Last night WGCL-TV, aka Atlanta 46 aired a nicely-produced report at 11:17pm.
Here's how it went:
"Would your children know what to do if they found a gun in their toys?"
We are instantly transported to a preschool somewhere north of Atlanta (in the Acworth area) that will set the stage for this activity. Five children (5 yrs old) are chosen. Their parents are fully aware of this study and are very curious to see how their children will react.
A few parents express that they have taught their children what to do if they find a gun. One mentions that she doesn't know how her son will react. Another says she has mentioned it, but that her daughter has never seen a gun (first hand).
Next we see two policemen. One has a real Glock in his hand with the slide back and inspects it. (Its obviously unloaded & without a clip as you can plainly see.) He hands it to another policeman to inspect it also. (I'm sure they did this just to show that they both concurr that it was unloaded before continuing.)
The unloaded Glock is placed in a large container of Legos, which is placed on the floor.
In come the children boucning around as you can imagine. They tear into the container of Legos.. like, well.. kids in a candy store.
..parents watch intently next door via a hidden camera..
Not even 10 seconds pass (probably close to 5) before a child discovers the gun. They all gasp in amazement (as they all recognize it for what it is). One child quickly snatches the gun out of the Legos and very loudly (and clearly I might add) shouts "We've got to tell the teacher!"
[..at this point, I'm unsure of exactly what happens next. It appears that this child leaves the group with gun in hand off camera for a second -- I would presume to tell a "teacher" The camera is fixed so its hard to tell, but the child quickly returns with gun still in hand. I would assume that they left the children with the gun to see what they would do.]
A shot at the parents shows that they are clearly interested. They are all wide-eyed and stare (I mean, no blinks) at the video feed of whats happening in the next room.
Meanwhile, the children all sit down on the floor around the child (who initially picked up the gun, and maintains control of it the whole time). One child remarks "Is it a real gun or a toy gun?" Another child is heard mumbling something to the effect that he doesn't know but it sure looks real to him. A couple of the children appear to lay hands on it in an attempt to figure it out. Throughout this (brief, but several seconds), the first child continues to keep hold of the gun. The entire time you can hear suttle ooos and aahhhs from the children as they stare in amazement.
A return to the parents watching their children becomes more intense. One parent remarks that it looks like they're trying to figure it out. (Its very apparent that they are.)
At this point, the adults leave the secret room and enter the classroom with an officer. The officer questions the children on what they are supposed to do if they find a gun. The children are obviously intimidated by the officer. A couple seem to mumble that they need to tell an adult. The officer pampers them a little bit and tells them that they all did well. He even mentions that one of them did the right thing by telling an adult. (Its obvious which child was the most responsible the whole time.)
The parents reunite with their children. One child is upset, and just short of crying. Another child doesn't seem to know what to think. Two of the boys were rather excited over the whole incident. The girl (that has never seen a gun first-hand) appeared dazzled over the whole thing. Her mother asks her if she knew what it was.. and she nodded. She asked what color it was and the girl replys "it was black" in a somewhat sigh.
After all this, the children are asked by the reporter what they thought. The two boys who were obviously excited throughout the whole event are rather vocal. One mentions that they knew it was a gun and they needed to tell an adult. Another mentions that they were trying to figure it out and says "We were trying to get the bullets out."
The story ends with a quick reminder of what to do if you find a gun -- tell an adult. The reporter(s) remind the audience that it is important that they teach their children gun-safety and that they need to make sure their children are indeed paying attention.
Good job guys!
I must admit, I was extremely wowed over this report.. There was no biased-reporting evident throughout the whole thing. Children were randomly picked (with parental permission) in an effort to see if they had been paying attention when their parents taught them (if at all) gun-safety. By observation, it seemed that it was about half-and-half. Of the parents interviewed, a few had mentioned that they have taught their children gun-saftey, while (at least) one said she had mentioned it. I would further like to point out that the child that laid hands on the gun first held onto it the entire time until it was returned to the officer. It seemed that he was not selfish, yet in fact wanted to ensure that he did the right thing. I would bet his family owns firearms and he is exposed to them on a regular basis as it appeared that he was attempting to see if it was loaded or not. That not being the issue at hand, I thought he did a decent job all things considered.
On a side note, it was amazing how much respect the child instantly obtained from the children while he was in possession of the gun.
