Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 19
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Bucks Cty, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
    Age
    70
    Posts
    6,010
    Rep Power
    21474859

    Default California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weapons

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/18...matic-weapons/

    Would you let your kid touch a machine gun?

    Photos of officers from the Santa Rosa Police Department letting kids handle the department’s SWAT team weaponry at a community event has sparked a debate over how much exposure to guns is healthy for kids.

    Community organizer Attila Nagy, who took the photos, told FoxNews.com that he was concerned it might encourage kids to use guns in the future.

    "My main concern is for kids who handle these things. They're fascinated by them, and it makes them familiar with guns," he said.

    One city councilwoman, Marsha Vas Dupre, told her local paper that she was “alarmed and devastated” by the photos.

    But the police department is pushing back, saying they see nothing wrong with how they handled the event.

    "The weapons are rendered safe and are unloaded. We ensure the safety of those weapons," Santa Rosa Police Capt. Gary Negri told FoxNews.com, adding that the police attend the event to build ties between the police and the community.

    "Our goal is saying to people, ‘hey, don't be intimidated by the police.’ We want to break down that barrier… Once these events are over, people will be more comfortable having conversations with officers.”

    Another goal, Negri said, was to educate kids about guns.

    “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.”

    But the department's response hasn't convinced everyone. One woman, Elaine Holtz, was so concerned by the SWAT team's weapons that she approached the police officer at the community event and asked what was going on.

    "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." Holtz told FoxNews.com.

    "I am coming from the heart of a woman, a mother, a grandmother," she added.

    Despite the complaints, some gun safety experts say the police are right -- and that data shows kids who grow up with legal guns are actually less likely to get into trouble.

    "A U.S. Department of Justice study showed that children introduced to firearms by their fathers had a lower rate of delinquency than children who learned about guns on the street, or even children who had no experience with guns at all," Dr. Tim Wheeling, of the group Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, told FoxNews.com.

    The 1994 Justice Department report concluded: "Boys who own legal firearms... are even slightly less delinquent than nonowners of guns." Specifically, 14 percent of kids with legal firearms committed street crimes, compared to 24 percent of kids with no guns at home.

    Given that, Wheeling said, the response to the police actions seemed overblown.

    "If this controlled lesson in firearms helped the kids understand that guns are not toys, some good could come from it. The knee-jerk rejection to the police outreach by locals was clearly excessive."

    The pro-gun control Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence declined to comment.

    Whether the police event actually helped the kids understand that guns are not toys is a matter of debate.

    "It wasn't a safety thing," Nagy said, contesting the police version of the story. "That's misinformation. I was there. The gun was displayed, and kids just picked it up and played with it."

    Nagy cited his photos as evidence.

    "In one of the photos I took, as Elaine Holtz was talking with the officer, you can see a little boy is reaching up to the table and grabbing a gun... the youngest kid there was maybe 5 years old."

    Holtz said that when she asked the officer what was going on, he replied that they were doing "training," but that she did not find his answer convincing.

    "I did not see any education going on; it looked like it was just fun," she said. "And I think we generally have a good police department. But what happened here was poorly thought out."

    Police Capt. Negri said that the department is looking at “whether we want to change our tack in the future.” But for now, the police are sticking to their guns.

    "Gun safety is a part of the discussions we have with the kids," Negri said. "These kids, what do they learn about guns from video games, movies and TV? A lot of the questions we get from kids are way off base... So it's helpful to have some realistic dialogue."

    Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/18...#ixzz1VQBNSJR5
    Last edited by PocketProtector; August 18th, 2011 at 06:16 PM.
    Its easier to fool people than to convince them they've been fooled....Mark Twain

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    127.0.0.1, Pennsylvania
    (Lancaster County)
    Posts
    20,351
    Rep Power
    21474874

    Default Re: California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weap

    I'm pretty sure that most children aren't aware of the differences between a select fire weapon and a semi-auto weapon. I bet they really don't even care, I bet they just like the idea of seeing the weapons in general.

    So what's the concern here?
    Rules are written in the stone,
    Break the rules and you get no bones,
    all you get is ridicule, laughter,
    and a trip to the house of pain.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Bucks Cty, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
    Age
    70
    Posts
    6,010
    Rep Power
    21474859

    Default Re: California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weap

    Why let facts get in the way Brady's ?

    the article:

    "A U.S. Department of Justice study showed that children introduced to firearms by their fathers had a lower rate of delinquency than children who learned about guns on the street, or even children who had no experience with guns at all," Dr. Tim Wheeling, of the group Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, told FoxNews.com.

