ... The little boy's used to shooting the little gun."

The shooting, while accidental, highlights a cultural divide in the gun debate.    While many suburban and urban areas work to keep guns out of the hands of children, it's not uncommon for youths in rural areas to own guns for target practice and hunting.

"Down in Kentucky where we're from, you know, guns are passed down from generation to generation.    You start at a young age with guns for hunting and everything,"    White said Wednesday. What is more unusual than a child having a gun, he said, is "that a kid would get shot with it."

"Accidents happen with guns.    They thought the gun was actually unloaded, and it wasn't,"   the coroner said.

White said the girl died of a single gunshot wound to the chest area.

In a brief news release, state police said the shooting occurred when the boy was "playing" with the rifle, but did not elaborate. It is not clear whether any charges will be filed, said Kentucky State Police spokesman Trooper Billy Gregory.

"I think it's too early to say whether there will or won't be," Gregory said.

The AP is not identifying the children because of their ages.
The company that made the gun, Milton, Pa.-based Keystone Sporting Arms, produced 60,000 Crickett and Chipmunk rifles in 2008, according to its website.   It also makes guns for adults, but most of its products are geared toward children.    The smaller guns come in all sorts of colors, including blue and pink.

The company's slogan is "my first rifle" and its website has a "Kids Corner" section where pictures of young boys and girls are displayed, most of them showing the children at shooting ranges and on bird and deer hunts.    The smaller rifles are sold with a mount to use at a shooting range.

"The goal of KSA is to instill gun safety in the minds of youth shooters and encourage them to gain the knowledge and respect that hunting and shooting activities require and deserve," the website said.

No one at the company answered the phone Wednesday.

According to its website, Bill McNeal and his son Steve McNeal decided to make guns for young shooters in the mid-1990s and opened Keystone in 1996 with just four employees, producing 4,000 rifles that year.    It now employs about 70 people.

Burkesville sits amid rolling hills near the Tennessee-Kentucky state line along the Cumberland River, in the Appalachia region. The small city is about 90 miles northeast of Nashville, Tenn.
It is home to a Mennonite community that gained attention in 2010 when nine of its members were killed in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer.