Police let kids hold guns, People get upset...
California Police Sticking to Guns in Defense of Letting Kids Hold Automatic Weapons
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Photos of officers from the Santa Rosa Police Department letting kids handle the department’s SWAT team weaponry at a community event has sparked a debate over how much exposure to guns is healthy for kids.
Community organizer Attila Nagy, who took the photos, told FoxNews.com that he was concerned it might encourage kids to use guns in the future.
Wow.
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But the police department is pushing back, saying they see nothing wrong with how they handled the event.
"The weapons are rendered safe and are unloaded. We ensure the safety of those weapons," Santa Rosa Police Capt. Gary Negri told FoxNews.com, adding that the police attend the event to build ties between the police and the community.
"Our goal is saying to people, ‘hey, don't be intimidated by the police.’ We want to break down that barrier… Once these events are over, people will be more comfortable having conversations with officers.”
Another goal, Negri said, was to educate kids about guns.
“Education and gun safety is a component of what we do… We teach kids the difference between a real gun and a Toys R' Us gun.”
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But the department's response hasn't convinced everyone. One woman, Elaine Holtz, was so concerned by the SWAT team's weapons that she approached the police officer at the community event and asked what was going on.
"I would not want my child to be involved with something like that... Those guns, they should have been behind glass -- to teach the kids that you don't want to deal with this gun, because it kills." Holtz told FoxNews.com.
I'm glad the police aren't backing down. They did a good thing and the people should be happy the police would do something like this. Some of the quotes from people that are upset about it are crazy.
