Editor:
Re: Teenagers’ toy guns turn into big to-do, Feb. 7.
This was reported in the Vancouver Sun with the final line of that article being: “RCMP say altering toy guns is a serious offence. The teens were released without charges.”
The Peace Arch News wording is: “They seized the two replicas and the team was subsequently released without charges.”
My reply to this was: “Huh?” Am I the only one to see a big contradiction here? A serious offence, but no charges? Nice message we’re sending to these teens.
And there was a chaperone with a mock pistol? Surely, she was not one of the always-too-easily-forgiven young offenders!
Imagine if one of those teens had pointed a gun at an officer and given the impression that he intended to use it. And what if the officer felt he had no choice but to defend himself? A senseless shooting, another big inquiry, another round of finger-pointing, more cries of police brutality, etc.
And to the school district, please, you should know better than to once again blame “society” – i.e. the stores that sell these guns – for the idiocy of these people. Do we then tell housewares stores to stop selling knives or even costume or prop stores to stop selling replica knives? Must sporting goods stores stop selling bats? Or do we take tire irons off the market? These are all common “weapons” of choice.
Need I go on? How about just convincing people through education and law enforcement that a crime’s a crime and commission of such will have swift, strict, just and, it is hoped, deterring consequences.
Here was a chance to send a very strong message about the illicit and downright stupid use of a toy and, once again, the justice system fails.
Let’s hope there will at least be some serious repercussions at the school level.
G. Harrison, White Rock