For the last few days I have been doing some remodeling at the home of a nice family who has a younger son who is probably ten or so. Whenever I go outside to get a tool or cut a board, their son takes aim and fires at me with one of his many toy guns. I have a also observed him pointing and shooting the toy guns at passing cars. As someone who is so firmly entrenched in the rules or firearm safety I have found this just a bit disturbing, not that I think the kid is troubled or anything, but just because I am reasonably sure his parents don't own any real firearms and doubt he has ever seen or much less fired a real gun of any kind. So what do you guys think? I am eager to see some opinions as I myself could probably write ten pages on the subject.
BTW, I have absolutely no problems with young children being introduced to firearms so long as they are trained properly and firmly, and made to understand that guns are NOT toys.
__________________ If anybody asks I spent it on golf balls.
I grew up with toy guns and many of my friends did, we all came from hunting families and I don't feel it was ever a problem. None of us ever killed anybody nor wanted too. We always knew the difference between real and pretend.
__________________ "A free people ought to be armed." - George Washington
I do believe that Educating children about firearms, especially real ones is critical to our childrens safety as well as less ammunition for Gun Control advocates due to accidental shootings...
Rich
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One of my favorite toys growing up was my fake cowboy rig. It was a double holster that held two identicle cap revolvers that looked just like old Colts and didn't have the little orange nubbie on the end. I wasn't raised in a gun family or even in a gun culture (NJ resident; your lesson on guns there is "only cops and criminals have guns."). But somehow we all learned not to point the guns at passing cars, and normally we aimed them up when firing off caps. We were pretty much told the caps could burn someone if it was pointed at them (which even then I highly doubted). But we got taught what to do with them and how to handle them, almost taught to treat them like real guns.
So yeah, I don't see an issue with kids and toy guns, as long as the parents take the time to talk to the kid and teach them about actual guns so they know the difference. That's one thing I did know... my cap guns were toys, but real guns were not.
__________________ "Ruin a liberal's day; recite historical fact." - found on a bumper sticker
As a kid in a rural area I was told many times it was foolish to waste good money on toy guns and if I wanted one i'd have to make one which the first ones were really cotton wood sticks found and shaped to rough shape of a six gun or automatic depending on what we were playing, long sticks were used as shot guns and rifles or burp guns (Where Eagles Dare with Clint Eastwood all time favorite pretend war game) we used our bicycles as motor bikes, climbed all over stuff useing rope like them neat scenes getting into the castle.
when I finally got a real life Red Rider for my eigth birthday it was a real gun to me and dident get pointed at anything that wasent ok'd by the ole man as shootable, ther was hell to pay if something got shot that wasent supposed to (RedRider as a butt paddle) I think if they are pretending all the more power to them! let em get it out there system! its harmless fun
i'd point that stick at all sorts of stuff knowing full well it was harmless and that was ok, now days them detailed plastic toy's are kinda boreing
they arnt a High Noon six gun in the morning and a From hell and back .45 govt in the afternoons, sides it was a renewable resource you could alway's get a newer one or better one (trade up) and dident cost the parents a dime, even made cardboard holsters that worked ok.
let em play, ther useing there imagination better than Nintendo or X-Box then they have no grasp of whats real or pretend.
I remember having that redRider was a real stresson my young mind it was a real gun and I could get in real trouble if I shot somthing i shouldent, it was alway's a relief when I got to put that red Rider back in the gun cabinet between Dads Savage 99 and the Wingmatser, my little bb gun in the real gun cabinet with the real guns I was so grown up feeling
It was alway's a feeling of relief to get that bb gun back in there so I could play with a harmless stick pretend gun! no worries of real life not so fun to play with real life grown up gun that killed stuff.
Teach kids respect and responsibility and set an example for them and they will be ok.If your a bad example,the kid will learn that too.Play is play and kids know the difference. sam.
My vote was for yes but after teaching them the danger of real guns. But even then, and this depends on the child/children, and like anything else, there has to be limits. Same goes for video games and anything else. Just how I feel.
__________________ "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms" - Thomas Jefferson
I played with guns when I was a kid. We would play war in the neighborhood and "kill" each others. I turned out fine. I joined the Marines because I would always want to be the Marine when everyone else wanted to be the Army guys.
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If the Founding Fathers were alive today, they'd probably rather be dead.
We always played guns too... just something normal about being a boy in America... lots of kids whose parents didnt let them play guns turned into weirdos. Simple as that.
Teach the kids that real guns are not toys and your problem is solved.
i think its fine, as long as they understand the difference clearly
show them what a real gun can do (shoot some jugs full of water) and explain that any accident with a firearm is not just an accident, but potentially fatal
Just as a note since I'm the one who made the poll, I grew up playing cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, all that good stuff. I think my favorite toys as a kid were probably rubberband guns and slingshots. And yeah, SuckLeads post gave me fond memories of the good old fasioned cap guns. I can smell that sulphery smell as I type.
