UP to 20 of the showbags on offer at this year’s Royal Show contain toy or imitation firearms — and a man who lost his son to a drunk, drugged teenage shooter is concerned.

Mark McPherson, whose son Lewis was murdered in December 2012, has questioned whether it is still appropriate to make toy weapons available to children.

media_camera Mark McPherson and his partner Tina leave the Coroners Court after listening to witnesses give evidence in the inquest into the death of his son Lewis. Pic: Greg Higgs

“In the less politically-correct days, we all played cowboys and Indians and ran around pointing guns at our friends, pretending to shoot each other,” he said.

“Now, that sort of play progresses to violent video games that can really desensitise people — not everyone, but susceptible people — to violence.

“This is a hard question for all of us but I truly think we would be better off if guns weren’t in showbags than if they were.”

Showbags on offer this year that feature toy guns include the Mega Swat, Wild West, Cop That!, Army Action, The Original Idiot and The Greatest Showbag on Earth.

Weapons available range from pistols and blasters that fire soft foam or Nerf-style darts to realistic-looking Uzis, rifles and shotguns.

In past years, vendors in Showbag Hall have sold replicas of the Steyr AUG rifle — used by the Australian armed forces — imported from China and Taiwan.

Mr McPherson’s son was shot and killed by Liam Humbles, who is serving a life sentence for the murder and for attempting to murder two of Lewis’ friends.

Humbles’ trial, and a subsequent coronial inquest, heard he was a drug dealer who armed himself with a .22 calibre pistol for protection after being robbed by other criminals.

The proceedings also heard Humbles tried to look, dress and act “like a gangster” in the weeks and months leading up to the murder.

Mr McPherson said that sort of behaviour could be prompted by childhood exposure to violence.

“Movies, video games and toys can make it look cool to be the bad guy and make guns seem glamorous,” he said.

“I believe firearms are a privilege, not a right, and should only be in the hands of responsible people like farmers and sporting shooters.

“But as we see from Humbles doing his gangster thing, making them glamorous means kids with a disposition toward violence will think ‘I need a gun’ when they run into problems.”

Mr McPherson said toy guns do not “pose a danger to everyone” who plays with them but urged parents to talk about them with their children.

“If you’re predisposed to violence, toys like these normalise it — and we know there’s a connection between normalising and future acts of violence,” he said.

“After the Show there’ll be six-year-olds running around saying ‘bang, bang, you’re dead’ ... do we really want kids that young to be talking about, to be playing at, death?”

Michelle Hocking General Manager Royal Adelaide Show said the showbags on sale had been cleared by Consumer Affairs.

“We encourage parents or guardians to use their discretion when buying showbags for their children and to only buy those that they believe are appropriate for their child,” she said.

“Just as toy guns are marketed to children in mainstream toy shops and department stores, a small number of showbags do contain these items. Once again, it is up to parents to decide whether they feel these showbags are appropriate for their child.”

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