Police let kids handle Swat firearms.

http://fxn.ws/p0Qa0p

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.

This was one of the reasons I left that commie state, the amount of stupidy that comes out of people's mouths there makes my head spin. The idea that it is somehow a bad thing for a kid to know how to safly handle a firearm when their liberal parents are too big of a bed wetter to make sure their child knows what the difference is between a toy and a real gun. Yet these same liberal morons are so surprised when their child or another child picks up a gun that they think is a toy.

When we had Marine week here in St.Louis this year. Kids were holding all sorts of weapons. What is the big deal?

Tony4310 said:

When we had Marine week here in St.Louis this year. Kids were holding all sorts of weapons. What is the big deal?

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I have zero issues with either but ts thaws liberal parents that drive me nuts over that somehow exposing kids to gins is a bad idea

Exposing kids to guns and education teach children that firearms and not toys, not to be afraid of firearms and how to handle them properly with adult supervision. I guess common sense doesn't apply to some people. :banghead:

There was a politician (I believe a former California governor) who once said that California had a wonderful climate; excellent for growing fruits and nuts. He was right.

When I was a boy, guns were everywhere. We were taught very early that they were not toys and were shown what they could do. We were allowed to handle them only under adult supervision until we were deemed mature enough to be trusted with one.

With that, why did we never shoot up the school, shoot the neighborhood bully, etc., etc.? We were also made to take responsibility for our actions and taught that there were highly negative consequences for negative actions on our parts. It's been over sixty years, but I can still remember what a peach tree switch feels like on bare legs!! Yes, you can run 85 mph and not move out of place.

Quite frankly, I would love to see more events like this one nationwide. Kids who are properly taught about weapons and weapon safety are less likely, I believe, to be involved in an accident involving an unattended weapon. Perhaps groups such as ours should put on some of these events. Lord knows we've got enough hardware among us to make a good show!!

At the base picnic, the SPs always have the various types of weapons they use on display. Kids are welcome to handle them, as are adults. I always gravitate to the M-249s...and M-203 equipped M-4s, but that's just me...

There is no safe gun handling or respect of firearms being taught. Fingers on triggers, muzzles pointed at people, muzzles pointed at cars, muzzles pointed at homes. Look at the slide show and the pictures from the original article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

An unloaded police firearm is no more dangerous than a police vehicle with the keys out and the motor off.
Anyone object to letting a kid sit behind the wheel of a cruiser and make "rrrrRRRRRRRR... wheeeee!!" sounds? I bet he's sawing the steering wheel back and forth and those wheels would be pointed at countless innocent civilians all the time.

There's a time to teach safety, ... and that's in a teaching environment.
There's a time to let kids be kids as well.

What's next, telling little Johnny that he can't point his finger at his playmates and make "pew...pew...pew" sounds?

In the pictures it looked to me like the fingers were off the triggers and the guns were pointed in a direction where the viewer cannot tell where they are pointed.

I searched the website for the Santa Rose Press Democrat and the only pictures I saw that weren't on FOX just showed some APC's, although maybe I never found the original article.

Fallschirmjäger said:

There's a time to teach safety, ... and that's in a teaching environment.
There's a time to let kids be kids as well.

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Agreed.

What's next, telling little Johnny that he can't point his finger at his playmates and make "pew...pew...pew" sounds?

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Too late - my son was suspended from public school in 2007 for three days for doing just that.

On the other hand, while I have no problem allowing kids to be kids, I'll never allow them to engage in any ill-advised behavior such as pointing a firearm in the direction of another. Doesn't matter whether it's loaded or not. What matters is that it's reinforcing a very bad habit, one that might result in the death of someone at a later date if the child ever gets hold of a loaded firearm without adult supervision.