(Newswire.net — February 3, 2017) — Presley, who is 10 years old, could not stop crying tears of happiness when she opened the gift she received from her parents, her very own shotgun. The clip was shared on YouTube almost 30,000 times.
Little Presley, who is 10-years-old, lives in the U.S. She was filmed unwrapping her gift and was shocked as soon as she saw the box. Parents then encouraged her to open the case.
“Oh my goodness, this is crazy, oh my, I can’t breathe,” said the exalted girl when she opened a gift from her parents- her own personal gun, a 686 Silver Pigeon.
The weapon’s maker, Beretta, shared this video on social networks as a commercial promotion for the gun.
“Making memories starts the moment you open your first 686. A touching video sent by Presley’s parents, shows the emotional moment when she realises she finally has her very own 686 Silver Pigeon,” they wrote on Facebook. The video was shared almost 30,000 times, and caused the anger of thousands of shocked users of social networks.
There are a lot of negative comments below the video which was posted on YouTube.
“That’s America. A place where you cannot buy alcohol or cigarettes if you’re not 21 years old, but you can easily have your personal gun,” wrote Alessandro Alliata on Facebook.
“This message is horrible!!! Kids should cry for puppies or for a new game, or for a beautiful present, but not for a gun! I’m so sorry, but this is horrible!!!” is a comment posted by Katya Longhi.
However, there are also positive reviews.
“Sweet young lady with a wonderful family. They represent the 4H Shooting Team very well. She’s gonna do great with that new gun!”, wrote Stacie Smith Starnes.
Statistics show that by the end of 2015, around 265 children under 18 had picked up a firearm and shot someone by accident in the U.S.
According to the research conducted by a gun control group, Everytown for Gun Safety, 83 of those shootings were fatal.
Twenty states in the U.S., including the District of Columbia, have established a minimum age limit for gun ownership. The ranges are from 14 years in Montana to 21 years in Illinois. In the remaining thirty countries, it is technically legal for children to possess a weapon.
However, this does not mean that the child is free to walk into a store and buy a gun. There are federal laws on the minimum age for the purchase of weapons.
The problem is that parents give children guns. If a dad wants to gift a rifle or a shotgun to his son for his 13th or 14th birthday, he can do it legally in most states. Also, in many states, it is legal for children to shoot at the shooting range, but only with the presence of an instructor or adults.