Massachusetts story a real tragedy

Christopher Bizilj, an 8-year-old from Ashford, Conn., died Sunday afternoon in Springfield, Mass., after firing a micro Uzi submachine gun at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo.

The boy aimed at a pumpkin and pulled the trigger, but it was the first time he had fired a fully automatic weapon and he wasn't ready for the recoil. He lost control of the gun and shot himself in the head.

The Boston Globe has the story, along with more than a hundred comments from readers. Once I got past the first couple, I couldn't bear to read them. As a father, I found myself wondering what kind of parent would let an 8-year-old handle a fully automatic weapon.

It isn't as if I'm an anti-gun nut. My son has fired both rifles and shotguns, but in both instances he was at least 11 years old and did it under adult supervision at Boy Scout camp. I would never have allowed him to fire a fully automatic weapon without first understanding everything about it -- and never at age 8.

I'm sure the boy's father will regret his error for the rest of his life. It just shows that with children, you always have to be on guard. Tragedy can strike just like that.

There are people on both sides who will use this politically. The gun issue is one of the most contentious we face, and there doesn't really seem to be any way to agree.

I'm really not that concerned about gun control anymore. That we should keep guns away from criminals, the mentally ill and small children seems to me a given, and the tragedy here is that a small child tried to use a big weapon.

It's a shame no one stopped him.