"Toy/Fake" Gun Legislation?

[Dman]

I found this tonight on Yahoo news and started thinking, How will this affect us, considering that the majority of the "Prop" guns we use are originally styled after real world guns...

Bills seek punishment for use, display of fake weapons



By LUCAS L. JOHNSON II, Associated Press WriterSat May 3, 2:01 PM ET

Concerns that realistic-looking toy weapons are confusing police and threatening safety have led 15 states to try going beyond gun control and cracking down on fake firearms.

Officer Micheal Hoover knows a fair amount about guns as a sniper instructor for a Tennessee SWAT team. He recalls the night two years ago when a car pulled up beside him on a highway and the passenger waved what looked like an Uzi.

"It scared me," he said. "If anyone is in their right mind, I don't see how it wouldn't."

Hoover was off duty and called for police help. A 20-year-old man was charged with aggravated assault after police found a black plastic Uzi submachine gun under the car's passenger seat, but he was acquitted because jurors felt the officer should have been able to tell it was only a toy.

Lawmakers across the country are coming to a different conclusion, deciding that it is so hard to differentiate the toys from the fakes that public safety demands they take action.

Among those 15 states, seven bills limiting fake guns are pending this year and 21 have been enacted since 1990, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states have enacted or are considering multiple measures. They range from prohibiting imitation firearms in vehicles to banning the toys from convenience stores.

Tennessee lawmakers are considering a proposal by state Rep. John Deberry to make it a misdemeanor to intentionally display or expose "an imitation firearm in a public place in a threatening manner." Exceptions include justifiable self defense, lawful hunting, and displays such as a museum collection.

Deberry said he wants to prevent incidents like one last year in which a 12-year-old boy was killed in West Memphis, Ark. DeAunta Farrow was shot by a police officer who said he thought the boy was carrying a gun and that the youngster refused to obey orders to halt. Investigators later said DeAunta had a toy gun.

"It's important that a child cannot walk into one of these little convenience stores, plop down a dollar and walk out with something that can get him shot on the spot without question," Deberry said.

A spokeswoman for the Toy Industry Association declined to comment on the trend toward fake gun legislation but referred a reporter to its Web site, which states that it "emphatically rejects the scenario that casts toys as villains."

Federal law requires toy guns or imitations to bear an orange tip to indicate they're not real.

However, lawmakers say those tips are often disguised or removed.

"It only takes 30 seconds for a kid to either take a marker or some paint, or shoe polish, and that orange tip is gone," said Deberry. He said the imitation guns are nearly identical in size, design and color to real ones.

"One of the imitation weapons I got at a convenience store looked very much like the assault weapons that the secret service and other FBI agents carry under their suits," he said. "Another one was a handgun that had a silencer on it."

New Jersey state Sen. Bob Smith has proposed legislation that would make it a crime to remove the tips or "obscure" a firearm by adding a tip to it.

"If police are called to the scene and don't see those tips, then they open fire because it appears the person has a deadly weapon," said Smith. "The officer doesn't have too many choices."

In Florida, state Sen. Gary Siplin has a bill that would prohibit individuals from carrying a paintball gun in a vehicle. He said he had been told about youngsters brandishing such guns while driving. He said if they're bold enough to do that they might use the fake weapon to commit a crime.

"Sometime these people try to go into a store and try to rob it with a toy gun, and if the police come they may shoot thinking it's a real gun," Siplin said.

The leading U.S. opponent of gun control doesn't think much of legislation that seeks to control fake guns.

National Rifle Association spokesman Ashley Varner said anti-toy gun legislation is "silly" because "it doesn't deal with issues of crime."

"It won't eradicate the human element of the crime," she said. "It doesn't target getting criminals off the street."

[Dinadin TK-5972]

This is another example where certain politians think that they need to keep on writing new laws to keep people safe.

If you try to rob someone while you have a weapon whether it is your hand in your pocket in the shape of a gun or a real gun, it is the same crime. The criminal deserves the same punishment no matter how the crime was committed. Maybe once the kid gets arrested and jailed for robbing someone with a water gun, he will not do it again later with something more lethal. Enforcing the laws we have now is what is required.

