Toy Handguns

C

Coyote

Inactive
Wow.. I miss the days when toy handguns at least looked real and shot things that hurt. Think about what young people today are being taught about the consequences of pulling a trigger...

Case in point. I just got back from the drugstore at 2:30 in the morning. In the toy section they have a "Talking Pistol"... When you pull the trigger, it says "Halt Police!". I couldn't make this up if I tried. (sigh)

-Coyote
 
Oh **** Now You Did It.
I was raised all my life around guns of all kinds. Never owned a toy one, never allowed to.They should not be allowed into this country period. NO GUN IS A TOY PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a #1 reason for kids getting hurt/killed by irresponsible owners having guns.A 5 year old should not be playing with any gun without a responsible, teaching, knowleadgable adult to supervise (shot my first .22 at 5, learned by all the rules) never even dared to think of "playing" with a "GUN".
 
On a related note, I think Hollywould does us a big disservice with movie ratings. Points to consider,

-If you show a woman's nipple your movie automatically gets a rating of "R"
-If you are so bold as to show a penis, then your movie autoimatically gets a rating of "NC-17"
-But if you have lots of shoot-em up glorified violence, you can still get that PG rating.
-Not only that but the violence that you show is made to look clean, no splatering blood, et cetera. This is a big disservice because it makes violence look clean and simple. If Hollywould would goryfy violence instead of glorifying it, violent acts would seem more revulsive to many people. I think if a movie is going to show someone getting their throat slit, there should be LOTS of blood shown, spurting, frothing blood, like there is with a real wound. Movie violence should be shown realistically, not sanitized.

Violence is not a game, guns are not toys.
 
I'm afraid I have to inject my thoughts here. A toy is a toy. A movie is a movie. Reality is reality. It is up to US (not meant to stand for the United States, BTW) to make certain that those we influence know the difference and treat each and every situation accordingly. Kids are not stupid, they are ignorant, until taught what is what. I had toy guns as a sprout, and I pointed those suckers at the BG's or GG's (my brothers and friends) and pulled the trigger. Of course, they always told me I missed, even though I had gotten them right between the eyes! I never missed.
I contend that the ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality, at least in most cases, comes from the instructors/mentors.
Now, in reality, on the other hand, there were guns in the closets; I knew they were there, I knew where the shells were and how to load and shoot. BUT did I ever touch them without Daddy's supervision? Hell NO! I'd have become an endangered species in a heartbeat.
No flames intended, so don't take it that way; I just always thought it was easy to tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
Terry
 
TMoney,
If every child has the same comprehension as you did with real guns, there wouldn't be any problems. Unfortunately, the ignorance level of ADULTS, let alone children, is amazingly high about guns that they couldn't even teach their children safety if they wanted to.
What a parent allows their kids to play with is their business. I personally would teach my future children how to safely handle a .22 cricket when he reaches the right age.
Just my 2¢

------------------
Svt
NRA, GOA, VFW
Son's Place

Rangers Lead the Way
 
I once shot my kid brother on the cheek with
a toy gun. The level of my stupidity bothers me to this day. The toy had blasting caps that propelled plastic pellets through the barrel.

I went through all the motions of being careful. Thought the toy was spent. But still managed to bruise my kid brother. I was ten then.

Would adult supervision had made a difference? Maybe. I cannot really count on any adult to supervise my younger self that closely. Slip ups happen. Which goes to say that we just cant idiot proof enough.

Here's what I think will work. Start the training early. Five sounds like a good age to start, before the kid gets into elementary school and such. And drill the first rule of firearms. Check and/or make sure the chamber is empty then safety a weapon once it is handed to us. Point the weapon at the ground and away from people.

um I guess that was two rules. Does anyone have a list of firearm rules, in sequence and ready to be made into a poster? Sort of like the Murphy's Law posters?

