The story doesn't say when it happened, but at a community event in Santa Rosa, CA, the local police SWAT team brought out unloaded and safed weapons and with, as far as I can see, supervision, allowed kids to handle the weapons.
There was, as you probably expect, utter outrage from some members of the community.
Two quotes stood out to me:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/18/police-defend-letting-kids-hold-automatic-weapons/
There was, as you probably expect, utter outrage from some members of the community.
Two quotes stood out to me:
“Education and gun safety is a component of what we do… We teach kids the difference between a real gun and a Toys R' Us gun.”
"I would not want my child to be involved with something like that... Those guns, they should have been behind glass -- to teach the kids that you don't want to deal with this gun, because it kills."
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/18/police-defend-letting-kids-hold-automatic-weapons/