Young Riflemen Photo Draws Fire

Several readers objected on Thursday to a photo of two boys playing with toy rifles in their West Central neighborhood.

“Thirty years ago, a picture like that would have been considered cute,” said Marie Marsden. “There’s so much violence now, that picture has no place.”

“I understand those were toy guns,” said Dorothy Fuller, “but teaching children that pointing and shooting guns is a wonderful thing? Is that what you’re trying to promote?”

Chuck Thomas of Post Falls, a self-described “gunner,” recalled growing up in a home in which shooting was a way of life.

“Kids today are not taught the difference between toys and reality,” he said, blaming television. “We don’t need to reinforce that.”

Photo Editor John Sale, who made the decision to publish the picture, called it a “nice little slice of life.”

“Guns are a part of American life. Kids playing with wooden toy guns - a picture like that is a piece of Americana.

“The photography in The Spokesman-Review is not promotional,” Sale said. “It reflects what is going on in our community. To deny the fact that cute, innocent kids play with toy guns does nothing to address the problem that some readers have brought to our attention.”

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