Following the Dec. 14 violent gun killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that took the lives of 26 people, including 20 children aged 6 and 7, Santa Monica peace activist Jerry Rubin has resumed his “No Toy Guns Merit Award Project.”
Rubin’s “Alliance for Survival” peace group will offer merit awards to children and families who pledge to not buy or play with toy guns.
Rubin said the free personalized 8-1/2″ by 11″ merit awards were suitable for framing and could be obtained by sending a letter or email stating “Why I will not buy toy guns for my children” and that parents can also help younger children compose their own letters, if the children are not yet old enough to compose it themselves, stating “Why I do not like to play with toy guns.”
“It is very important now during the Holiday season, when everyone is thinking about what toys they will be buying for their kids,” Rubin said.
“Of course it is important year round, but why wait any longer? After the recent tragic gun violence killings of so many children, isn’t it crucial to focus on all aspects of stopping further gun violence, including how so many children are learning at an early age, through the toy guns they play with, that it’s okay just to pretend to kill their friends and fellow schoolmates.”
Rubin’s anti-toy gun project first started in 1987. Children who sent in their toy guns were rewarded with teddy bears in exchange, but stopped after he ran out of the 5,000 donated stuffed animals.
Pledge letters should be e-mailed to Jerry Rubin at: [email protected] or mailed to: Alliance for Survival, Att.: Jerry Rubin, 2035 Fourth Street #103-C, Santa Monica, CA 90405.
People are reminded to please include the spelling of the child’s name the merit award should be made out to, as well as the return mailing address. If requesting a merit award by mail, people are asked to enclose $1 to cover return postage.
For more information, visit NoToyGuns.org.
