Report: 86 people carrying fake or toy guns killed by police in 2 years

[Kang Colby]

26. Because it's already federal law.

Last edited Mon Jan 2, 2017, 11:31 PM - Edit history (1)

I have to apologize for the delayed response. I was quite fortunate to spend the last few days ringing in the New Year with friends and family out of state. It was a good time. I look forward to a happy and successful 2017, and wish the same to you..flamin'. While I disagree with the content of almost every post you make, I do enjoy reading your thoughtful input.

I'll caveat this with I don't/can't speak for the NRA or any other group. I speak for Kang Colby and that's it. My opinions are my own and aren't necessarily shared by anyone else.

You know, I often post about how bleak things were for us pro-rights guys and gals for decades, stretching back to the late 1960s and peaking in the early 2000s when our ship finally started to turn. I'm not going to rehash all of that today. But the "toy gun" debate is surely an oldie but goodie. When discussions of toy gun legislation started to make headlines, many of us pro-rights folks were dealing with GCA '68 pre-FOPA, talks of AWBs, the impending Brady Act which was first proposed in 1987 before passing in the 90s, machine gun bans, discussion of national handgun bans, George H.W. Bush's import ban on a multitude of semi-automatic rifles. Needless to say, there wasn't much time in the day to fret about 6mm orange tips on toy guns, including airsoft.

Going back to this country's founding, toy guns were almost always intended to look like real firearms. Cast iron, wood, springs, and advertising in comic books and on the radio lauding the toy guns for looking "just like a real gun". Toy guns were intended to look real. Some of the best examples come from the 1960s, but I like the 1920s-late 50s era toy guns, specifically cap guns.

While gun controllers have been fiddling with toy gun restrictions dating back over sixty years, the major piece of federal legislation came in 1988 and was signed by Ronald Reagan, and sponsored by (at the time) NRA ally, Bob Dole. Bob originally proposed the idea as part of the Undetectable Firearms Act but it was later added to the Federal Energy Management Act of 1988 as an amendment requiring orange tips. To my knowledge, no major firearm lobbying organization opposed the amendment.

The law applies to: "look-alike firearms" meaning any imitation of any original firearm which was manufactured, designed, and produced since 1898, including and limited to toy guns, water guns, replica nonguns, and air-soft guns firing nonmetallic projectiles. Such term does not include any look-alike, nonfiring, collector replica of an antique firearm developed prior to 1898, or traditional B-B, paint-ball, or pellet-firing air guns that expel a projectile through the force of air pressure.

So, you are probably wondering where does that leave air guns that expel metallic objects and paint balls. Those aren't toys. BB/pellet guns can cause serious injury or death if misused. NSSF and NRA offered input and opposition on state level legislation mandating color schemes for BB/pellet guns due to potential public safety issues. The concern being that coloring BB guns like toys may inadvertently signify a lack of harm associated with misuse. In any event, Bob Dole's amendment required a study be conducted on the efficacy of orange tips which found that law enforcement failed to recognize the blaze orange identifiers 96% of the time. In other words, this is just a feel good idea with little public safety merit.

Per NSSF, coloring requirements on BB/pellet guns may do more harm than good:

If it is required by statute to color them like toys,
as proposed in SB 798, a dangerous risk of injury will
be created because users could view them as toys and
treat them accordingly. In fact, SB 798 could
unintentionally promote the use of BB devices as if
they are toys.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0751-0800/sb_798_cfa_20110427_154959_sen_comm.html

NRA's statement on the matter:

Senate Bill 798, air gun, airsoft and BB gun sales ban legislation, also introduced by Senator De León, would treat air guns and BB guns the same as a toy gun by requiring the entire exterior surface of the device to be white, bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright blue, bright pink, or bright purple as the predominate color. Air gun and BB guns are not toys and should not be treated as or manufactured like a toy. SB 798 would include the complete exterior of an airsoft gun also be colored. Airsoft guns are already classified as toys/imitation firearms and are regulated under federal law to have an orange tip. SB 798 does not stop there, it would also place a civil fine on the sale, manufacture, transportation, receipt, or distribution of imitation firearms for commercial purposes. Ultimately, SB 798 will ban the sale of all air guns, BB guns and airsoft guns unless the manufacturer is willing to take on the extra expense of complying with California’s (the only state) new law, if enacted into law. SB 798 passed in the Senate by 21 to 16 vote.

https://www.nraila.org/articles/20110617/gun-related-bills-to-be-heard-on-june-2-1

NSSF via partnership with the National Crime Prevention Council's "McGruff the Crime Dog", states, "even toy guns must be handled with care:never aim a toy gun at someone because that person might think it’s a real gun." Via the same McGruff program, NSSF reminds educators that BB guns are NOT toys. https://www.nssf.org/PDF/McGruff_TGD.pdf

The NRA has opposed toy or imitation gun bans, which depending on the state/locality have included provisions outright banning all toys that look like firearms, to more specific bans on airsoft or bb/pellet guns. Baltimore recently passed a ban on such guns. Of course the NRA should oppose such meritless bans. Personally, I just chalk it up to another stone in the ongoing culture war against lawful gun ownership.

Personally, I love "toy gun bans". The issue makes gun control advocates look like extremists for wanting to ban toys. All pro-rights folks have to do is simple messaging....If gun controllers want to ban cap guns, what do you think they want to do with your real firearms? It's just one of those things that makes people weary of supporting gun control measures at all. So, by all means continue.