Toy Gun Exchange: Will It Change the Way Kids Play?

Yesterday, Saturday, July 13, local faith communities held a buy-back program of sorts to replace toy guns with non-violent alternatives.

The exchanges were held three locations in the St. Louis area, including north St. Louis county, north St. Louis city and East St. Louis.

The group sponsoring the program, The Toy Gun Buy-Back Initiative, is a St. Louis-based group that was started by Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in March of this year with the mission of “Changing the Way our Children Play," according the group's website. 

But kids will find a way, it seems.

In May, two second-graders in Virginia were suspended from their elementary school for holding their pencils like guns and making gun noises.

Do you think that removing toy guns will eventually change the way kids play? Do we need more of these toy gun exchanges—or should we ban toy guns altogether?