Should Criminals be Encouraged to Use Fake Guns?

Gun Watch ^ | 25 May, 2016 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Criminals tend to be optimists, at least when it comes to carrying out crimes.  They often envision only one scenario, and assume that everything will go as planned. It is one of the reasons that many criminals depend on imitation, toy, or replica firearms.  A number of  states treat the use of a replica or imitation gun the same as the use of a real gun in a crime.

No state requires a defender to determine if a gun pointed at them is real or imitation. There is no controversey in the law about that.  If the defender reasonably believes that they are under deadly threat, it does not matter if the perpetrator was using an imitation gun.

Imitation guns are less expensive and a bit easier to obtain than real guns. 

Some Texas police officers believe that the use of imitation guns for criminal purposes is on the rise. From cbslocal.com:

DALLAS (AP) -- Police in Texas say more crimes are being committed with imitation weapons such as BB guns, likely because they're cheap, easy to obtain and criminals may believe -- mistakenly -- that if they're caught, they'll avoid the severe punishment that can come with illegally possessing a real one.

California law differentiates between real and imitation guns in their laws on brandishing. From shouselaw.com:

1. Brandishing  a  pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person... in a rude, angry, or threatening manner... in a public place:
   
   • a minimum three (3) month, to a maximum one (1) year, jail sentence, and/or
   • a maximum $1,000 fine.⁹²

1. Brandishing any other firearm... or brandishing a firearm in other than a public place... in the same manner:  not less than three (3) months in county jail.⁹³
2. Brandishing an imitation firearm: not less than 30 days in county jail.⁹⁴

Should the use of imitation firearms in crime be subject to the same penalties as real firearms?

I submit that penalties for the use of imitation firearms in crime should be less.  The criminal is putting the victim(s) at lower risk, and is putting themselves at higher risk. This is behavior that should be encouraged.

It is good public policy to reward this behavior with lower penalties, just as non-confrontational crime has lower penaties than crimes that occur in direct confrontation, such as robbery. 

I would prefer to confront a robber armed with an imitation gun instead of a real one.  I would prefer to confront a robber with an imitation gun instead of a knife or club.

Many criminals are ignorant of the law, so incentives do not always have a significant effect.  In this case, the law would reinforce an existing belief, so the chance of success is greater.

Replace criminals guns with imitation guns?  We should encourage this trend.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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[marktwain]

If a criminal chooses to use a fake gun, isn't that better than choosing a club or a knife?

[ctdonath2]

The stupid in this is staggering.

“I am unable to apprehend the state of mind producing this kind of confusion” - Babbage

[wrench]

Try this: Yell hateful insults and point a fake gun at a cop, see what happens........

[alloysteel]

It would seem to be a darned good way to get yourself shot.

Cops fire immediately if the object in the hand of the suspected perp even RESEMBLES a gun, even if it is a cell phone or ball-point pen.

[Vaquero]

I see a ‘gun’ fake or real being brandished by a dirtbag and aimed at me? One dead dirtbag.

The stupidity of this concept knows no bounds.

[cloudmountain]

Try this: Yell hateful insults and point a fake gun at a cop, see what happens........

The criminal element isn't known, usually, for its intelligence. Teens aren't either. They DO these things. DADS are supposed to be around to keep their teens from being "over-stupid."

[Carthego delenda est]

[TomGuy]

No state requires a defender to determine if a gun pointed at them is real or imitation. There is no controversey in the law about that.

Yes there has been controversies.

Google returns 1,110,000 results for 'shot for carrying toy gun'.

That is why toy guns are supposed to have a bright orange tip.

Dean Weingarten should do some more research before making a blanket statement to push his agenda.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Suicide by cop. Good for the gene pool.

[Manly Warrior]

Of course criminal and terrorists of all sorts ought to be encouraged to use toys, that way, when a law-abiding armed citizen is threatened with violence during a criminal encounter, they (we) can use counter-vailing lethal force- and then be relived that the perp we engaged was only using a toy- not that that would change the lethal force formula- even if the perp told us he was using a toy, we would still be lawfully entitled to fear for our lives, unless of course, the perp offered the “toy” weapon to us for inspection.....

I would not feel any different if I had used lethal force on a perp and then found out the weapon he brandished or threatened me with was a toy.

I hope more fools do in fact use toys rather than real weapons- it would indeed make the scenario much safer for the armed citizen.....

Does anyone think the last words heard by an expiring armed robber “but I told you it was only a toy” would change the outcome of a DA’s investigation or a grand jury’s decision? Me neither.

[BwanaNdege]

Folks, he is not talking about this being a good idea for criminals. For them, a toy gun, BB gun, AirSoft, etc. is stupid.

For the rest of us who are the potential targets of these criminals, ask your self, with which weapon would you prefer your assailant to be armed”

1) BB gun
2) .357 S&W
3) rubber knife
4) Kabar
5) Toy cap pistol
6) .44 Ruger Blackhawk
7) Scary looking airsoft gun
8) 9mm Glock

If you chose any of the ODD answers, you get the point of the article. If you chose any of the EVEN answers you either are thinking like a criminal or you have a death wish.

[marktwain]

No controversy “in the law”.

[digger48]

We had a 16 yo girl try that here in central IN last year.

Holding up a convenience store a block from the cop shop with an Airsoft. Cop didn't even get all the way through the door when she pointed it at him and he dropped her.

Turns out, her mother was a prominent Gynecologist in the area. She and her "life partner" issued a statement within a couple days admitting the girl had mental problems and wanted to off herself before. They even apologized to the cop for having to be put in that situation.

But the young cop still killed a teen girl with a toy gun and he has to live with that for the rest of his life.

[ctdonath2]

How about encouraging them to NOT COMMIT CRIMES?

[ctdonath2]

And so here we are needlessly discussing how to encourage criminals to carry non weapons which still justify killing them for. Choose the even numbers and you have a death wish; choose the odd and you want to kill without consequence. Stupid, f-ed up question.

What I want is for criminals to NOT COMMIT CRIMES, with real or toy guns. We achieve this in part by having real guns ourselves, raising the stakes to making them risk death for actions not worth it.

If you go “encouraging” them in law to use toys, then you’ll follow with arguments derived from that. “Your honor, in good faith my client followed the spirit of the law and did not use a real gun, so should not suffer penalty intended for use of real guns” and far more stupid reasoning that we’d now have to cope with, confusing bad law further. And victims come to learn to expect toys instead of real guns, trivializing real dangers.

My word this meme is stupid.

[ALASKA]

Using a pretend gun doesn’t allow you to pretend to be dead once a citizen or LEO defends themself..

[usurper]

I hope more fools do in fact use toys rather than real weapons- it would indeed make the scenario much safer for the armed citizen.....

Yes add to that that most criminals are incompetent buffoons high on drugs. They make poor decisions and are pron to accidents.

How many videos have we seen of convenience store robberies where the perp pops off a round by accident.

I am all for this idea. A gunfight with a perp using a toy gun is the kind of gunfight you always win.

[MCF]

I personally, would rather get into a gun fight with a guy with a fake gun them a real one. Fair fights suck.

[catnipman]

“Should Criminals be Encouraged to Use Fake Guns?”

Yes.

It makes everyone safer except the criminal.