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Should the legal age to purchase firearms be 18?

another thing that irks me to no end...

truckloads, of anti 2A people coming into my state to push for more gun controls.

yes..truckloads, like cattle coming here to voice thier gun issues.....like i could GAF, about thier anti gun issues.

why are they even allowed to enter my state house and speak against guns, if they are not RI full time residents..??

i say that if they are NOT full time RI resident's, thier stories are meaningless to me....if anyone of those stories are even true.

they need to be kicked out and off the state house property.

i could give a crap if thier son, daughter, brother, sister, mom or dad got shot, assaulted or murdered from a gun..

thier stories of what they went thru, IN THIER HOME STATE........ mean NOTHING to me.

yet, NO ID's are checked..they are "herded" into the state house to hold up anti gun signs, yell out, and shake the hands of the law makers.

"Mothers Demand Action"........they wear the red shirts

pro gun people wear the yellow shirts.
 
az4783054 said:
what makes you bellieve so?
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If you can vote at 18, smoke at 18 and are legally considered an adult at 18 then you should also be legally able to buy a firearm at 18 too. 21 falls under a "feel good" category based on a false belief that a three year gap will enhance maturity but in reality it does not really do much and offers a completely false sense of security
 
Guriellawarrior said:
If you can vote at 18, smoke at 18 and are legally considered an adult at 18 then you should also be legally able to buy a firearm at 18 too. 21 falls under a "feel good" category based on a false belief that a three year gap will enhance maturity but in reality it does not really do much and offers a completely false sense of security
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Actually, the science demonstrates the male brain matures greatly between 18 and 21, and even more after, up to 25 - and more recent studies indicate 32..

“Between ages 18 and 21, the brain undergoes significant maturation, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for planning, risk assessment, and impulse control. While the brain reaches its full size earlier, this period involves intense pruning and myelination, creating faster, more efficient neural pathways and strengthening connections between emotional and rational centers. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Key Brain Maturation Changes (18–21):
  • Prefrontal Cortex Development: The area responsible for decision-making and moderating social behavior continues to refine itself, reducing impulsive tendencies.
  • Increased Myelination: White matter increases, allowing for faster communication between different brain regions.
  • Synaptic Pruning: The brain removes unused, unnecessary neural connections to improve efficiency.
  • Improved Connectivity: The brain's emotional center (amygdala) becomes better connected with the rational center, reducing the impulsive, emotional responses common in younger teens. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
While many improvements occur during this time, the brain does not reach full structural maturity until the mid-20s (often cited as age 25 or later). As a result, a 21-year-old is typically more capable of long-term planning and emotional regulation than an 18-year-old, but their brain is still "under construction". [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]”
 
Although the military draft is not presently in use, I was around (and eligible) back when it was. If a person is old enough to fight for Uncle Sam, they are old enough to purchase tools needed to fight for themselves and their family. Not a hard notion to comprehend at all.
 
RedGoat said:
Although the military draft is not presently in use, I was around (and eligible) back when it was. If a person is old enough to fight for Uncle Sam, they are old enough to purchase tools needed to fight for themselves and their family. Not a hard notion to comprehend at all.
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I do think a lot forget those 18 year old draftees were supervised somewhat (not a lot, but somewhat), and some more than others. But not like an 18 year old was handed an M16 with zero training, unlimited rounds, and sent off on their own with no one to ask for help when needed.

And I know it 1976 I wasn’t allowed to touch a gun in the military until 8 hours of classroom training and when it was allowed, there was about one training instructor for every five recruits. I’m sure not much has changed - they were still doing classroom training first in 2004 when I retired; even experienced folks, regardless of rank, got four hours of classroom before requalification.

18 year old learning guns in the military and 18 year old civilian who has never touched/fired a gun and will be getting zero training are two completely different animals.
 
Lab4Us said:
I do think a lot forget those 18 year old draftees were supervised somewhat (not a lot, but somewhat), and some more than others. But not like an 18 year old was handed an M16 with zero training, unlimited rounds, and sent off on their own with no one to ask for help when needed.

And I know it 1976 I wasn’t allowed to touch a gun in the military until 8 hours of classroom training and when it was allowed, there was about one training instructor for every five recruits. I’m sure not much has changed - they were still doing classroom training first in 2004 when I retired; even experienced folks, regardless of rank, got four hours of classroom before requalification.

