Banning Toy Guns
Dallas, Texas is considering banning realistic-looking toy guns and making it illegal for children to play with them in public. Any toy guns to be distributed must be brightly colored or clear plastic. The ordinance is expected to be approved this August. But not everyone agrees this is the best way to keep children safe.
Professor David L. Carter says that suspicious behavior matters more than what a person is holding in his/her hand because almost anything can look like a gun in the dark. And 17-year veteran Officer Mike McDaniel questions the extent to which fellow officers would be willing to prosecute children for carrying unauthorized toy guns. He says,
If we really want to protect children, we should keep them away from swimming pools and make them wear bicycle helmets. This is way, way down the list of things that actually put children at risk.
What do you think? Take part in the poll you see over on the inner sidebar to your right.
Dallas Morning News, June 25, 2006
Technorati Tags: toys, toy guns, guns, dallas, children, kids, safety
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POSTED IN: Children's Toys, News and Links about Children's Things
5 opinions for Banning Toy Guns
Kate
Jun 27, 2006 at 6:07 am
Kids have been shot for “playing” cops and robbers with real policemen, which at the time, meant pointing a toy gun at a police office just like the kids had seen on TV.
I think it is completely inappropriate to walk around with a toy gun at any time.
The toys make kids less aware around real guns that they can, and do, take to school and hurt/kill other children with.
On the practical side, I can’t count how many times we’ve been held up at airport security over a toy pistol in a Winnie the Pooh backpack.
As you can see, I think toy guns are just disgusting.
Hsien-Hsien Lei
Jun 27, 2006 at 6:32 am
Kate: Toy guns that look like guns make me feel uncomfortable. But the truth is most kids will fashion guns out of many different things and shoot at each other. I’m generally ok with them using their imagination and would never buy a realistic looking toy gun for any purpose. To me, I think it’s the parents’ responsibility to teach their kids about what’s acceptable. Adding one more law for police officers to enforce is pretty meaningless without parental support.
Deb L
Jun 27, 2006 at 11:34 am
I grew up playing wild west gunfights with shiny fake “silver” & “mother-of-pearl” “six shooters” that use those rolls of pop-caps. We had fun. We had more fun taking those rolls of pop-caps and bashing them with a rock to get a really good *bang*.
Ultimately, it is a parent’s job to teach their kid how to play with toys, and it’s the parent’s job to teach their kid not to threaten police. Sad that we have to protect our kids from paranoid police!
Hsien-Hsien Lei
Jun 28, 2006 at 3:52 am
Deb: *BANG* Uh oh, I don’t think Kate is going to approve of this game. ;)
Play Library » Results of Banning Toy Guns Poll
Jul 8, 2006 at 4:04 am
[...] When I wrote last week about banning toy guns, it elicited a number of strong reactions including one from Kate of Babylune. And the results of our poll is now in. [...]
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