This is (not) a Toy!

A few days ago, I found this in our backyard, lying in the grass. It wasn't too far from the fence separating us from a neighbor whose teenager and his friends bang on drums and play guitars and have loud goings on in the backyard. I'm not saying some kid who was over there ditched it over the fence with the idea of coming back for it later. But I really don't know how it came to be in our yard. Just lying there in the grass. But it was mysterious. I was showing some people the backyard with the weird muscian junk sculpture and I saw it and said "Oh, what's this?" My guests were surprised, too, and wide-eyed at its gunness, even though it was clear plastic.

Now, I have read that 'toy' guns have a red or orange plug in the barrel so cops won't shoot children who are playing. Note orange plug. They didn't have that in my day.

So...it's a toy?

It has however, a safety switch. That sounds 'not toy.'

It has this printed on a label on the side: "WARNING: MISUSE OR UNSAFE USE MAY CAUSE SEVERE INJURIES OR DEATH FOR USE ONLY BY AN ADULT(18 or 21 years depending on state) READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE USE." And, yes, the punctuation and capitalization are just like that..."DEATH FOR USE ONLY BY AN ADULT."

This 'toy' gun had a WEB address printed on it, too. From the looks of it, there are much more serious-looking toys out there and conventions and everything.

This was, as I said not far from the fence of one neighbor. It wasn't really close, however. If it had been, it would have been in a bed of Asian jasmine and maybe never seen.

I have this real visceral reaction to guns. Even 'toys.' Imagine if I'd found a REAL gun in my yard instead of one that only through misuse or unsafe use may cause death. (Which is, in itself, kind of amusing in a horrible way. I mean real guns are safe enough if you don't shoot someone!) It's funny, too, because as a kid I lived in a house with a loaded shotgun and 22 rifle near the back door. Let's just say that one stray dog could be devastation for a sheep raiser. I remember being allowed to shoot at a target with the 22. It almost knocked me flat. I was a scrwany five- or six-year-old. I was being allowed to feel the power, understand the rules. I was never to touch the guns without my dad. And I begged for and was allowed to have a Daisy air rifle. I obeyed the Daisy Rules of Safety, though. I would have killed small animals, but I wasn't a good stalker or shot. I wasn't allowed to point plastic toy guns that did not propel missles at all at other people. Not when my dad was looking, anyway.

I'm not really a gun control freak. I am sort of a believer in personal responsibility and see nothing wrong with hunting (or protecting baby lambs from predators) or target shooting. If you point a gun at someone, though, I'm sort of like my dad...instant punishment. I think people should take responsibility for guns they have, however. And their children and dogs. (That's just an aside in case the neighbor is reading.) This (toy) gun in my yard didn't have any toy ammo (I don't think). But, yes, it gave me pause.