On the other end of the spectrum, 2 of my best friends (they were brothers) growing up were not allowed to have toy guns at all, but were both taught firearm skills at a young age and turned out just fine. One of them got into hunting and we still go shooting together from time to time, and the other one joined the Army and served two years in Iraq.
__________________ If anybody asks I spent it on golf balls.
He's 10? That's old enough to know better. Nothing wrong with kids having toy guns, I had plenty, but they need to be taught about guns and safety too. Today's airsoft and paintball guns are nothing to joke around with, they'll take out an eyeball in a hurry.
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Ever feel like the world's a tuxedo, and you're a pair of brown shoes? - George Gobel
I grew up with toy guns and many of my friends did, we all came from hunting families and I don't feel it was ever a problem. None of us ever killed anybody nor wanted too. We always knew the difference between real and pretend.
I think alot of society today is way too overprotective, i can't see how a child playing with a TOY gun could be harmful. I know alot of people might think that i'm just dumb for thinking that.
1. Just cuz a CHILD should play with a toy gun, doesn't mean that he/she is gonna be in any form of danger, or danger anyone around him/her. It' a toy.
2. If a CHILD should get a hold a real gun, blame the parents.
3. If your gonna own a REAL gun, sure educate your children, wife, friends, etc.
I played with toy guns, bb guns, then on to real guns.
Toy guns are a gateway drug
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AK47.. when you absolutely, positively gotta kill every muth****a in the room. Accept no substitute
Hey Rondog that's the sort of thinking that led me to start this. I was just a little wierded out by a kid that age playing with toy guns. By the time I was 10 I had probably plinked away enough 177 pellets to sink a barge. And that old crossman of mine was a mean little airgun. Definately not a toy--and I knew it.
__________________ If anybody asks I spent it on golf balls.
I started out with a duel set of Fanner 50's (sp?) They actually shot spring loaded grey bullets !! Try finding one of those today !! No orange tip either. We used to run out into the backyard and recreate the episodes of Combat, right after they aired. And we knew how to recreate the sound of each weapon !! Later, I got a Daisy BB Gun. After that, I graduated to a Crossman "Giant Killer". Then onto a Savage model 24 22lr/410 single shot. All along the way I was schooled by my Dad. I even passed the Hunting Certification Test 2 years early.
Today, my two year old Grandson has a sixshooter he calls his "Pow Pow". He fast draws it and shoots me every time he sees me. He sees my carry and knows it is the No No !! My five year old was tested. He was allowed into my reloading room by his mother (the door in normally locked). When he realized where he was, he backed out quickly, and told my daughter, "This is NOT where we are allowed, and you're in BIG trouble Mom !"
Education, education !!
__________________ I keep tellin ya Doc, I'm in pretty good shape considerin the shape I'm in !!
I personally think if everyone was taught gun safety in America it would be a safer place. I think that it should be part of being a citizen, but of course should be optional. I don't think anything should be forced onto a person, period.
Toys, video games, music, so on and so forth do not cause people to do bad things. Sometimes they can be an influence but if that is the case then the person being influenced is already showing signs of sociopath behavior. When people stop caring about anything but them self, or even not caring about anything including them self they get dangerous.
I can't tell you how many kids go to jail for committing crimes and even violent crimes and they confess and say they didn't once care. Most people don't realize armed robbery carries a minimum 10 year sentence. You pull that gun and you take something you just landed 10 full years, maybe 8.5 years if it is your first offense and you have good behavior on the inside.
Manslaughter, minimum sentence of 20 years. That is a HUGE chunk of your life wasted away and for what?
Murder 2, or 2nd degree, yields 20 to life
murder 1, of course is life
Now, you educate kids on gun safety and then educate them on the repercussions they face if abusing the powers of a gun, then maybe we would have less crime in our country.
I had no idea the actual sentences of the laws until I was older, but then again I never had the desire to rob, or hurt someone. I also enjoy earning my money through legitimacy, rather than from criminal actions.
I grew up playing cops and robbers,army with my twin brothers in the backyard.I pointed my toy gun at the bad guys and won everytime.I have shot at airplanes in the sky,birds in the tree's,mailman(secret agent),my mom hanging laundry on the clothes line(spy) and this list can go on and on.
My dad or mom didn't educate us on PLAYING with TOY GUNS.All I remember once is my dad saying to me "Don't point that in anybody's face".My brothers and I didn't grow up to be terrorist,bank robbers,mole men,gun runners,murders and this list can go on and on.
__________________ To Strive, To Seek, To Find And Not To Yield.....
