My grandnephew, who just turned two in November, got an air pump gun that shoots mini-marshmallows or foam "bullets" at fairly high velocity.

His father and uncle (both in their 30's so you'd think they'd know better) both started showing him how to load the gun and shoot it at people, indoors.

They told him to aim at people's legs, so he wouldn't hit someone in the face.

Do you think a 2-year-old understands and can aim that accurately? He can barely point and shoot. He hit his grandmother in the shoulder and everyone (except her) thought it was hilarious. How clever of him, the "men" said. Look how quickly he has learned to shoot.

Did any of the adults in the room (besides me) make a fuss? No, of course not: it's Christmas. Let the boys have their fun.

Will it be fun when he goes back home where daddy keeps hunting rifles and sports pistols and accidentally shoots someone? Do they think a toddler has the judgment to know when to shoot and when not? When even the so-called adults did not?

Whatever happened to the frontier values of weapons protocol? My pre-Revolution forebears would never have given a child just out of diapers any type of gun, and would have ensured that any child given a weapon knew not only how to shoot it but how to handle it properly.

I was appalled and left the living room to do stuff (anything) in the kitchen, to which place old women who are obviously much too uptight must retire.