Maryland: "Alderwoman seeking restrictions on toy guns"

[cuchulainn]

from The Capital (Annapolis)

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2003/06_15-25/TOP

Alderwoman seeking restrictions on toy guns

By JEFF HORSEMAN Staff Writer
Alarmed that a 7-year-old allegedly held up a video store with a fake revolver, Alderwoman Cynthia A. Carter wants to crack down on toy guns in Annapolis.

Mrs. Carter, D-Ward 6, plans on offering legislation before the City Council to restrict toy guns within city limits.

While the specifics are still being worked out, Mrs. Carter referred to a bill before the New York City Council that would ban the sale of imitation firearms and pellet guns. New York City already limits toy gun sales to brightly colored models.

Mrs. Carter's motivation derives from an April incident in which a 7-year-old boy allegedly walked into a Forest Drive video store wielding a gold-plated toy revolver and announced he would "stand this place up."

"The kid didn't even understand what a holdup was," Mrs. Carter said.

The alderwoman and
grandmother views toy guns in the same vein as candy cigarettes and cigars. Both encourage destructive behavior, Mrs. Carter said.

"A gun is a gun. I don't care what it is," she said. "I think we need to remove the idea that a gun is a toy."

Shannon Eis, spokesman for the Toy Industry Association, said her organization evaluates toy-gun legislation on a case-by-case basis.

But she noted federal law already requires toy guns to have distinctive markings, such as orange caps.

"A lot of it comes down to parent supervision and parent responsibility," Mrs. Eis said, adding that manufacturers also have a responsibility to keep children safe.

Mayor Ellen O. Moyer praised Mrs. Carter for organizing a toy-gun buyback in 2000 that yielded 12 toy guns.

If Mrs. Carter's bill can reverse violent attitudes about guns, "then it would be a positive," the mayor added.

Community activist Larry Griffin believes restricting toy guns would make a difference. During Christmas toy drives for his outreach group We Care & Friends, Mr. Griffin refuses donations of toy weapons.

"I think no kid should have a gun" real or fake, he said. "All that does is make kids when they grow up - some kids - get a real gun."

Alderman David H. Cordle Sr., who heads the council Public Safety Committee on which Mrs. Carter sits, is skeptical of banning toy guns.

"It's kind of unrealistic to try to rid our communities and our neighborhoods of plastic toy guns," said Mr. Cordle, R-Ward 5. "To make a statement that 'This gun culture starts with toy guns', I don't think that's realistic."

While he supports removing violent imagery and playthings from children's lives, Arnold child psychologist Anthony Wolff said he doubted toy gun bans would be practical.

"Even if we take (the guns) all away, they'll pick up a stick on the ground and pretend it's a gun," Mr. Wolff said. "There's so much violence in the media ... it's pretty hard to suppress that."

Mr. Cordle, who carries a gun as chief investigator for the State's Attorney's Office, believes education about the dangers and proper use of firearms will do more to prevent gun violence.

"A lot of education goes a long way," said Mr. Cordle, who has taken his teenage son target-shooting. "I know it has with my kids."

He added that he would work with Mrs. Carter "to come up with a happy medium," such as prohibitions on realistic-looking toy guns.

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Copyright © 2003

 

[gun-fucious]

quite the haul there

12 guns at a toy gun buy back

it seems to me the 6 people that would run a toy gun buy back
would bring about 2 guns a piece

what would be fun would be to hold a toy gun give away, just down the block

 

[dev_null]

I attribute my current love of guns to not being able to play with them as a kid. I challenge this birdbrain to prove me wrong.

-0-

 

[OF]

*** is wrong with the 'gun culture'? I LOVE the gun culture.

Go away Alderperson. Just go away.

- Gabe

 

[TarpleyG]

Alarmed that a 7-year-old allegedly held up a video store with a fake revolver

I'm sorry. Maybe I am slow or something, but can't these folks understand that the problem here has absolutely nothing to do with guns? When I was 7, I was into my share of mischief but it never crossed my mind to try and deliberately/maliciously stick someone up. Where are this child's parents? Oh, I forgot, they's in jail.

GT

 

[StLGlocker]

Mayor Ellen O. Moyer praised Mrs. Carter for organizing a toy-gun buyback in 2000 that yielded 12 toy guns.

That is the most profoundly stupid thing I have ever read.

