National Does Playing With Toy Guns Lead to Later Acts of Gun Violence?

[11Charlie]

What we are taught and exposed to as a child , can play a large role in what we do as an adult.

When growing up I played "Army" a lot...Both my Dad and Grandad were Army veterans with combat experience...I played with their old Army gear , collected patches and gear and so on...
I asked questions of them , heard stories , looked at old photos , read books about various wars and campaigns etc...
And right after High School , I enlisted in the Army on a Airborne Ranger Contract....
Did all of those experiences as a child influence my actions....Absolutely.

It was the same with firearms.
We had guns in the house when I was a kid...I knew where they were and how to get them.
Once I learned how to use them responsibly and earned trust with them ... I could keep "my" guns and assorted gun gear in my room.
I was taught both by my Dad and Grandad about the proper use of firearms and of the responsibility I now have as a gun owner...as well as a understanding of life and death and a respect for all life.

We went hunting and fishing in my house when I was a kid...so I knew what happens or what could happen when you set a hook or pulled a trigger.
It was not a game or something to be taken lightly.
Did all of those experiences as a kid affect my thinking ...again yes , absolutely.

After my first combat tour....and my first experience of being a solider for real ....
And seeing the results of my actions in combat...only reinforces those lesson learned as a child.

I am still learning and growing...but I would hate to imagine , what if....What I was shown , taught or exposed to , as a child , had lead me to a dislike of guns or a gross misunderstanding of what a gun does...As well as never being taught a respect for life and others .
Andy

 

[bbbass]

We don need no stinking study!!! Anecdotal evidence of at least 100yrs indicates that if playing with toy guns lead to violence later in life, we would be awash in violence to the point where every day and night equaled "The Purge"... unlimited violence of a percentage = to the percentage that played with guns... it's just not so. But eggheads will sit around thinking up schlitt to get guv grant $$.

We need heroes. We need moral guides. We need empathy for our brothers and sisters. We need coping skills and mechanisms. We need individual responsibility. We need the people and things that teach these. We need to end using the village to raise our kids. We need to end placing the blame on others or things. We need to end The Culture of Death. We need to stand up.