This generation is growing up, the generation of kids who have grown up with increasingly violent movies and videos games involving realistic people killing other realistic people with realistic guns.
Games such as Counter-Strike and Call of Duty both involve using guns that exist in real life to shoot and maim other players in online battles.
These kids are approaching, or have already approached and passed the age where they can legally own and possess a firearm.
They grew up surrounded by these guns, have used them in computer games to kill others, and have come out of it with an ignorant familiarization towards firearms.
Not to say that these movies and games cause this by making the afflicted more prone to aggression, but that they believe they know how to operate a gun when in reality, they do not.
Your average teen aged Counter Strike player could probably tell you all about the various guns in the game, how much recoil they have, how good they are compared to other in game guns, but they are severely lacking in the knowledge of how to carry, clean, aim and in other words, actually use a gun.
This can lead to problems when they buy a real gun after they have come of the legal age to own a firearm.
Accidental deaths, hospital visits, disfigurement and loss of limbs/digits all occur because the owner of the gun was either too ignorant or careless with their gun.
The answer to this problem, as with most, is to educate children and young adults in a low risk environment where they can make mistakes that won't blow their fingers or toes off.
The solution; Airsoft guns or BB guns.
They are realistic replicas of real guns that shoot low density plastic pellets, or BB's.
The benefits to Airsoft guns are multi faceted.
Airsoft guns are much cheaper than real firearms, and a spring powered pistol can cost around 10% of what it's real life counterpart would cost.
Because they are so realistic, they often come with working slides, safeties, and magazine ejectors.
They shoot BB's, which means that an accidental misfire will at worst, result in a stinging welt, instead of a trip to the hospital.
The legal requirements for Airsoft guns are similar to those regarding real firearms.
All crimes committed using an Airsoft gun are treated as a real gun.
The law as it stands now regarding possession and purchase are rather simple, if a little restrictive.
Currently, any one, at any age can have and use an Airsoft gun, but only can be purchased by an adult 18 years of age or older.
While this is easily gotten around by purchasing online, it turns what should be a proud purchase into one seemingly shameful.
By lowering the minimum age to purchase Airsoft guns from 18 to 16, more children can become familiar with how to safely use a gun and avoid accidents in the future, while taking part in an enjoyable and satisfying activity unrivaled by computer shooting games.