Chapel Hill parents call for nonviolent Halloween costumes

The organizers of the "Goodies Not Guns" movement say children's costumes shouldn't involve weapons of any kind.

"In the wake of what happened in Las Vegas, we just felt so powerless," co-founder Amanda Hanig said Friday. "We wanted to do something kind of grassroots within our community, something that we could see affect change right away. So, Goodies Not Guns was sort of created as a way that we as parents – and as humans – can take back a little bit of the power of what’s happening in our communities with the pervasiveness of guns."

Hanig and her husband and co-founder Jordan Gillis said plenty of Halloween costumes are nonviolent, and that's how their children will be dressed.

"We’d like to promote nonviolence with our children," Gillis said. "If you give a child a gun as a prop, they are going to think of that gun as a toy. And guns are very dangerous; they are not toys. And the more desensitized our children are to using guns, the more likely they will be to use them in the future."

Organizers said they have received a positive response from the community, noting Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the national Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence have both tweeted support for the effort.

"We’re not telling people they shouldn’t be responsible gun owners. We’re not making the choice for you as to whether you have guns in your house or what you believe about it," Hanig said.

"All we’re saying is that maybe it’s a good idea to not have Halloween costumes that promote violence, because violence promotes violence promotes violence, and if we want a more peaceful world for our kids, we should start now," she said. "Send your kids out in the streets ... so they have more hands to hold their treat bags and less hands to hold fake weapons."

But some disagree with the campaign's message.

On the WRAL Facebook page, one viewer said "It's not the toys that are the problem. It's what kids are being taught or not taught."

Others commented that toys are a safe way to educate children about real weapons.

Hanig said the organizers feel if a child has a gun as a prop, they are going to think of all guns as toys.