THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 23, 1994 TAG: 9410230031
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ELIZABETH SIMPSON
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Eight-year-old Brook Moore didn't take long to figure out what was missing at Kay-Bee Toys last week.
After a quick perusal of the second aisle from the right, he popped back out to the register.
``Where's the guns?'' he asked.
``We don't have them anymore,'' answered a clerk.
``Why?''
``Because of rashes of violence, more aggressive children and public outcry,'' the clerk said as the boy turned away, more confused than ever.
``Or something like that,'' the clerk murmured.
``Something like that'' is right. The company line isn't exactly on target. The bigwigs at two of the country's biggest toy-store chains - Kay-Bee's and Toys R Us - didn't strip their aisles of realistic toy guns because they were worried about children's diet of violence.
They did it to keep kids who carry fake guns from getting gunned down by real ones. It was a move that came too late for a 13-year-old boy in New York City who got shot by a police officer who mistook the boy's toy gun.
But a look at what's left on the shelves shows we have a lot further to go.
``Shooting Bazooka Blasters!'' reads one box that comes with miniature weapons and a plastic mercenary who has a ``nothing-to-lose'' personality.
``Never run out of weapons!'' reads another box that includes a power dagger, power sword, laser sword, Army machine gun, bayonet machine gun, cyberspace gun and super eliminator.
``Launchers Really Shoot!'' reads yet another box, this one a missile launcher that looks for all the world like a gun. This one's safe, we assume, until an enemy army mistakes it for a real one.
There are still Mortal Kombat videos where you can kill your enemy and tear out his spinal cord. There are Power Ranger rocket launchers and swords. And our old patriotic pal G.I. Joe, who comes complete with a pistol, rifle, night scope and bullet-proof briefcase.
It's not all Lion Kings and Sesame Street out there, folks.
Instead of just weeding out realistic-looking guns we ought to shut down violence on the toy-store aisle. Kids don't need any more practice being violent than they get on the playground or witness in their neighborhoods and homes.
And we shouldn't depend on toy stores to choose between what's right morally and what's right for the corporate bank account.
Toy guns make sense for toy makers because parents buy them. Parents, not children, create a market. And parents, not children, should be making the choice not to buy them.
So why do they?
This is the No. 1 reason I've heard:
``I played with guns when I was a kid and I turned out OK.''
But the cities and towns we played cops and robbers in aren't the same ones our kids are growing up in. We didn't have teenagers with semiautomatic weapons in school parking lots. Or 15-year-olds accused of shooting cab drivers. Or metal detectors in school hallways.
``A lack of respect for life slipped in somewhere,'' said Freeman Moore, the father of the 8-year-old.
Even if we dry up the market for violent toys we're not going to have a new generation of peacemakers. Toy guns are only one piece of the puzzle of a generation of too-tough kids.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't start putting the puzzle together. by CNB