N.J. senator shooting for toy gun ban
11/07/07 14:36 Filed in: Legislative
Update
By DANIEL WALSH Staff Writer, (856) 794-5111
Published: Wednesday, July 11, 2007
It soon could be illegal to give a child a toy gun if it looks like a real one.
A northern New Jersey state senator introduced a bill last month making the gift a criminal offense.
“The margin between a child's stupid mistake and a tragic ending is far too thin,” said state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, Middlesex, Somerset.
Published: Wednesday, July 11, 2007
It soon could be illegal to give a child a toy gun if it looks like a real one.
A northern New Jersey state senator introduced a bill last month making the gift a criminal offense.
“The margin between a child's stupid mistake and a tragic ending is far too thin,” said state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, Middlesex, Somerset.
The ban appears to
focus in part on air pistols, which fire BBs and can
be found in sporting goods stores, but it would apply
to any replica gun. Scutari moved forward the bill,
S2810, after an incident in his district in which
four students were suspended for bringing a cap gun
to school.
More disconcerting for some are the documented incidents in which people wielding realistic-looking toy guns have been shot because a police officer thought they were wielding a real gun. Also, people wielding real guns have disguised them as toys by adding orange tips, prompting a second proposal in the state Legislature, S2882, which would make that a crime as well.
Brian Camp, manager of Big Daddy's Sports Haven in Deerfield Township, could see it happening. His store had a brisk business selling air pistols until they began hearing about problems differentiating the toy guns — which come with orange tips — from real weapons. As a result, the store stopped selling the toys about a year ago. Camp said they easily could be mistaken for real weapons and could cause serious problems for the children wielding them and authorities.
“We used to sell it like crazy,” Camp said Tuesday. “But we started to hear about problems with them. Then the sales started dropping. The kids were painting, taping, cutting the tip off. Once they take that orange tip off, that's where the problem starts.”
Gun-rights advocates say they will fight Scutari's proposal.
“It misses the mark because it demonizes toys instead of criminal behavior,” said Scott Bach, president of the New Jersey Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs, the National Rifle Association's New Jersey affiliate.
New Jersey isn't the first state to consider restricting minors' access to realistic toy guns. Federal law requires such toys have an orange tip at the end of the barrel, and several states have passed stricter laws.
In 2003, Wal-Mart stopped selling black, blue and silver toy guns because of their apparent realism, as well as toy guns without a permanent orange stripe along the barrel. After the state of New York initiated the process, Wal-Mart paid $200,000 in civil penalties.
Many toy stores don't sell guns anymore. The Toys R Us on Delsea Drive in Vineland markets toy swords, walkie-talkies and night vision binoculars, but the closest one gets to a realistic toy gun is a multicolored one that fires soft Nerf objects.
However, Internet sites such as RealisticToyGuns.com and ToyArsenal.com have filled the gap with mail-order products.
“We tell people to know your own regulations, wherever you're at,” said Glen Stewart, who works in sales for a Greenville, N.C., company that handles sales for several replica gun makers, including ReplicaWeaponry.com. “Any regulation like that could hurt business with us, but we probably wouldn't see any effect till it spreads to other states.”
Scutari's bill would make it illegal to sell or give to anyone under 18 a toy gun that is “reasonably capable of being mistaken for a firearm.” Violators would face a fine of as much as $1,000 and as many as six months in prison.
That leaves questions of enforcement, however, that Nick Germanio of Belleplain Supply Gun raised after hearing of the bill for the first time Tuesday.
“How would they enforce it?” Germanio said. “Are they going to prosecute a 10-year-old kid? Is there going to be some registry so they know who owns it?”
Scutari said the bill would help police and school officials figure out whether a firearm is either fake or real, but Bach said it would intrude upon retailers and parents.
“This bill seeks to intimidate retailers of even toy water pistols rather than to address the bad acts of criminals who use
imitation guns in furtherance of crime,” Bach said. “A parent who gives a child a toy firearm as a gift would be guilty under this legislation.”
More disconcerting for some are the documented incidents in which people wielding realistic-looking toy guns have been shot because a police officer thought they were wielding a real gun. Also, people wielding real guns have disguised them as toys by adding orange tips, prompting a second proposal in the state Legislature, S2882, which would make that a crime as well.
Brian Camp, manager of Big Daddy's Sports Haven in Deerfield Township, could see it happening. His store had a brisk business selling air pistols until they began hearing about problems differentiating the toy guns — which come with orange tips — from real weapons. As a result, the store stopped selling the toys about a year ago. Camp said they easily could be mistaken for real weapons and could cause serious problems for the children wielding them and authorities.
“We used to sell it like crazy,” Camp said Tuesday. “But we started to hear about problems with them. Then the sales started dropping. The kids were painting, taping, cutting the tip off. Once they take that orange tip off, that's where the problem starts.”
Gun-rights advocates say they will fight Scutari's proposal.
“It misses the mark because it demonizes toys instead of criminal behavior,” said Scott Bach, president of the New Jersey Association of Rifle and Pistol Clubs, the National Rifle Association's New Jersey affiliate.
New Jersey isn't the first state to consider restricting minors' access to realistic toy guns. Federal law requires such toys have an orange tip at the end of the barrel, and several states have passed stricter laws.
In 2003, Wal-Mart stopped selling black, blue and silver toy guns because of their apparent realism, as well as toy guns without a permanent orange stripe along the barrel. After the state of New York initiated the process, Wal-Mart paid $200,000 in civil penalties.
Many toy stores don't sell guns anymore. The Toys R Us on Delsea Drive in Vineland markets toy swords, walkie-talkies and night vision binoculars, but the closest one gets to a realistic toy gun is a multicolored one that fires soft Nerf objects.
However, Internet sites such as RealisticToyGuns.com and ToyArsenal.com have filled the gap with mail-order products.
“We tell people to know your own regulations, wherever you're at,” said Glen Stewart, who works in sales for a Greenville, N.C., company that handles sales for several replica gun makers, including ReplicaWeaponry.com. “Any regulation like that could hurt business with us, but we probably wouldn't see any effect till it spreads to other states.”
Scutari's bill would make it illegal to sell or give to anyone under 18 a toy gun that is “reasonably capable of being mistaken for a firearm.” Violators would face a fine of as much as $1,000 and as many as six months in prison.
That leaves questions of enforcement, however, that Nick Germanio of Belleplain Supply Gun raised after hearing of the bill for the first time Tuesday.
“How would they enforce it?” Germanio said. “Are they going to prosecute a 10-year-old kid? Is there going to be some registry so they know who owns it?”
Scutari said the bill would help police and school officials figure out whether a firearm is either fake or real, but Bach said it would intrude upon retailers and parents.
“This bill seeks to intimidate retailers of even toy water pistols rather than to address the bad acts of criminals who use
imitation guns in furtherance of crime,” Bach said. “A parent who gives a child a toy firearm as a gift would be guilty under this legislation.”
