Gun (Nerf) buy back for kids.

[TechMan]

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/east-side/article546659.ece

Ah wow. 

The idea was simple: Don’t let kids get used to firing weapons, even if they’re toys.

“It makes them too comfortable, holding that gun,” said Leonard Lane, president of Fathers Armed Together to Help, Educate, Restore and Save. “Then there’s no fear holding the real gun when they get older. We want to put that fear back into our children, teaching them what guns can do, how they affect their community.”

[mtnbkr]

I agree, but for a different reason.  As a shooter and someone who wants his kids to enjoy the shooting sports, I prefer they don't get in the habit of pointing guns at people for recreation.  Yes, I know those are toys and they are very different than real guns, but I fear it could cause children to develop bad habits.

How often do people on gun boards brag about holding hair dryers, drills, caulk guns, etc with their finger off the trigger or while maintaining good muzzle discipline?  This isn't by accident.  Toy guns that kids use against each other teach exactly the opposite of what we consider safe gun handling.

Chris

[mtnbkr]

Oh, and I'd love to have one of those nerf guns, but don't because it sends the wrong signal to my kids.  I do take my oldest shooting from time to time. 

Chris

[Tallpine]

teaching them what guns can do, how they affect their community

Like defending against bad guys of all types   

[MrsSmith]

OMG. That's utterly ridiculous. Not to mention that teaching kids that guns are the problem rather than the people using them, how about the idiocy of giving them pizza and soft drinks? In a society where a huge percentage of youth are overweight, you're going to reinforce the idea that food is a reward for behaving in a way you want them to behave? Really?

How about teaching them to make good decisions and to use their brains instead of following the pack?

I was glad to see that most of the comments were opposed to the idea as well. That's somewhat encouraging. But I also noticed that you can't comment if you're not a registered user of the website. And that the writer of the article didn't know the first flippin' thing about guns (or about writing for that matter since you can't buy guns from streets):

The guns being bought back from the streets weren’t 9 mm handguns or Glocks.

[RoadKingLarry]

Leonard Lane, president of Fathers Armed Together to Help, Educate, Aggravate, and Demoralize.

Fixed that acronym for ya Leonard

[freakazoid]

So does using toy guns while playing cops and robbers or cowboys and indians send the wrong message?  As long as they are taught properly about how to respect real guns I don't think they are getting any bad habits.

[Gowen]

Horse cuckie.  Is there any of us who hasn't played with a squirt gun?  Some of us who are older can remember when squirt guns looked like the real thing.  I have two detailed replicas, 1911 and a 357 revolver, that fired a plastic pellet.  This is garbage.  We never had any problems with pointing guns at another person.  There is play time and there is real time.  Kids were taught the difference.  It's the absence of firearms that is causing kids to act careless and mimic what they see on tv.

[Perd Hapley]

The guns being bought back from the streets weren’t 9 mm handguns or Glocks.

9 mm handguns and Glocks are, like, my two favoritest types of guns. I can never decided whether I like 9 mm handguns better, or Glocks. Sometimes I carry my Glock, and sometimes I carry my 9 mm handgun. Sometimes I carry both types, because you never know which one will be best for a given situation, the 9 mm handgun or the Glock.

[MrsSmith]

9 mm handguns and Glocks are, like, my two favoritest types of guns. I can never decided whether I like 9 mm handguns better, or Glocks. Sometimes I carry my Glock, and sometimes I carry my 9 mm handgun. Sometimes I carry both types, because you never know which one will be best for a given situation, the 9 mm handgun or the Glock.

My thoughts exactly.

[Scout26]

And they are going to buy a coffin and bury the guns because they are "bad things".

 


Really ?

My son and I spent the weekend at our club's annual Zombie Shoot.  We had over 230 shooters (Almost all had an evil black rifle, a pistol and many also brought shotguns as well.)  We had about 60 volunteers and NOT one person was hurt,, not even a scratch.

All those guns must have been defective.

(And my son hit 2 of the only 8 tannerite targets that got hit on one of the stages).

See my FB page for what a worn out Zombie Killer looks like.

Again, we had far too much fun.   

[mtnbkr]

My son and I spent the weekend at our club's annual Zombie Shoot.  We had over 230 shooters (Almost all had an evil black rifle, a pistol and many also brought shotguns as well.)  We had about 60 volunteers and NOT one person was hurt,, not even a scratch.

I helped my daughter "compete" in her first bowling pin shoot this Spring.  She had fun and even knocked a pin off the table.  She knows what guns are for, what they can do, and that they aren't toys.  We still don't have toys guns in the house (she has a BB gun though).

Chris

[HankB]

When I was a kid, I had a regular arsenal of toy guns . . . including some that looked startlingly real.  I also was introduced to real guns at a young age.

I never confused the two, any more than I confused my toy rubber "commando knife" with the knives in the kitchen.

This war on TOY guns is downright asinine. (In the linked story, it mentions a 14 year old who turned in a toy . . . but by that age, I was well past playing with toy guns. So if I'd still had one in the attic or garage, I might have turned it in for a pizza and shirt, too . . . except now it being 2011 and with Internet access, I probably would have checked out Ebay first for a better deal!)

[Northwoods]

If I can find the Nerf belt-fed at the local store I'm buying one.  If I can find 2 or 3 I'll buy them all so my kids can have then too.

[seeker_two]

We want to put that fear back into our children.....

That pretty much says it all right there....