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Officials want gun alteration ban

Warning over replica weapons
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 01/13/06
BY MARGARET F. BONAFIDE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
TOMS RIVER — The Ocean County prosecutor is calling on lawmakers to amend legislation and criminalize making air pellet guns look authentic.

Prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher held a news conference Thursday to raise awareness of the authentic-looking guns. They are being used by criminals, gangs and kids who just want to play games with the weapons "to look cool," Kelaher said. But they are deadly toys, he added.

Air pellet gun products have a bright orange tip, but any officer confronted by one of the many models, which range from handguns to assault weapons, could shoot to kill, said Waretown Police Chief Kenneth B. Flatt. He added that it is "just a matter of time" before someone is killed.

The orange tip can be easily altered or removed, he said.

Fake guns are also used during armed robberies, said Flatt, who is president of the Ocean County Chiefs of Police Association.

A criminal can easily paint an orange tip on a real gun, authorities said. However, police can't take such risks on a gun being real or fake, Flatt said.

"If you point one of these at someone, a police officer is trained to shoot," Flatt said.

The guns have been confiscated on several occasions by police in Ocean and Monmouth counties. Officers have seized authentic recreations of weapons from Beretta handguns to an AR-15 assault weapon.

In Point Pleasant Beach, three juveniles were charged in 2004 for using a replica pellet handgun to shoot from a moving car at two women standing outside a church.

Replica toy guns can be purchased at flea markets including Lakewood and Collingswood.

Once again we have the Majority that suffers for the Minority!

unfortunately I have to agree with this....At work one night I dispatched an officer to a Juvenile disturbance at one of the local parks, when he got there he saw one kid pointing a gun at a group of other kids.....so he drew down on him until he dropped the beretta he was holding.  after all the kids hit the ground the officer picked up the plastic gun with a painted over orange tip.  all the kids had one with the tips painted over as well.  

the kid was lucky he didn't point the gun at the officer or he would have most likely been killed.

Quoted: unfortunately I have to agree with this....At work one night I dispatched an officer to a Juvenile disturbance at one of the local parks, when he got there he saw one kid pointing a gun at a group of other kids.....so he drew down on him until he dropped the beretta he was holding.  after all the kids hit the ground the officer picked up the plastic gun with a painted over orange tip.  all the kids had one with the tips painted over as well.   the kid was lucky he didn't point the gun at the officer or he would have most likely been killed.

So after NJ bans toy guns are we going to confiscate all in current circulation?
Are we going to stop grandpa in Florida from sending little Johnny a ‘real toy gun’ for Christmas?
How about when Aunt Martha comes with her kids from Maryland to visit and they bring ‘real toy guns’.
How about we just outlaw stupid behavior that should stop this plague cold?
Better yet let’s issue a FID card in order to procreate and raise kids complete with waiting period and background check.
Please tell me we can’t find a different solution to this non issue.

Rich V

What will these guys do now?

Quoted: the kid was lucky he didn't point the gun at the officer or he would have most likely been killed.

Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid.

Quoted: What will these guys do now?

I guess they will have to go back to dungeons and dragons or better yet they can get girlfriends and get laid.

Try to understand that many LEO's aren't "gun savvy" reguardless of their training/position.
Prime example occured today in Seminole County Florida (where I lived for several years) where a kid brought a pellet pistol to school, got into a confrontation with another student who tried to dis-arm him, then ran into a bathroom. I was reported that when the SWAT team entered the bathroom "he pointed it at the officers, and they shot executed him."
The problem is the ability to reckonize what is or isn't a threat in a split second, and in todays world LEO's: don't know?, care, have time to identify, can't take the chance, take your pick or add your own, bottom line is the person who intentionall points a weapon at an officer and doesn't get his ass shot should play the lottery because it IS his lucky day.

when you play with guns or what appears to be a gun the consequenses of stupid behaviour can be fatal. trying to ban stupid behaviour is exercixe in futility though, unfortunately politicians love futility they go back to the same thing again and againfutily trying to ban stupid behaviour.

i guess it says something about politicians.

We had a similar brouhaha here in NYC a while back when some dumbass who had been robbing food delivery men got capped by the police and his weapon turned out to be a fake that was painted black.  Didn't matter so much to the cop whose partner it had been pointed at.

NYC city council's repsonse? ban toy guns!

Libertarian party's response? give out free toy guns in front of schools!