To the editor:
Hearing about incidents like the one that happened on Feb. 23, when two teens allegedly pointed a fake gun at a school bus, make me upset for good reason.
This is the exact reason that at the shop we refuse to sell paintball or airsoft guns to anyone under 18 without a parent or guardian present.
I have told many parents the legal ramifications of brandishing one of those in public. If I was the police I would throw the book at the parents too. They are the ones ultimately responsible for the access that they had to the airsoft guns. They should be treated like firearms and under the firearms code they are a unregulated firearm not a toy like most people think they are.
As a parent, if you think that your child is not responsible enough to use the paintball or airsoft gun properly, it is simple, do not buy them it and wait until they prove they can be responsible enough for it.
The kids were lucky they were not shot. In a situation like that it could have easily ended badly for them. One thing that people fail to realize in this situation if that if the officers did have to use lethal force on them, then for the whole officer's life they have to deal with the guilt that they had to shoot a child. Something like that can ruin someone's life.
Craig Nesbitt,
Thunder Bay
