...it's irresponsible to allow access if the kid intends to use them for nefarious purposes.

There are plenty of kids who shoot competitively and/or hunt, so I have no issue with the law as currently written (if what you heard on the news was correct). I had a 20 gauge single shot shotgun when I was a kid, then my dad bought a Marlin .22 rifle that I often shot as a teenager. Neither were ever pointed at any person, even accidentally.

I bought my first handgun after I had joined the Navy. It was a Browning .22 target pistol.