Toy Gun Buyback held in New York Just Before Christmas

(Image: Screenshot from toy gun buyback video)

In a move purportedly designed “to teach youths that toy guns can be mistaken for real ones” but which could easily be seen as just another attempt to demonize firearms, wealthy activist Jean Shafiroff, founder of the New York Gun Exchange Program, reportedly donated toys to be used in a toy gun buyback event shortly before Christmas.

The toy gun buyback collected “about 100 toy guns” which were exchanged for “less provocative alternatives.” This is the fifth year of the gun-glomming program, which took place at Hempstead Village’s Brierley Park.

LaMont Johnson, a village trustee and school board president, said Monday marked the fifth year the event was held in Hempstead. Johnson said it’s important for children to learn at a young age the dangers of real guns.

“We don’t want a police officer to mistake a toy gun for a real gun. … Guns are for adults who are licensed. They are not for little kids.”

As if to attest that she is more interested in eliminating firearms than in making kids safe — which could be much better accomplished by teaching children about gun safety via NSSF and 4H programs, among others — Shafiroff is quoted as saying she feels good about taking the toy guns out of children’s hands, because they are “symbol[s] of violence.”

The goal of eliminating accidental deaths is good, of course. And we have all heard about police officers shooting children because they were holding toy guns. Will this toy gun buyback prevent further incidents of that kind? Some people think so.

Hempstead Mayor Don Ryan said preventing accidental shootings is one reason why the toy gun exchange is a critical event. He said toy guns, even if they look harmless, can be dangerous.

“We know the young people have play guns,” Ryan said. “Unfortunately, sometimes, in certain settings, people don’t realize they are play guns. And it can cause just as much chaos, confusion, and … even death. It’s frightening.”

Personally, I think it’s part of the long-running anti-gun propaganda campaign against firearms and firearms ownership. Change my mind?

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.