Policies at the Boy Scouts prohibit water-gun and water balloon fights — so Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout and editor at several Scouting publications, reminds the Scouts.
The ban is detailed inside the “2015 Boy Scouts of America National Shooting Sports Manual,” which regards water guns as firearms. The manual states: “Pointing any type of firearm or simulated firearm at any individual is unauthorized.”
This is a standard rule at any gun range — there is zero tolerance for playing around by pointing your gun at another person. But the BSA has taken it a step further. They don’t want you pointing a water gun at anyone either. Sounds like a sad way to spend your summer.
Bryan thinks that it’s not “kind” to play with water guns. “Wendall writes that a Scouter said of the rule, ‘A Scout is kind. What part of pointing a firearm [simulated or otherwise] at someone is kind?'”
Has he ever heard of “playing around”?
The BSA does approve of the shooting sports — using pistols, shotguns and rifles are “allowed” activities. It just seems overly cautious to prohibit water-gun play because of the “gun” aspect. Does this really teach kids not to point a real firearm at someone in jest, or are we continuing to emasculate our males?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member