18 year old learning guns in the military and 18 year old civilian who has never touched/fired a gun and will be getting zero training are two completely different animals.
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Lack of familiarity with / training in use of firearms of young people is a separate issue altogether from the RIGHT to own and purchase. I agree that anyone who purchases and owns a firearm SHOULD know the basics of safe firearms handling.

Instead of indoctrination into the "guns bad" cult in our schools, the reverse should be happening. The equivalent of the NRAs "Eddy Eagle" training should occur regularly each and every school year up until 8th grade. In high school, every student should be required to take the equivalent of the NRA Hunter Safety curriculum once per year each year of high school. THAT would address the safe handling issue quite nicely.
 
The RIGHT to PURCHASE and OWN is a different issue from the CURRENT STATE of the MATURITY LEVEL of the average 18 year old. The issues intersect where purchasing and owning firearms is concerned without a doubt. But I hate the hypocrisy of treating an 18 year old as an adult in one area and then treating the same person as a child in another.
 
PieterCoetzee said:
Im torn of this issue; but I think IF they have enlisted in the military THAT should be an exemption to purchase handguns etc, as in if they are will to fight for the country then they ought to be able to buy guns.

OTOH Ive seen some scarily stupid 18 year olds.

How'bout if we have a few simple tests, like can you write in cursive? Name the last five presidents? When was the Revolutionary war? Who are your senators? Name the prime numbers from 1 to 25? (OK that ones for bonus points)
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I've seen way too many scary stupid 80 year olds. Age is not an automatic proxy for maturity. It is only an indicator of what maturity level SHOULD be present.
 
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RedGoat said:
I've seen way too many scary stupid 80 year olds. Age is not an automatic proxy for maturity. It is only an indicator of what maturity level SHOULD be present.
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I’m not sure those 80 years olds are as much scary stupid as they are experiencing the beginnings of dementia, or worse, rather than lack of maturity. More science comes into play on this side of the life stages.

I’ll freely admit that I am NOT a Constitutional scholar. This question is for everyone - is there somewhere in the USC where it states you get your 2A (or any other rights) at a certain age?
 
Lab4Us said:
I’m not sure those 80 years olds are as much scary stupid as they are experiencing the beginnings of dementia, or worse, rather than lack of maturity. More science comes into play on this side of the life stages.
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LOL! I think you missed my point. "80" is just a number I pulled out of my a** to contrast against "18". Maybe my response would make more sense if I had used "40"? How about "50"?

To be clear, my point is that AGE doesn't automatically correspond to a particular level of maturity.
 
Guriellawarrior said:
If you can vote at 18, smoke at 18 and are legally considered an adult at 18 then you should also be legally able to buy a firearm at 18 too. 21 falls under a "feel good" category based on a false belief that a three year gap will enhance maturity but in reality it does not really do much and offers a completely false sense of security
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you cannot add smoking...

kids start smoking younger than 18....in some instances.

my own dad started smoking before he hit 8 years of age, as he was a child laborer at the age of 6, in a fabric mill up here.

there is no legal age to smoking...but only to buy the smokes. here it is 21.

in my state, the law makers are considering to allow 16 year olds to vote...uh yeah........that's right

wanna start allowing 16 year olds to buy guns...??

"gang-bangers" get ahold of guns under the age of 10......wanna start allowing 10 years old to buy guns..????

the states set the laws on buying guns, that supersedes federal as i posted somewhere above.

there is NO set age for maturity, i cannot even think there ever was one.

going off to ther military, and handing them a gun at 18, is far, far different than the 18 year old at home..

as i said, one is duty to country to defend homeland of our allies, the other is not.

again if YOU WANT the gun buying laws to change, then VOTE, and if one is NOT a registered voter.....THEN REGISTER...

otherwise, that non-voter, non-registered person(s) should shut up......they have NO RIGHT to get into any debate on guns, gun buying, gun ownership, or anything else for that matter, as thier opinions..... DO NOT MATTER.
 
RedGoat said:
LOL! I think you missed my point. "80" is just a number I pulled out of my a** to contrast against "18". Maybe my response would make more sense if I had used "40"? How about "50"?

To be clear, my point is that AGE doesn't automatically correspond to a particular level of maturity.
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Ah, thought you were comparing very young to very old. I think I addressed that same perspective you have very early in this thread, though I used 21 (and well over) as the age that doesn’t prove maturity,
 
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