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Should a 10-year-old be permitted to go hunting?

By Ann Althouse

There's a proposal to lower the hunting age from 12 to 10 in Wisconsin, something we talked about on "The Week in Review" on WPR this morning. Go here and scroll to the 43:45 point. I have something to say about it.

ADDED: Let me transcribe the key part of my comment:

A young boy who's 10 is very different from a young boy who's 12. I have two sons, and I think you go through a lot of changes in those years, and somebody who's 10 might be really open to bonding with a parent and learning how to do something new and something technical. I think being able to include a 10-year-old boy ? a 10-year-old girl too (I mean, I don't have a girl, so I don't know) ? but a boy who's 12 is more in his adolescence and more rebellious, and it may be a lost opportunity to really do something with your child....

I remember the way I was able to share activities with [my sons] when they were pre-adolescents. It's a wonderful time ? I don't know if you have boys ? but it's a wonderful time to do things with boys right before they go into adolescence... when they change... their emotions, their atttitudes... the things they want to do with you change. And so, I think that 10 should be seen as a very special age.

Full post as published by Althouse on January 18, 2008 (boomark / email).