A popular 'toy" among teenager boys is the Airsoft BB guns. Part of their popularity, however is how very real they look.
Posted on 08/17/2006 8:01:06 AM PDT by SmithL
Legislation prompted by the pellet gun shooting of a Contra Costa County resident has landed on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.
Authored by Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, the bill would make it a misdemeanor to fire a pellet or BB gun in a "grossly negligent manner that could result in injury or death."
"This is a loophole that should have been closed a long time ago," Torlakson said.
The legislation passed the Assembly last week and cleared the Senate in January. Schwarzenegger has not said whether he will sign the bill.
Some administration officials have expressed opposition. The governor's Office of Planning and Research called the legislation unnecessary. Existing assault and battery laws allow for prosecutions in circumstances the bill addresses, according to the office.
Not so, said Torlakson. "There's a loophole that treats these air guns differently from regular firearms."
The incident that spurred Torlakson to push for a new law was the October 2003 shooting of Orinda resident Steven Glazer.
Glazer, now a city councilman, was driving in a convertible with his family on Miner Road in Orinda when he felt a thump on his neck. At the hospital, an X-ray revealed a pellet two inches into his neck and next to his spine.
Doctors told Glazer the pellet had barely missed his carotid artery, and he underwent two hours of surgery to repair the wound.
Orinda police arrested Eli Polk, then 18, who police said had been firing from his home toward passing motorists. Police found two air rifles at Polk's house.
Polk is the second of Susan and Felix Polk's three sons. A jury convicted Susan Polk in June of second-degree murder in the 2002 stabbing death of Felix Polk at the couple's Orinda home.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office decided not to charge Eli Polk with assault and battery.
Prosecutors said they probably could not prove that Polk, who said he had not been intentionally aiming at Glazer or the road, had intended to hit anyone.
They also said they could not prosecute Polk for negligently discharging a firearm. At that time, as is still the case, air guns were not on the list of firearms subject to that law.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that in 2005 about 21,000 people nationwide were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries from BB guns and similar weapons powered by air, gas or springs.
"These aren't just toys," Torlakson said.
Some air guns have muzzle velocities equal to or greater than some handguns, for instance, making them capable of causing great harm, Torlakson said.
The bill has not drawn much fire from gun owners, makers or retailers. Still, those groups are not pleased at the prospect of yet another gun-control law.
"This is nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing again," said Marc Halcon, president of the California Association of Firearms Retailers.
The bill would not deter people from misusing air guns, said Halcon, whose association has about 1,500 members. It's also so broad that it would allow for over-zealous prosecutions, he said.
"There's some things in here that can be misinterpreted or misused, depending on the district attorney or the jurisdiction," Halcon said.
The bill would subject "any instrument that expels a projectile, such as a BB or a pellet, through the force of air pressure, gas pressure, or spring action" to the existing law against negligent discharges.
The bill would not affect paintball guns or soft pellet guns, which shoot projectiles larger than a 6 mm caliber, said Aaron Bloom, a spokesman for Torlakson's office.
Anyone convicted of the misdemeanor offense could be sentenced to up to a year in jail.
Glazer, who has a 3-inch scar and numbness in his face and neck as a result of his wounds, said the shooting could still result in a good thing, if the bill becomes law.
"I'm not against having air rifles," Glazer said. "But if you commit a crime with it, you should be held accountable."
Is that an Airsoft in your pocket?
Aren't there already laws for that?
Malicious mischief?
"The bill would not affect paintball guns or soft pellet guns, which shoot projectiles larger than a 6 mm caliber, said Aaron Bloom, a spokesman for Torlakson's office".
There ARE airguns that are much larger than 6mm capable of causing serious injury or death.
"Pneumatic guns, on the other hand were relatively powerful. The technology of these guns gradually improved over the years and their use in hunting became fashionable among the European nobility. The fact that game as large as wild boar and stag was routinely taken by these early pneumatic guns demonstrates their amazing power. Their relatively quiet and efficient operation, coupled with their imperviousness to rain or snow, made them very desirable weapons indeed. For these reasons commoners were often forbidden from owning airguns."
This bill is an attempt to disarm "commoners".
http://www.airguns.net/history.html
Good grief! Is this really necessary? Isn't shooting a person in the neck with a BB/pellet gun already against the law? (Aggravated Assault)
Nice family. We need new laws for this? Is it legal at the moment to shoot people with a pellet gun?
I was thinking more along the lines of assault with a deadly weapon.
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