California elementary school holds ‘toy gun exchange’

This March, a 5-year-old boy was given a half-day suspension for bringing a toy gun to his Massachusetts kindergarten class.

In Maryland last month, another kindergartener was suspended for showing off a "cowboy-style" cap gun on the bus.

Now, one California elementary school wants to put an end to kids playing with toy guns altogether.

Strobridge Elementary School in Hayward, Calif., held a "gun" trade-in program this past weekend in which young students could swap their toy guns for books — and a chance to win one of four new bikes.

Also see: Child forced to issue an apology for bringing toy gun on bus

At the event, called Strobridge Elementary Safety Day, a police officer demonstrated gun and bicycle safety, while a crew from the Alameda County Fire Department taught kids about fire safety.

"Playing with toys guns, saying 'I'm going to shoot you,' desensitizes them, so as they get older, it's easier for them to use a real gun," Principal Charles Hill tells the Silicon Valley Mercury News.

Gun-rights advocates challenge Hill's assertions that toy guns desensitize children.

"Having a group of children playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians is a normal part of growing up," Yih-Chau Chang, spokesman for Responsible Citizens of California, a group whose goal is to educate the public about the facts behind gun rights, tells the Silicon Valley Mercury News.

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"While the intentions are obviously good on the part of the school administration, this doesn't really educate children about guns or gun safety," Chang argues. "Guns are used in crimes, but they are more often used in defensive ways which prevent violent crime from occurring in the first place."

Chang adds that most toy gun manufacturers paint the guns in bright colours to ensure they aren't mistaken for the real thing.

Hill insists that some of the toy guns he's confiscated at his school do look real, especially when tucked into a waistband. He also notes that a little boy in Kentucky recently accidentally killed his sister with a pink rifle.

"If we want older kids to not think guns are cool, we need to start early," he says.