Air rifles at primary school summer fete?

[pamirka]

Advice and opinion sought!

A dad at our primary school has offered to run an air rifle shooting game at this year's summer fete.

One parent has since come forward to question whether we should go ahead with this, expressing unhappiness about guns and encouraging violence.

On the other hand, I've seen stalls at other summer fetes that could similarly be said to be 'encouraging' violence (throwing sponges at teachers, sumo suit wrestling, splat the rat...)

So what do you think? Is the parent over-reacting to what could be good fun and a great fundraiser for the event, or would the school be doing itself PR damage by being seen to be encouraging the air rifles?

I wouldn't like it- but I hate the idea of children handling any sort of gun. I might be quite extreme, though,

I wouldn't like it- don't think it's appropriate for a school fete at all.

For me it would depend on how it was done. If the guns were actually fixed to the stand then I wouldn't have a problem with it. Children of any age see these stands at funfairs. It's up to the parents if they want to take part.

My Ds has used air pistols at Cubs and air rifles at Scouts and is still of primary school age. I don't think that is the issue. I would be more concerned about the safety aspect of it. We had to sign consent forms for both the scouting activites, and they were heavily supervised. I can imagine things could easily get out of hand at a school fete.

I'm on the fence.
I can see potential for huge problems run badly.

But, if we're talking about 1-3 guns only with knowledgable parents, at 1 per gun. Starting with a safety talk to the children before they're allowed to touch a gun, then showing them how to handle the gun safely. I think you could probably only do it with signed parental permission too for certainly primary age, and possibly up to 16yo.
That could work and I know my ds would love it and seeing the safety aspect would give him a lot to think about.

I'm not totally sure that anything would be lost by using nerf guns firing into a target though, and that obviously would take a lot of the safety issues away.

I wouldn't mind this type of stall.

I would be very concerned however aot the standards to which it was run. Has this parent run similar stalls at other gatherings before? Does he have suitable qualifications/experience? Does he have at least one similarly experienced assistant? Where will the stall safely be put, and how will movement around it be controlled? What insurance is needed?

Now, if it turns out he spends every weekend running this sort of show at country fairs and the like, and carries his own insurance, you'll be fine. If it's a dad with an air rifle making it up as he goes along, then run a mile.

I don't have a problem with it per se. Shooting is a skilled sport in which GB excelled at the Olympics, nothing to do with violence. However, I would want to be reassured of the safety/spervision. Very nice of him to offer though.

Thank you all for your interesting and balanced views. I really appreciate this. The PTA will need to discuss and come to a decision but I think your comments will add a lot of value.

I wouldn't mind this stall for my child, but not to impose on others.

Ds1 knows about air rifles and shotguns because grandad has a farm and as such has them so he has seen and handled them (air rifle handled, not the shotgun) and also seen the damage they can cause (both). I feel he is educated enough to be safe around airrifles, however I don't know about his peers so it would be a no from me.

I wouldn't mind at all as long as it was well run and supervised at the far side of the field.

DDs have done air riffle shooting and artchery at PGL etc.

So long as it's a Dad who not only has shooting experince, but also knows how little some childfen concentrate on instructions that would be fine.

My only concern would be the level of supervision. How many adults to how many children? Do the parents have experience of supervising children with guns?

I'm on the fence
My ds's school has a rifle range so would have such a stall at a fete but they are well set up for it.
You need more info really

*air rifle range

How do you make sure that only the RIGHT people get shot?

Oh, what a stall that could be, if you could put all the selfish parkers, bitchy school-gate clique members, etc in the firing line [ grin]

What??? No! I cannot imagine why people think it's appropriate to have guns at a school fete. So what if they're only air rifles? You can do a lot of damage with one of them.

I very very much doubt that school insurance would cover this anyway.

You NEED to ensure that the school or PTA has the appropriate public liability insurance. There may be insurance in place already, in which case you need to investigate whether this sort of activity is included. If you do not have appropriate cover already you may find that the cost of accommodating this activity is prohibitive compared to the profit it will make.

If properly supervised and full safety precautions then no problem.

My prep school and grammar school both had their own shooting ranges and I learnt to shoot at the age of 8.

I'd like my DD to learn when she is 7 or 8. Children who are properly trained in gun safety are much less likely to have accidents if they come across a gun by accident. Plus it is a very good sport if, like me, you are crap at more athletic sports - I shot for my school in my teens.

I am on the fence... part of me thinks it's great if responsibly done. I just don't like guns very much otherwise.

Is the parent offering to run the stall a qualified air rifle instructor? Do you have appropriate insurance and a properly (legally) set up range? Do you have facility to lock the guns away properly when not in use? Have you checked if you need an AALA license?

If you can't answer yes to all of those it's a no, if you can, sure why not.