OK, apperently my meaning was slightly off in this statement:
I seriously doubt any of the kids bringing toy guns to school have the proper training, physically and morally to not do something stupid with them.
In that past I mentioned, elementary school kids and their parents were told that BB guns were not allowed but toys were allowed. (There weren't airsoft guns then.) Hard as it might be to believe this, the parents then did not allow their kids to bring a BB gun to school and the kids did not
However, most toy guns today DO fire projectiles. I was not talking about the ones that go click when you pull the trigger or inert plastic molds. I can only imagine how long it would take for someone to put an eye out if kids were allowed to have "airsoft guns" at recess. Sure you can come back with "We used to shoot BB guns at each other all the time with no eye protection". Guess what? that was pretty stupid wouldn't you agree? A simple thing like eye protection makes toy guns go from dangerous to fun. Again, it is not my place to say whether kids should be able to do stupid things when they are NOT at school, but is the school supposed to buy and enforce eye protection at every recess so a few kids can have toy guns? Or is it easier to say "sorry, you shouldn't have them here"?
As far as "teaching" in "schools", that's a completely different thread. I am the IT Manager at my school, and as such I have no power over the curriculum. I would wholeheartedly support teaching gun safety in school along with practical applications. As I stated, I work at an ELEMENTARY school. I think that is a little young for standardized rifle training, but teaching basic safety should be an option. I also understand that the only way to get guns accepted in main stream culture is to get people to not be irrationally afraid of them. But we need to pick our battles. Is elementary school really the place to start society as a whole onto the notion that guns aren't scary? It sounds liek a good idea, but in practice it doesn't work.
I have never once stated "take the toy guns away from the children". I merely agree that they have no place in school, especially lower grades. Your higher grades do have optional training in the form of ROTC and Boy Scouts that is actually school sponsored.
A public school does not have to allow it's students all of the rights protected by the constitution while they are on it's campus. When you take your child to a school, they are assuming ALL liabilites and responsibilty for your chil, as well as everyone else's there. The "nanny state" comments are hilarious in this context, because, yes a public school is SUPPOSED to be a "nanny state". It is only slightly more structured day care.
As for kids being smart, I'm sure YOUR kids are smart, and I KNOW most kids are very smart if you sit down with them one on one. But have you ever tried to control a room full of 30 10 year olds? Just like with adults, the larger the group, the lower the collective IQ. Throw in some toy weapons in that rowdiness, and it can get even more rowdy to the point of dangerous. Not to mention that, just like with adults, there ARE stupid kids, and unfortunately the bad ones DO ruin it for the rest of us.
But is there at least one person in some school who could think his or her way through to the recognition that a kid who would bring a real gun to school might do it whether or not toy guns are prohibited?
So then by this logic, we SHOULD allow kids to have toy guns on campus, but when they do bring in a real gun, just ignore it? Or should we do something about that kid with a real gun? Who is going to make the differentiation call? Every school now has to have a "range officer" to make sure that all the guns actually are toys? Or do we just make a rule that makes it easy for us to react and make a decision when we do see a gun in the hand of a child?
If they sneak their stolen shooting irons into school anyway, they're violating several laws already. So you think that a school rule will stop them?
I'm not saying it will stop them, but I am saying it will help in identification, when the rules state "no guns", that kid gets in trouble whther it's real or not. Hey, kind of like if I rob a liquor store with a "toy gun" I still get assault charges
Remember guys, I AM on your side, and I do see your points, but until society is comfortable with them, the last place we need this kind of problem is in a school.