That line stood out to me too. Giving a gun to a young child is little more than choosing to play Russian roulette. Thank god he gave the kid a stern verbal warning though. Because three-year-olds are well known for listening to those.
Edit: The comments section is definitely interesting, but to me in a different way. The comments from people critical of unfettered access to guns are being liked at about a 10-1 ratio to those from rah-rah guns are safe people. Now, the NYT's demographics are likely skewing that relative to America as a whole, but it does give an indication as to the thinking of the silent majority.