Does this mean we will ban 2" long toy guns too?
Posted on 07/11/2007 5:23:28 PM PDT by texanyankee
A New Jersey senator wants to make it illegal to sell or give to anyone under age 18 toy guns that look so realistic they can be mistaken for a real firearm.
"The margin between a child's stupid mistake and a tragic ending is far too thin," said Sen. Nicholas Scutari.
Scutari, D-Union, introduced the proposal in late June and plans to push it when the Legislature reconvenes late this year. He said the bill stems from an incident in a Union Township where four students were suspended after bringing a cap gun to school.
"We need to stress to our children that guns are not toys, but deadly weapons which should always be regarded with extreme caution and handled with respect," Scutari said. "Restricting access to imitation firearms will help to drive that point home."
Gun rights advocates plan to fight the bill.
"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, which is the National Rifle Association's New Jersey organization.
If the measure is enacted, New Jersey would join several states that have restricted access to realistic toy guns to minors.
New York, for instance, got Wal-Mart in 2003 to stop selling toy guns that fail to have a non-removable orange stripe along the barrel. The retailer also agreed to stop selling toy guns in realistic colors such as black, blue and silver and paid $200,000 in civil penalties.
Scutari's bill would make it illegal to sell or give to anyone under 18 and imitation firearm, which is defined as anything "reasonably capable of being mistaken for a firearm."
The bill is based on a 1987 New Jersey law that bars the sale of hunting, fishing, combat and survival knives with blades of more than five inches to anyone under 18.
Violators would face a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in prison.
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."
it is amazing to me how many willingly wear their ass on their shoulders
What about toy knives?
Scutari looks so realistic he can be mistaken for a real Senator. Outlaw him.
What about plastic forks?
Is this moron any kin to the Kennedys....
Funny enough though, the line between “politician” and “brain dead” is pretty thin too...
“What about toy knives?”
What would trans-continental flights be without stainless forks and spoons,...........and plastic knives?
You may now eat with your hands, or grab that big steak with a fork and gnaw on it.
It’s a dim idea, but it’s possible it could serve as a means of rolling back an even dimmer one: ‘zero tolerance policies’ in schools which include even ‘simulated weapons’ and are interpretted as banning dayglo squirt-guns, toy rifles carried by three inch high toy soldiers, and other manifest non-weapons.
Make the specifications tight, and attach an amendment that no school-district may impose a zero tolerance policy including toys not falling under the bill’s definition of similarity to real weapons, and on balance the amount of stupidity in New Jersey law might go down.
“We need to stress to our children that guns are not toys, but deadly weapons which should always be regarded with extreme caution and handled with respect,” Scutari said. “Restricting access to imitation firearms will help to drive that point home.”
Ping
Is anyone yet figuring out what I’m talking about when I talk about “DAMN YANKEES”? I don’t know how to be diplomatic about things, but damned if there ain’t a whole bunch of idiots running loose, and, strangely enough, most of them come from “up there”!
A ten year old was shot in the street of a rough neighborhood my police a few weeks ago at 11 a night for pointing a toy gun. Too bad the parents weren't shot for neglect.
Of course I don't have to explain who is "made" to be the bad guy in this case. Some parent will not control their children, so the government wants to control all children.
What about career criminals?
Not going to work. Never having a gun, or having one in the house, my son, 2 yrs old, picked up a toy elephant bought at the zoo and used the extended trunk as the barrel of a gun. I knew at that point I lost the battle. Now that I think of it, fingers work just as well. That’s what we used when we were kids. :)
I agree with what you're saying but wondering if it hurts to get shot there?
Okay, I’m a Yankee, but my hubbie is a country boy. Doesn’t matter if you’re from the north or the south, I think it’s country verses city. I am a country girl born in the Bronx! Annie, get yer gun! I love the mountains, am claustrophobic, want to live in a 2 room cabin, and have panic attacks when I see a crowd. Unfortunately for me, God may call me back to NYC to do some mission work, instead of the Rockies, the Yukon, or Sequoia National Park. Oh, I like Alan Jackson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Billy Bob Thornton and George Washington.
Busy, Busy, Busy!
Actually, the margin between a liberal Senator’s stupid mistakes and a tragic ending for the country is far too thin.
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