YenYin
 
As a rule, I never let my child play with toy guns for 2 reasons:
1: I do not want her thinking that a gun is all about shooting people and having fun while doing it. Many kids get hurt playing with a real one thinking it is a toy simply because they point it at the other person and shoot "for fun" "just playing"
2: I have seen a few guns that were toys that looked real and I am sure the police have come across a few as well, I don't want my child getting shot by a real gun by a person thinking hers is real.
I always impress upon my child that guns are NOT toys, therefore I feel it would be counter-productive to give her toy guns to play with.
Just my opinion.

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"what gives a government that arms the whole world the right to disarm it's own citizens?"
 
Playing with toy guns that actually hurt people is NOT the way to teach children about firearm saftey. Since nobody has flamed you yet, I think the original post in this thread is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.
Where do you draw the line? When I was a kid I watched "playing guns" with cap guns progess to shootouts with pellet guns until one of my best friends got shot in the face and lost an eye.
9 times out of 10 parents who let their kids play with guns, toy or not, are not going to teach firearm saftey.
No one should EVER point a gun, toy or not, loaded or unloaded, at another human unless they are defending a human life and even then it should be the last option.
 
toys are toys. playing cops and robbers is playing cops and robbers. playing cowboys and indians is playing cowboys and indians. playing army is playing army. a little boy is a little boy. they will use a finger or a branch with a fork in it for a toy gun. making them treat that finger, forked branch, or cap pistol like a real gun or forbidding it outright is not only mean spirited but will more than likely turn them off of to shooting real guns later in life.
 
Wow... I guess I've been wrong all along!

It isn't about parental responsibility after all. It isn't about teaching integrity and respect. It isn't about crafting and molding intelligent thought in our kids. It isn't about teaching the ability to discern fantasy from reality.

It really must be the guns! :(


I'll acknowledge that some good points were made above and times certainly have changed. But, if you can't teach your kids to play responsibly with their toys, why bother to teach them about the real thing? I'm not trying to rant or offend anybody, but it's starting to sound like an HCI argument: "if you just take them away, then no one can get hurt." IMHO, a toy gun (and good parents) can be a good way to start training a young person and provide them the opportunity to "prove their respect." And, picking the occasional Imperial Stormtrooper out of the trees isn't all that unhealthy either.

I'm gonna go up in the attic now and dig out my old "Roy Rogers Speed Six." I'm starting to miss it.
 
My point was that the toy removed even the concept of a projectile from the action of pulling the trigger.

Usually, when you pull a trigger, something comes out. With this one, it says "Halt Police". PULLING THE TRIGGER makes it say "Halt Police". That's what I thought was stupid.

And by toys that hurt I was NOT referring to BB-guns. I class those in as actual weaponry, as opposed to toys. I was thinking more along the lines of little rubber balls, plastic disks, something other than "Halt, Police".


-Coyote
 
I always had toy guns around. I wasn't allowed to touch anything that looked like a gun until my dad said "OK" for that particular item. That went for friends toy guns too. I always had a BB/pellet gun too. I was only allowed to use it when Dad was at home, and had to obey all firearms safety rules. I think I slipped up one time, and man did that hurt! I always had access to real guns, too, including a .410 hanging on the wall of my room. The only amm in the house was always in a locked steel box, though. I never had any problems, never shot up a school, and never killed myself, or my brother.

~~~Mineralman
 
I played with toy guns as a child, and even hit my friend in the face with a suction-cup dart once. Luckily no damage was done, but it made me a lot more careful; although I was still quite young at the time. I do not believe that banning toy guns from children is the answer, just as I do not believe that taking guns away from adults is the answer to killings.

The main problem with our society is that parents do not take responsibility for their childrens' or even their own actions. That is why our society is so litigious now. It is always someone else's fault. It can't possibly be my fault, I'm gonna sue!!

If adults take the time to instill good values in their kids, and to teach their children how to use guns (Toy or Real) safely, a lot of accidents will be avoided. Unfortunately, I don't foresee that happening any time soon.
 
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