Mt. Prospect law the wrong approach to weapons

I read that Mount Prospect is putting a ban on everything that has either a trigger or a bowstring on your own property. This is because a good conscientious citizen asked permission to shoot arrows at a target in his own back yard.

In addition to targeting crossbows, the definition of dangerous weapons includes bows and arrows, slingshots, air guns, BB guns, paint ball guns, pellet guns and spring guns. WOW! Next it will be baseball bats. Everything can be a weapon if it used as one.

How are parents going to train their children to properly use these weapons? Knowing the business end of a gun, starting with a BB gun, will keep a kid out of trouble. Showing him or her the proper and safe way will keep them from harming themselves or others.

Ignorance is not bliss. A piece of sporting equipment or a car can both become weapons if not trained properly.

Years ago my son and daughter wanted to shoot a BB gun and strike matches, so we went into the back yard. After we properly struck about five books of matches and one burned finger, they got that out of their system.

By showing them how to build a small log cabin campfire and lighting it, I pointed to our house and said if they were not careful, that could happen to our house. The same with a 410 shotgun out in a field when I put a shingle on a tree and let him shoot. My son destroyed the shingle. Then I showed him the empty cartridge and said this had been full of BBs. That really got his attention.

The village indicated they would allow supervised archery competitions. The word competition indicates practice prior to competing. Where is this practice to take place?

Where is this going to end? No one wants to take responsibility for their actions or those of their children. We are constantly suppressed with law after law, with many of them making no sense, especially this one. I guess that the village thinks we all are ignorant lemmings.

Dan Hershberger

Arlington Heights