(Long Island, NY) Nassau County democrats are coming out against BB guns, paintball guns and other “toy” firearms. A couple of democrat legislators have proposed a law banning the sale of these items to anyone under 18 years old. The concept is admirable—prevent blindness, reduce crime and make the county safer for squirrels everywhere.
Too bad there are already laws on the books that can regulate the misuse of these items. The move is yet another step in the hyper legislation activities of bored politicos. Today, if there is an accident, a criminal act, or a rotten apple in the bunch, we don’t fix the problem; we add another law to the staggering pile of legislation already on the books.
And, of course, those who come out against actually fixing the problem, enforcing existing laws properly or otherwise addressing the issue are labeled as “pro-crime” or “pro-eyeball mutilation” by the lawmakers’ publicists.
What is the real problem here? Pellet guns, paintball guns and other ‘fake firearms’ are dangerous to the health and safety of those having the mock-weapons pointed at them. It’s true-these items are dangerous ‘toys.’
Using the same logic, we should have these lawmakers legislating a ban on drivers under 18. What’s that, you say? There is already a de facto prohibition against this by way of the learner’s permit and drivers licensing process? No matter, kids—we need a LAW against those kids driving. Specifically, we need new laws banning underage drivers, fining those who sell cars to underage drivers and a law requiring car dealerships to keep the cars behind the counter. Teenagers have incredible access to these deadly machines, which can do far more than put an eye out. Shouldn’t we be fining the parents who provide access to automobiles to minors?
Folks, it’s true that paintball guns, pellet guns and their BB firing counterparts are more than unsuitable for kids under a certain age. By the same token, why are we selling guns to our kids in the first place? Do we really need to be giving war toys to children? One of the charges that can be leveled against someone accused of war crimes is using children as soldiers. Should we not be taking this to heart with regards to ‘toy’ guns? Do we really our kids running around the yard pretending to murder one another like common criminals? For shame.
It’s true that for many of us, the idea of giving a child a firearm replica as a “toy” is repellent. There are those of us who believe that a tool should be respected. Nobody gives out kiddie versions of circular saws or jackhammers as birthday gifts or holiday presents. The same respect for these tools should be extended to firearms, which are equally capable of bringing food to the table or causing a lifetime of agony and suffering. The same goes for a band saw, a scalpel, or a disc sander. What we should be teaching our kids about firearms is respect for the force they represent.
Instead of throwing yet another law at the problem, why not an awareness campaign aimed at increasing the understanding of what these items represent? Why not invest in a program to educate and inform the kids who might be tempted to use these things? If we can invest millions of dollars in the same concept with a different target (drug use), why not do the same for firearms?
Of course, that would make too much sense, and the headlines wouldn’t be quite as sensational. I’d like to see the Nassau County legislators come up with a retort to THAT one, but they never will. Such is to be expected in this day and age. See you at the ballot box, kids.
