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Monday, April 28, 1997

Grandmother writes comic book on gun safety for children

By CHRISTINE LAUE Corpus Christi Caller-Times

INGLESIDE - Frances Nichols didn't laugh along with the family when her 2-year-old grandson pretended to shoot his daddy using his hand as a gun.

She went to Wal-Mart.

Buying five toy guns, Nichols embarked on a project that would earn her a reputation as one of the toughest grannies in the West. Mustering support from area businesses and armed with pen and ink, she drew.

She drew 22 pages, to be exact.

And she called it "Straight Shootin" - a coloring book aimed at teaching children that they should be careful in handling toy guns, or what they think are toys.

She has donated the coloring books to police departments, whose officers use the books to teach gun safety to children in schools.

More than a year ago, Nichols bought five toy guns at Wal-Mart to use as models for her artwork, borrowed real guns from a neighbor and researched at the library on the topic of children and gun safety.

When parents laugh at how cute it is when a child pretends to shoot somebody, that sends the wrong message, said Nichols, a retired teacher. And television programs send a harmful message when a character is shot and killed but pops up alive the next day in a different show, she said.

It made her think that children should understand the dangers of guns because they may not know the difference between pretend guns and real guns.

"It looks like play now, but the consequences of their play-acting can carry over into how they would play with a real gun, if they found it," Nichols said.

Nichols said she is not anti-gun, but she would prefer children not playing with toy guns at all.

"If they do, I want them to be aware they should use targets, such as bull's eyes or trees," she said.

With her ideas and the research, she started planning a book, the idea of which evolved into a coloring book upon the suggestion of her son - the one who had laughed when his son pretended to shoot him. Nichols' son, Kirk, a Drug Abuse Resistance Education police officer in Haltom City near Fort Worth, saw the error in his ways and supported his mother's efforts. Using his DARE background, he suggested that she turn her project into a coloring book.

"He said, 'The more (time) they spend on every single page, the more they'll think about it.' And I said, 'You're absolutely right,' " Nichols said.

He also suggested that his mother ask area businesses to pay for the printing costs by buying advertising in the back of the book.

A few businesses declined, saying it was the responsibility of parents to teach children gun safety, she said.

"I said, 'You're absolutely right. But what are you going to do when your child or your grandchild is playing in the home of parents who have never taught their child about gun safety?' " she said.

That argument changed two business owners' minds, she said.

Nichols sold 18 ads, ranging in price from $100 to $250, and had 4,000 copies printed.

Nichols donated the books to the Ingleside Public Library and the Aransas Pass, Ingleside and Portland police departments. A second edition, with ads from Rockport and nearby towns, was donated to the Rockport Police Department.

The book tells a story about a boy named Jason, who is dressed like a cowboy. Simple captions encourage Jason and friends to play but not to point toy guns at others, including a bird, Jason's dog and a cowboy.

As the book closes, one picture shows the three lying on their backs in a house - the dog and bird with their feet in the air, and the cowboy with his hat on his chest. Outside, seen through a window, is a cemetery.

"Real guns are deadly. Real guns KILL animals and people," the caption says.

The next page shows two revolvers for children to color, and the message: "Toy guns do not KILL. But many times you cannot see the difference between toy guns and real guns, until it's too late."

"The message is very straight-forward and not one that many parents like to talk about," Nichols said. "It's not very pleasant for people to talk about death. But it's much more unpleasant to see a 2- or 3-year-old shot and die."

Nichols has seen the effects of an accidental shooting of a child. Fourteen years ago, one of Nichols' friends lost her 13-year-old son because he was playing with a gun.

"I would like to make people aware of the real dangers of a child finding a loaded gun and playing with it as if it were a toy gun," Nichols said. "The life of their child can be ended in a moment. However, the resulting tragedy for the parents will last a lifetime - an accident preventable through education of gun safety."

Randy Ward, a detective with the Portland Police Department, said the book has worked as an educational tool on a topic that isn't addressed otherwise.

"That's something I'd thought about before, but I didn't really know what was the best approach, and this made it easier," Ward said.

Ward remembers one boy who approached him and showed him that he had drawn a red circle with a slash through the gun, to show he couldn't tell if it was real or not.

Nichols keeps a scrapbook that contains several children's thank-you notes, including one from a boy who said, "I learned never to point a gun at anyone not even my dog. I only point my gun at deer."

Another note from a girl in second grade shows a gray gun.

"If you didn't write this book we would not learn about guns," the girl wrote. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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