Good News!
NYC's Intro 298 that would have banned all squirt guns died in committee without ever being voted on, despite the fact that 37 of 51 councilmembers were co-sponsors. It officially expired with all other pending legislation on the last day of the last city council's term in December.
We laud the efforts of private groups like Consumers Union, who voluntarily take it upon themselves to test out toys and other products. Responsible parents have safe toys for their kids to play with, and teach them safe behavior with the toys. Unfortunately, we ARE in an age where a child needs to be taught to NOT point anything resembling a gun at a police officer. In fact, with the presence of armed security guards, they shouldn't point it at any adult they don't know, and who doesn't know they are playing.
The Libertarian Party protests the criminalization of youth. Are you a kid who would like a free toy gun, or do you know some who do? Please, print out a request form and send it to us! Guns for Tots! Come celebrate summer with us each year now, as the Mermaid Militia will turn out each year to exercise their right to keep and bear squirt guns!
Would you like to support this philanthropic program to get squirt guns, play laser pistols and rubber-band guns into the hands of kids all over? Great!
Donate a Toy Gun for our program!
See the links to the right for where to buy toy guns online.
Why do people want to make toy guns illegal?
Beats us. They claim there is an epidemic of kids getting shot while holding toy guns. We know of one tragic case, of a deaf child in a dark stairwell, who couldn't hear the cop yelling at him to put the gun down. Our deepest sympathies go out to that child's parents, and those of any other children who are killed.
However, the other cases cited by anti-gun activists often involve a toy gun being used to commit a real crime. For example, in the recent case that brought renewed attention to the bill banning toy guns: the "child" in question was a 17-year-old who had been ordering pizzas and then robbing the delivery people at "toy" gun point--he actually used a pellet gun, which shoots real projectiles and could kill someone at close range. This "child" got shot while robbing a pizza delivery guy, who turned out to be an undercover police officer, while holding a pellet gun held to the head of the officer.
Do you want YOUR child's toys taken away because some young criminals use fake guns to commit real crimes? Libertarians don't.
The fear of guns has spread into not just toy guns. Pictures of guns, and now, even the word "gun" have been banned in various schools. Parents need to be concerned about the violation of children's rights that are happening in the spirit of political correctness. A child was suspended from school for drawing a picture of a gun. Zero tolerance means denying kids freedom of speech. Kids: check out ASFAR's zine, Youth Truth. ASFAR stands for Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions, and they want to see kids' rights respected.
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Finally, a note about safety with REAL guns. Some of New York's representatives are against gun safety programs. Schools are teaching safe sex and safe driving, but they don't want to use a national program that could prevent accidental gun shootings?
Would our representatives rather that our children learn "gun safety" from television and movies? What would happen if we allowed our children to learn to drive from The Dukes of Hazaard? Teaching safety and respect for dangerous objects can't be overlooked, even if you want to see fewer guns in the world. All children should know what to do when they see a gun or ammunition laying around. "Stop! Don't touch! Leave the Area! Inform an Adult!" That is the message of Eddie the Eagle. (Schools, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, daycare centers, and libraries may be eligible to receive grant funding to defray program costs.) Parents can ask their library to have these materials for educating kids about safety.
We get letters!-->"Having a party like yours is unthinkable in Quebec, Keep up the good work and maybe someday your work sheds some light on us up north. We have a gun control program that has already cost us 2 billions. this is for 30 millions Canadian and probably a few 100000 guns..."
Matthieu Larrivee Thank you!