    The 1994 Justice Department report concluded: "Boys who own legal firearms... are even slightly less delinquent than nonowners of guns." Specifically, 14 percent of kids with legal firearms committed street crimes, compared to 24 percent of kids with no guns at home.
    Its easier to fool people than to convince them they've been fooled....Mark Twain

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    (Philadelphia County)
    Posts
    1,337
    Rep Power
    16766

    Default Re: California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weap

    Quote Originally Posted by PocketProtector View Post
    The 1994 Justice Department report concluded: "Boys who own legal firearms... are even slightly less delinquent than nonowners of guns." Specifically, 14 percent of kids with legal firearms committed street crimes, compared to 24 percent of kids with no guns at home.[/B]
    Wait...what? What is this sample based on? I find it hard to believe that 1 out of 4 kids of any statistical group commit street crimes, let alone one as ambiguous as those with no legal guns at home.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    south/west, Pennsylvania
    (Cambria County)
    Posts
    1,556
    Rep Power
    104329

    Default Re: California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weap

    Community organizer Attila Nagy, who took the photos, told FoxNews.com that he was concerned it might encourage kids to use guns in the future.

    "My main concern is for kids who handle these things. They're fascinated by them, and it makes them familiar with guns," he said.
    So, I can't tell if that guy is FOR or AGAINST this event????
    To me it is a good thing that the kids will be familiar. Is he saying it is a bad thing???






    The pro-gun control Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence declined to comment.
    Ya gotta be kidding!!!





    "Our goal is saying to people, ‘hey, don't be intimidated by the police.’ We want to break down that barrier… Once these events are over, people will be more comfortable having conversations with officers.”

    Gonna take more than this event for people to be "comfortable" with the ever increasing corrupt LEO pool. What I mean is, that "barrier" didn't come from the GUNS, it came from the person/s holding the gun.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mK2JYfZAmA When will America become America?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    (Allegheny County)
    Posts
    3,935
    Rep Power
    339929

    Default Re: California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weap

    My first hands on experience with a gun was at age 4. I was almost 5. I knew what a real gun was. And not to touch it. I fired a Colt 1911 at that same age with help from dad. After doing so I was certainly aware of the difference between a 'toy' and a 'gun'. From there I progressed to loading magazines at the range, and shooting that gun more. By 8 I was helping him reload. By then I had full auto's under my belt as well.

    I have always had a VERY crystal clear understanding about exactly what a gun will, and will not do from an early age. Many of my friends owned firearms themselves by age 11 or 12. For hunting or shooting. These guns were not locked up, they were kept in the child's room. None were ever mishandled, or 'played' with, or pointed at people, or taken out for a murderous rampage. Even some of these friends went on to do some very dumb things in their young life. None of which involved firearms.

    I think early exposure, proper awareness, and parenting is FUCKING CRUCIAL to having kids understanding guns, and proper gun safety. The Cali PD did nothing wrong here but step in to do the 'parenting' for these crying liberal absentee parents.

    Grow up universe. It's an object. One that can be dangerous. But one that is even more dangerous when it is a mystery and not clearly understood, or not taught how to properly handle.

    +1 for Cali PD

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Philly, Pennsylvania
    (Philadelphia County)
    Posts
    306
    Rep Power
    12445

    Angry Re: California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weap

    The article makes me loose faith in the future of humanity, bunch of liberal, politically correct sissies crying about this and that.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Three Points, Arizona
    Posts
    2,722
    Rep Power
    1607091

    Default Re: California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weap

    I think the California Police Department is getting exactly what the created in a mistrustful public. Demonize guns during raids, parade them with drugs on tables, and create an image that guns are bad long enough, people actually believe the lies, so eat Crow Cali PD. Assholes.

    CL

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Spring City, Pennsylvania
    (Chester County)
    Age
    54
    Posts
    2,495
    Rep Power
    90905

    Default Re: California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weap

    Where do I sign up to let my kids fire full-auto!?!?
    Μολὼν λάβε

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Promised Land, Pennsylvania
    (Pike County)
    Posts
    3,516
    Rep Power
    21474855

    Default Re: California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weap

    OMG! Kids familiarity with guns is awful, awful, awful! They could learn the whole lyrics of Kumbaya in the meantime!!! What were those cops thinking!


    Je suis déplorable

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. don't let the kids get a hold of that...
    By MischaBurns in forum Open Carry
    Replies: 28
    Last Post: September 13th, 2010, 09:10 PM
  2. Replies: 3
    Last Post: July 12th, 2009, 02:23 AM
  3. Replies: 3
    Last Post: April 28th, 2009, 08:45 AM
  4. Replies: 1
    Last Post: March 31st, 2009, 07:07 PM
  5. Replies: 10
    Last Post: February 6th, 2009, 11:49 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •