School holds toy gun exchange

Strobridge Elementary School in California held a toy gun exchange this weekend, and students lined up to trade in their guns for books and a chance to win a new bike.

School principal Charles Hill said he decided to host the event, called Strobridge Elementary Safety Day, because he thinks playing with toy guns may make children more likely to use real firearms.

"Playing with toys guns, saying 'I'm going to shoot you,' desensitizes them, so as they get older, it's easier for them to use a real gun," Hill said.

Hayward Police and the Alameda County Fire Department were at the event teaching youngsters bike and gun safety. Fingerprinting and photographing were also offered, with the information put on CDs for parents to use if their child ever goes missing.

But Yih-Chau Chang, spokesman for Responsible Citizens of California says the well-meaning administration is missing the point.

"Having a group of children playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians is a normal part of growing up," Chang said. "Guns are used in crimes, but they are more often used in defensive ways which prevent violent crime from occurring in the first place," he said.

Moreover, Chang added, "Toy manufacturers are forced to paint guns in bright colors, usually orange or yellow, that make it virtually impossible for an officer to mistake it for a real gun."

But Hill said there are cases across the country of police mistaking toy guns for the real thing. In April, a 5-year-old boy used a pink kids' rifle that was left loaded and unattended to accidentally shoot and kill his 2-year-old sister.