[TK 3181]

I agree. If I march into a liquor store in my TK armor and rob the place with my E-11, should they outlaw Star Wars Costuming? or was it the person inside the armor that perpetrated the crime? It seems pretty simple to me. Use that grey matter in your skull when handling your prop weapons and don't be made into an example for your stupidity. It's all about personal responsibility. These types of politicians are a sad, lonely, bunch of idiots.

[rebelbuttkicker]

What about Civil War re-enacting? Those guns are real and they are props. I would rather die than lose my beloved Enfield.

[TK565]

Last time I checked the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights it read " the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

[rebelbuttkicker]

Sweet, where's those .50 Cals?

[Dinadin TK-5972]

Last time I checked the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights it read " the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

That is the great debate. The anti-gun movement focus in on the first part of the 2nd Amendment.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

They claim that a militia is no longer necessary, thus the Second Amendment is no longer needed.

[standtrooper]

They claim that a militia is no longer necessary, thus the Second Amendment is no longer needed.

If the militia is no longer necessary then the National Guard should be disbanded.

As for banning toy guns, it has been a problem for many years and will probably not change. The first case I remember was Laser Tag when a kid was shot... since then colored barrels, etc have been added.

As for TK armor... remember the case where the guy was thought to have robbed the ramada inn
http://www.strangepersons.com/content/item/109750.html

Those who propose gun restraint don't seem to get that bad guys aren't going to go get a permit then commit a felony. Illegal arms are always going to be around. If you limit my right to protect myself and my family and my property, it won't matter. If someone does something to hurt my kids, the last thing I'll need to take care of business is a gun because what I do to that person will be long, painful and involve the slow removal of body parts one at a time.

Now, that being said, I also don't think everyone should be allowed to carry. Making laws to do what parents should be doing is empowering government and letting them know that they have the power and IMHO (without taking this too political) the people are the power.

[TK565]

Toy guns however are not constitutionally protected!

[Drago Lordist]

I personally think that the ability to form a militia is still necessary. people should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people. they should be warry that if they get too much power we can form up and do something about it. that's part of why I'm against bans on assault weapons. if we need to go up against a government with an army at its disposal we should have rights to the same weapons that give us a fighting chance. I'm always playing the what ifs.

(and this post is why I'll never be allowed in the army )

[Dwootan]

Gun Control can be a touchy subject. As a member of the NRA and a former Security Police for the Air Force, I know it can be hard to tell if a weapon is real or fake.

For example, I worked at Gatekeeper Comics in Manhattan, KS. One Saturday afternoon it was robbed and I was the only clerk on duty. The kid had a black Walter PPK 9mm semi automatic handgun. Now this was after my USAF training. I was so shooked by the experience that I couldn't tell the police officer what style of handgun the robber had. I was lucky to make it out of that situation.

Police Officers train and train, but they can't know all the weapons in the world. By the way, the base of the E-11 is still made in the Middle East. Some of the toys now have the look and feel of the real thing and don't have the orange tip. A police officer is going to act on training when confronted by a possible weapon. Trust me you don't what to be in a situation like that.

When carrying a weapon in costume, just remember to not use it in a threatening manner. When traveling to an event, keep it out of reach. If you should be pulled over by an officer, keep both hands on the steering wheel and inform the officer that there is a fake gun in the trunk or backseat, etc. The most important thing to remember is to obey the police officer's orders.

[Dinadin TK-5972]

One time I saw a quote that is quite fitting for the Second Amendment debate.

"The Second Amendment ensures that the others will be enforced."

Or something to that effect.

[Dwootan]

My favorite quote regarding the 2nd Amendment:

"I keep my locked and loaded Second Amendment Right with me at all times."

[cblackthorne]

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing a case that will be the first major finding in regards to gun ownerwhip in over 50 years. They are expected to release their opinion in June.

The case invloves the constitutionality of state and local laws banning the ownership of certain types of firearms. Such as the ban in D.C. for handguns.

I think this case will have some far reaching effects.

Regards,

[standtrooper]

Toy guns however are not constitutionally protected! 0_0

agreed:) I didn't mean to imply they were, my apologies.