Gun Nuts

Bridget makes a good point about the limits of the anti-toy gun hysteria we see down in RPV. As a father of two boys, I've come to realize how absurd it would be to try to keep toy weapons out of my home, even if I wanted to.

If he had no toy weapons whatsoever, my three-year-old son would have no problem fashioning his own. Already, he fires his hand like a mock-pistol at unnamed "bad guys." He uses wooden spoons as "swords" with which he slays imaginary dragons. And even if we could somehow cut off his access to pretend weapons, that would not deter his enthusiasm for violence -- he loves tackling and wrestling anyone who will play along.

None of this bothers me, by the way. And yes, we let him play with toy weapons. (He bought a sword and shield from the dollar store, although he recently passed up a plastic gun in favor of a beach ball.) I'm not trying to raise a pacifist, I'm trying to raise a moral human being. And violence has a place in the moral order, namely, to protect the weak and innocent against the snares of the wicked. We authorize cops and soldiers, for example, to use violence to secure our rights, protect and our liberties and ensure the public order.

I'm not concerned about whether my son wants to play with toy weapons, but whether his play involves using them in the proper moral context. As long as his targets are "bad guys" and dragons, as long as he's pretending to be a soldier or a knight -- "I'm a good guy," he proudly boasts, "I protect people from bad guys!" -- then he's indulging natural boyhood fascinations in a way that's healthy and sound.

Blast away, kid.