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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
Here's how it went:
"Would your children know what to do if they found a gun in their toys?"
We are instantly transported to a preschool somewhere north of Atlanta (in the Acworth area) that will set the stage for this activity. Five children (5 yrs old) are chosen. Their parents are fully aware of this study and are very curious to see how their children will react.
A few parents express that they have taught their children what to do if they find a gun. One mentions that she doesn't know how her son will react. Another says she has mentioned it, but that her daughter has never seen a gun (first hand).
Next we see two policemen. One has a real Glock in his hand with the slide back and inspects it. (Its obviously unloaded & without a clip as you can plainly see.) He hands it to another policeman to inspect it also. (I'm sure they did this just to show that they both concurr that it was unloaded before continuing.)
The unloaded Glock is placed in a large container of Legos, which is placed on the floor.
In come the children boucning around as you can imagine. They tear into the container of Legos.. like, well.. kids in a candy store.
..parents watch intently next door via a hidden camera..
Not even 10 seconds pass (probably close to 5) before a child discovers the gun. They all gasp in amazement (as they all recognize it for what it is). One child quickly snatches the gun out of the Legos and very loudly (and clearly I might add) shouts "We've got to tell the teacher!"
[..at this point, I'm unsure of exactly what happens next. It appears that this child leaves the group with gun in hand off camera for a second -- I would presume to tell a "teacher" The camera is fixed so its hard to tell, but the child quickly returns with gun still in hand. I would assume that they left the children with the gun to see what they would do.]
A shot at the parents shows that they are clearly interested. They are all wide-eyed and stare (I mean, no blinks) at the video feed of whats happening in the next room.
Meanwhile, the children all sit down on the floor around the child (who initially picked up the gun, and maintains control of it the whole time). One child remarks "Is it a real gun or a toy gun?" Another child is heard mumbling something to the effect that he doesn't know but it sure looks real to him. A couple of the children appear to lay hands on it in an attempt to figure it out. Throughout this (brief, but several seconds), the first child continues to keep hold of the gun. The entire time you can hear suttle ooos and aahhhs from the children as they stare in amazement.
A return to the parents watching their children becomes more intense. One parent remarks that it looks like they're trying to figure it out. (Its very apparent that they are.)
At this point, the adults leave the secret room and enter the classroom with an officer. The officer questions the children on what they are supposed to do if they find a gun. The children are obviously intimidated by the officer. A couple seem to mumble that they need to tell an adult. The officer pampers them a little bit and tells them that they all did well. He even mentions that one of them did the right thing by telling an adult. (Its obvious which child was the most responsible the whole time.)
The parents reunite with their children. One child is upset, and just short of crying. Another child doesn't seem to know what to think. Two of the boys were rather excited over the whole incident. The girl (that has never seen a gun first-hand) appeared dazzled over the whole thing. Her mother asks her if she knew what it was.. and she nodded. She asked what color it was and the girl replys "it was black" in a somewhat sigh.
After all this, the children are asked by the reporter what they thought. The two boys who were obviously excited throughout the whole event are rather vocal. One mentions that they knew it was a gun and they needed to tell an adult. Another mentions that they were trying to figure it out and says "We were trying to get the bullets out."
The story ends with a quick reminder of what to do if you find a gun -- tell an adult. The reporter(s) remind the audience that it is important that they teach their children gun-safety and that they need to make sure their children are indeed paying attention.
Good job guys!
I must admit, I was extremely wowed over this report.. There was no biased-reporting evident throughout the whole thing. Children were randomly picked (with parental permission) in an effort to see if they had been paying attention when their parents taught them (if at all) gun-safety. By observation, it seemed that it was about half-and-half. Of the parents interviewed, a few had mentioned that they have taught their children gun-saftey, while (at least) one said she had mentioned it. I would further like to point out that the child that laid hands on the gun first held onto it the entire time until it was returned to the officer. It seemed that he was not selfish, yet in fact wanted to ensure that he did the right thing. I would bet his family owns firearms and he is exposed to them on a regular basis as it appeared that he was attempting to see if it was loaded or not. That not being the issue at hand, I thought he did a decent job all things considered.
On a side note, it was amazing how much respect the child instantly obtained from the children while he was in possession of the gun.
------------------
God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
. We did this until she would repeat basically what I said.