There is a huge difference between 'fearing' guns and 'respecting' guns.
Many of us 'crazy gun culture nut jobs' in the USA learn to respect guns at a very very young age.
What does this mean?
It means our bowels don't turn to jelly when we see a gun. We make intelligent assessments of the gun. Is it being handled responsibly and safely?
If not then we know to react the same way we would in any other potentially dangerous situation.
When I see a teenager driving his car around like an asshole, I know to stay out of his way and just avoid falling victim to his stupidity. If it is bad enough maybe I even call the cops to put a stop to it. It doesn't strike terror in me so that I run screaming for help.
However overused the old 'guns don't kill people, people kill people' might be, it is so very relevant in this particular situation. Knowing what a gun is, knowing how a gun works, understanding the power and respecting the danger inherent to a gun is healthy in a world where no matter how hard you try to eradicate them all, guns do, and will continue, to exist.
Maybe instead of immediately punishing a kid for 'shooting' his friends with his finger on the playground, supervisory adults could do what every other parent does when they want their kid to stop something....just change the subject. "Hey guys, why don't you play tag'? "Hey guys, why don't we go get the chalk out and draw on the cement?' "Hey guys why don't we do get the toy trucks out and drive em around the lot?' But no, lets keep slamming these kids with harsh penalties in order to push our own personal agendas.