Toy guns

[trapperjohn]

kids have played with toy weapons for as long as there have been weapons. thinking that playign with weapons is somehow going to make them irresponsible weapon owners is ludicrous. Id say we have several centuries of data to back up the fact that playing with toy weapons does no harm as a hwole and it looks like we have a few decades history showing that denying little boys weapons play does do some harm.

I have a 20 month old daughter. She sees me and my wife shoot on a regular basis. She has a toy gun (plywood shaped like a pistol). The other day she brought the ear muffs to us and wanted them on. She then went on the deck with her hearig protection and her gun and started going "bang" "bang" while she pointed the gun off of the deck. At 20 months old she might or might know the difference between a real and toy gun. that is why i keep the real guns locked up or on my person. I have no doubt that in a year or more she will have no troubel distinguising the difference. In the mean time i can rest assured that she is learning that guns are not evil.

 

[Doug.38PR]

I wonder why having realistic gun toys without plugs and everything weren't a problem in 1930, why weren't they a problem in 1940, why weren't they a problem in 1950, why weren't they a problem in 1960, why weren't they a problem in 1970, why weren't they a problem in the early 1980s. Why all of a sudden in the past 15 or 20 years is this a major concern and evil thing to do?

As someone else pointed out, children since Adam and Eve have been playing soldier, war, swords, guns and good guys vs. bad guys.

 

[Mountaineer]

Some local airsoft guys around here got a surprise a while ago when the deputies came out and put them on the ground. Seems that on their trek from their parking spot to their playing field they had their guns out and passers by called the cops saying there were a bunch of guys in camo and automatic weapons on the road. Oooops

I hear that they now must have orange plugs and that their A/S rifles must be cased when not on the playing field.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I have an Airsoft model 92 that still has the tip on it simply because I use it to scare birds away; mostly Seagulls. Doesn't really hurt them but it stings enough to gives them pause. But right in front of my house would be a problem if somebody thought it was a real gun, therefore I take no chances.

But,

I survived a wonderful childhood chock full of toy guns including the greatest of them all. I would give a child the same great times I had, were it within my power as it didn't seem to turn me into a serial killer.

And by the way, this:

I hope some of the parents will chime in. It's obvious their children are signing on and posting under their parents user names on THR.

was totally uncalled for.

 

[SteveS]

I was paging through my wife's copy of this months Parenting magazine and there was a question from a parent that was worried about her 3 year old "shooting" people with his toy gun. They suggested following the advice of Dr. Mary Muscari, auther of Not My Kid : 21 Steps to Raising a Non-Violent Child . She suggested that they not worry about it and that even if they try to prevent their child from playing with a toy gun, the child would just use a finger or some other onject to simulate a gun. She also said that such play is age appropriate and healthy.

From what little I know about Dr. Muscari and Parenting Magazine, I would not catagorize either as being pro-gun or right of center.