I am an ardent pro-gunner, but I have to strongly disagree with those shortsighted ‘right to bear arms’ advocates and the gun dealers who are opposed to this bill.
BB-GUN BILL ADVANCES IN REACTION TO LAPD SHOOTING
Los Angeles Times
April 26, 2011
In response to the police shooting of a Los Angeles teenager, state lawmakers on Tuesday backed a requirement that BB and pellet guns be made entirely with bright colors so that officers do not mistake them for deadly firearms.
The Senate Public Safety Committee approved the legislation sought by Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in response to the December police shooting of a 13-year-old boy carrying a pellet gun in Glassell Park.
The boy was left paralyzed in the shooting, which LAPD officials said occurred when an officer felt threatened because he was unable, in the dark, to distinguish that the weapon involved was a replica of a Beretta handgun.
"We have seen significant tragedies across the U.S., especially in Los Angeles,’’ LAPD Deputy Chief David Doan told senators during a hearing on the measure at the Capitol.
Currently, toy guns must be brightly colored to distinguish them from being mistaken for real firearms.
Gun-owner rights activists and firearms sellers oppose the new measure, which next goes to the full Senate. Some critics said it was an overreaction, while others warned it could give police officers a false sense of security when dealing with BB guns that can cause injury.
"To color a BB gun or a pellet gun as if it was a toy would put officers in more danger,’’ said Gerald Upholt, a lobbyist for the California Assn. of Firearm Retailers.
The pellet gun involved in the Glassell Park shooting had an orange tip, but officers said did they not see the tip. SB 798, authored by Sen. Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles), would require the entire pellet gun to be painted in bright colors, and would extend the use of such colors for the first time to include BB guns.
4 comments:
I disagree, as it will just cause people to go UNDERGROUND for airsoft guns. Also, nearly all airsoft players practice Gun Safety, ESPECIALLY not bringing a gun out in public. This legislation makes no sense whatsoever because a main point of airsoft is REALISM, and painting it ridiculous colors is just stupid.
Poke, I know what you're getting at, but I think you may have missed the point.
There have been a number of tragic shootings of children by police officers who thought they were in danger of getting shot with a real gun. The coloring of the 'airsoft' guns is designed to let the police officer know that he is not facing an imminent threat to his life when confronted by anyone holding that type of gun.
The loss of a child because his 'toy' was mistaken for a deadly gun is not only devastating to his family, but it is just as devastating to the police officer who killed the child. That's why I favor this legislation.
So doesn't a child's access to and misuse of a pellet/BB gun fall back on parental responsibilities? A kid can't go to a store and buy one. I think a better discussion topic is...why do these kids have any gun unsupervised? And why would they point any projectile firing gun at a police officer? Maybe society needs mandatory gun safety lessons and harsher sentences for unlawful and unsafe use. As opposed to making ridiculous and controversial laws that restrict the rights of the law abiding, safe handling, and better parenting citizens.
This bill would essentially de-criminalize brandishing an airsoft gun in public. Not only that criminals will just spray firearms (even ban list guns) pink allowing them to sneak past law enforcement. Law enforcement officers will not enforce this bill just as they dont enforce the public brandish law. Finally this bill makes it ILLEGAL to poses prop weapons that are a not ban list color.
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