 

[Dain Bramage]

I also think the statement is profoundly stupid. My two notes on the matter:

1. Mrs. Carter is obviously proud enough of the buyback program to mention it to the media. It is probably listed on her resume. She seems oblivious to the fact that netting 12 toy guns merely advertises her incompetence.

2. I don't even want to think about how much this program cost to run. I'd have endless thoughts swimming in my head, like hours of wasted taxpayer lives per pound of recovered toy gun plastic. The ratio must be astounding!

 

[Partisan Ranger]

The alderwoman and
grandmother views toy guns in the same vein as candy cigarettes and cigars. Both encourage destructive behavior, Mrs. Carter said.--------------------------


After all the time, effort and taxpayer money wasted on this drivel, just one question, lady: Did you spend a second determining what this child's home environment is? Is both Mom and Dad at home? Are both of them high school grads? Do they have criminal records? What was the child doing alone?

Anti-freedom bigots like to blame a tool for parental negligence. Society is going down the crapper, but we don't blame the people responsible. No, we blame a plastic toy gun.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Mayor Ellen O. Moyer praised Mrs. Carter for organizing a toy-gun buyback in 2000 that yielded 12 toy guns.

Annapolis sleeps more safely this night.

 

[Al in Md]

Wouldn't it be a hoot if someone turned in a glock 17 and the idiots thought it was a toy? Al

 

[jsalcedo]

I was not allowed toy guns as a child or to watch violent TV.

Thankfully the brainwashing didn't take.

 

[Nightfall]

Mrs. Carter's motivation derives from an April incident in which a 7-year-old boy allegedly walked into a Forest Drive video store wielding a gold-plated toy revolver and announced he would "stand this place up."

"The kid didn't even understand what a holdup was," Mrs. Carter said.

Sounds to me like the kid wasn't even serious. Also sounds like mom and dad should take the time to teach their son right from wrong. It also makes me scared that people can be so stupid as to honestly believe that a 7 year old, with a gold toy revolver, was robbing a video store. Who the hell was running this store? 5 year olds? Did they call for the SWAT teams?

Now I'd personally like to see more kids involved with this 'gun culture' we have. I'd rather see a kid out on the range with his father learning proper safety and target shooting skills than sitting on the couch watching another cartoon rerun while he eats cheeze curls. Sheltering kids from toy guns as opposed to teaching them safety and proper handling and use... keeping them away from these tools regardless of shooting sports, etc... yeah, this will prevent accidents and raise a well balanced, smart, safe individual.

Am I the only one who remembers playing good guy/bad guy with friends and toy guns? Fighting off the ninjas and dinosaurs with our cap guns and lever action toy rifles? What are they going to do now? Teach kids to pretend they're in a counseling session with the dinosaurs, discovering their differences and ways to compromise on the T-Rex eating them without resorting to evil guns?

Me at about 5 or 6 -

 

[standingbear]

out of control...what if junior sees a gun magazine setting in the bookrack..oh my gosh,hes going to grow up criminal.toy guns...gimme a break.he did it..he did it..i saw him point his finger at me and go..bang! apparantly someone forgot the part about"being responsable" for ones own actions.we remove paddling from schools,remove the pledge of allegence and everything else that "may offend" people,parents not supervising their kids(either single parents struggling to make ends meet working 3 jobs or setting a bad example by being drunk or on drugs)zero tolerance policy..it goes on and on.there goes the neighborhood.

 

[Norton]

This incident took place in my hometown. What this particular article fails to mention, and the alderwoman omitted, is that following the kid's "apprehension" and the contact of his so-called parents.....the mother came screaming into the video store threatening the employees.

Let me get this straight, a 7 year old kid attempts to hold up a store with a toy gun, the mother in turn threatens the "victims" and now we're going to ban toy guns? That will solve the problem? Can't anyone see that the problem is clearly in the parents' lack of rearing their child?

This part of Annapolis is very much unlike the part that you see in the travel brochures. Lots of subsidized housing, transient population, lots of crime, etc.

 

[KP95DAO]

Norton kind of stole my thunder.

There is much wrong with the "community"; but, toy guns aren't part of the problem!

 

[OF]

but, toy guns aren't part of the problem!

That's OK. Everyone must suffer eternally so the blissninnys can feel better about themselves. And since they are all stricken with a deep deep self-loathing, we can expect that suffering to continue without end. For-freaking-ever.

- Gabe