Happy Holidays.........

[Jake]

And just in case any of us have forgotten.....Guns are bad! Bad. Bad. Bad I say. Yes, tis the season to be jolly. But for the love of God, please don't give your kids scary toy guns for presents.


Now you may be asking yourself.... "Self. What is this idiot talking about?" Well let me tell ya. I get home from work today and sit down at my computer to browse throgh my usual collection of websites I visit daily when I happen to notice this story on CNN.com.


http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/17/news/midcaps/toys/index.htm?cnn=yes


Now having four ankle-biters running aroud the house I naturally take interest in the story. So I click on the link to bring up the list of "Top Ten Dangerous Toys" and start to read. So far so good. For example:



Happy Birthday Bear

"These furry bears play a catchy tune at the push of a paw," WATCH says. "Sold with the toy, however, are miniature, gift-wrapped presents attached by thread that can detach and create a choking hazard for small children."


So I continue through the list until I come to the last item. This is when I get my reminder that guns are bad. And, I'm sure, a nice little rise in my blood pressure.


3 Gun Squad Set - UZ-1 Commando Machine Gun

WATCH says: "In today's world, there is no excuse for outfitting children with realistic toy weapons designed to produce dangerous and unnecessary thrills."


That's right folks. No choking hazard. No sharp edges. Just that some blissninny idiot somewhere thinks it is scary and bad for kids. Thank God for these people. Other wise I may have done some terrible, dangerous thing like buy my kids a toy gun for Christmas. Man I can't stand these people.

 

[mons meg]

<mackey>

Guns are bad, mmkaaaaay? Don't give your kids toy guns. mm...mmkaay?

</mackey>

 

[Justin]

But don't you see?

It's for the CHILLLLDRRRRUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!

 

[geekWithA.45]

WATCH's curriculum specifically has a beef with toys that "promote violence and war":

http://www.toysafety.org/curriculum.html#curriculum

Massachussetts bleeding hearts, raising wussified younguns.

Also, check out their officer's list: It turns out that the moving force behind the whole thing is a whole family full of product liability lawyers.

Slick.

 

[El Tejon]

I'm against toy guns as well. They instill and encourage improper weapon handling.

I'm giving my nephews real firearms for the holidays.

 

[GunnySkox]

I'm with Mr. Tejon. I don't think children should play with toy guns because it, however subtly, teaches that firearms are toys, not dangerous tools capable of great harm, they deemphasize the gravity of handling a firearm and that can be a bad start for a kid you want to teach safe firearms handling to.

Argh, ended a sentence with a preposition!

~Slam_Fire

 

[Ukraine Train]

How many of you played with toy guns as kids and grew up to have good gun handling habits anyway? Blame parents for kids accidentally shooting themselves.

 

[El Tejon]

*kicks rocks, hands in pockets*

Well, I did for one.

 

[jojo]

*kicks rocks, hands in pockets*

Well, I did for one.

Make that two.

My son grew up with toy guns (as did I), lots of them. He now has quite a collection, has never done anything unsafe in handling them, and is an excellent example to other teens learning to shoot.

jojo

 

[Henry Bowman]

". . . and that can be a bad start for a kid you want to teach safe firearms handling to."

. . . and that can be a bad start for a kid to whom you want to teach safe firearms handling.

Just trying to be helpful.

Anyway:
". . . toy weapons designed to produce dangerous and unnecessary thrills."

How are the thrills they produce dangerous and what are necessary thrills? Do we have to prove NEED for a thrill? "Nobody needs a thrill that big for hunting ducks."

 

[CAS700850]

Okay, I will admit that I am generally opposed to very realistic toy guns. Why? In today's world, it is not impossible to see a child with a realistic gun and have someone panic and call the police, who respond to the scene, with real weapons, and the scene is set for a tragic outcome. Yes, it has happened in the real world, not just on Hill Street Blues.

With that said, I am also all for Super Soakers, ray guns, and anything that doesn't look real. My son, at age four, will put Lego blocks together and play guns, so it's not like you can stop them by not providing the tools. Ever see kids play guns or swords with sticks?

 

[Jason Demond]

I always had toy guns when I was young, and I turned out ok. Maybe it's not the guns they hate, maybe it's the happy kids they hate.


























My 1000th post.