spud guns in school?

Question

my ten year old niece went to the shop with friends get some sweets and what ever they buy she came back with a spud gun my mum and dad explained to her they can be dangerous she had a go out the back shooting the shed then left it in the kitchen..
she came back from school with the worried look on her face we knew something had happened
a few of her friends had taken there guns into school and were shooting at other kids after school the teachers phoned the police and the police took each child home to there parents told them there was a 50 pound on the spot fine or they would take the gun and crush it needless to say they got all the guns and crushed them my niece then went and got her gun and put it in the bin no one told her to do it she realised there not toys..
what are your views on these guns spud guns and bb gund are they harmless fun or should they be banned too?

Answer 1

I had a spud gun when I was little and have not grown up to be a gun totting maniac, let kids just be kids. Spud guns don't even look like real guns what did they think was going to happen the kids would be potatoed to death.

BB guns on the other hand can cause damage and harm.

Answer 2

When I was your niece's age, we all had bb guns or spud guns, but then we didn't live in a society where children a year older than us were getting shot to death on their way home. My brother was gun crazy, had all sorts of toy guns, some of which were really realistic, and when he got older, he had an air riffle and joined a shooting club with his school. They were harmless fun, we knew never, ever to point them at anyone, however harmless the gun was or was not.

But these days it is different. Even the law is different, and children can be fined, and even go to court over carrying a toy gun. They are simply not allowed, and there is just too much real gun crime around to allow for even a small margin of tollerance. Shops are not actually supposed to sell certain toy guns to children under a certain age. Once that child is over the age of 7, they can be prosecuted for owning one.

Last term, at my daughter's then school (she has moved), where I am a governor, I had a meeting with the headmistress. After the meeting, I was just about to leave, when a support teacher came into the office with a year 6 boy (about 11) and laid a very realistic looking gun on the desk. He had brought it to school "by accident" and realised he had it in his pocket, so had started showing it off during morning break. A few of us had to decide what to do. I started talking the the boy and aksing him questions, he quickly confessed that he had not left it in his pocket by mistake, but had wanted to show his friends. I asked if his parents knew he had it, he then confessed that one of the other boys had bought it for him, at his request, and given it to him that morning in school. Naturally we told him that it was not on, and lectured him about all the awful things that can happen with guns. We then got the boy who had sold it to him, and got the name of the shop from him. Apparently the shopkeeper had sold him the guns, and told him if he told anyone, he would come looking for the lad. We had no option but to call the police. Pretty soon, both boys who had confessed to thinking guns were cool, were being very uncool, crying and begging us not to tell their parents of the police. We explained that we had to tell the police as we had to get that shopkeeper taken care of, and they had to learn the hard way, as there must be zero tollerance on guns of any description.

The shopkeeper's shop was closed down in a matter of hours, where they found all manner of guns, real, toy and otherwise. He was prosecuted. Both boys were excluded for a week, the parents were informed, and the police spoke to them and the parents alike. In the end, no charges were brought against the boys, the guns were confiscated by the school, as we all felt that the boys had learnt their lesson, they were unnoficially cautioned, and any further repetitions of a similar nature, and they will be prosecuted.

Good on your niece for a) not taking the gun to school like her friends did in the first place, and b) realising the severity of it all and c) disposing of the gun of her own accord, she is obviously a thoughtful and sensible girl. They should all be banned, end of, there is just too much confusion and too much "street cool" going on around the whole gun culture for them to be safely allowed, even as toys, that mentality must be wiped out, and this must start with children before they grow up, they are already shooting each other up in the streets, it has to stop before another young life is senselessly taken.

Answer 3

I remember having a spud gun, as a child, but never took it to school. Toys, well that's what they are, have no place in school and should be played with in a home environment. They can be dangerous, though I won't elaborate on this so yes, I agree, the school acted properly and children should not take them to school. All I took to school at that age was a pencil case, books and my satchel! Oh! I forget easily, on certain days football kit or cricket whites in the summer.

Answer 4

I don't know about your nieces "spud gun" but, mine is made from a 2 inch PC pipe six feet long tapered down to One and a half inches that is four feet long and uses Axe under arm deodorant for fuel and will shoot a one pound potato 200 feet.

Your not talking about his kind of "spud gun" are you?"

Answer 5

Spud guns look awesome. Im 13 and i really want. They never hurt. But BB guns on the other hand really hurt so they should be banned

Answer 6

it may unquestionably be nicely worth a shot. as long by using fact the casing isn't fastened jointly, it would chop up off extremely ideal from the egg while they depart the tube. Collisions between the egg and the casing would bog down distance nonetheless, so assume to play with it somewhat before you get it going some distance adequate.

Answer 7

any projectile throwing equipment is anything but harmless fun in irresponsible hands.

I've yet to encounter a truly responsible 10 year old, especially in todays world. especially in pack mentality of today's children.

School is not the place for toys anyway.

Answer 8

Harmless fun day's at school are long gone, shame really but that's life in the 21st century...