Posted on 12/22/2013 6:48:15 PM PST by Doomonyou
To the surprise of even city council members, the Petaluma Police Department dusted off a little-known law last week in an effort to educate the public on the city's regulations regarding toy guns. The move comes in the wake of the shooting death of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by a Sonoma County Sheriff's deputy, who reportedly mistook a replica airsoft gun the teen was carrying for a real AK-47 assault rifle.
The shooting sparked a handful of phone calls from concerned citizens seeking information about the laws regulating airsoft guns, which caused the Petaluma police to announce the ordinance in a press release last week.
The obscure Petaluma Municipal Code 10.56 outlaws the discharge or public display of any firearms — including airsoft and BB guns — within city limits. Firing any type of gun within Petaluma's boundaries is a misdemeanor criminal offense punishable by a $75 to $500 fine and up to six months in jail. There are exceptions to the law that cover police officer's weapons and legally licensed firearms being used in self defense.
The ordinance also makes the public display of any type of firearm or toy replica illegal, other than transporting legally owned guns within the trunk of a vehicle. Petaluma police officers have ticketed individuals for firing BB guns and airsoft rifles within city limits in the past, but Petaluma Police Sgt. Jim Stephenson said it's a rare occurrence.
“We've received a few calls from rural residents, complaining of people firing airsoft guns and pellet guns over the past few years,” he said, unable to remember how many times officers have responded to such reports in recent years. “We've cited a couple people for it, but it hasn't happened too often.”
(Excerpt) Read more at petaluma360.com ...
Your deputy committed manslaughter and your answer is to press an idiotic law into the conversation¿¿¿¿
Your real objective is to obfuscate the incident, politically indemnify this dude and tell society “You, are the problem and you will be charged for the simplest of infractions.
Get in line citizen.”
Crikey! I guess I had best stay mum about having an anklebiter the next time I pass through there, ay?
Or about having a personal 'toy' "gun" that I have become quite attached to as well. What was the name of that old song...?
These unionized government employees seem to be of the National Socialist variety.
“The obscure Petaluma Municipal Code 10.56 outlaws the discharge or public display of any firearms — including airsoft and BB guns — within city limits. Firing any type of gun within Petaluma’s boundaries is a misdemeanor criminal offense punishable by a $75 to $500 fine and up to six months in jail.”
An air soft or BB gun is not a firearm. Squirt guns are not firearms, and neither are nail guns. This law could conceivably ban any discharge from an orafice if there is a trigger mechanism.
Funny thing is police are dumb high school drop outs. They don’t know what they are talking about. They are are just thugs.
Just so long as they return home safely every night. (/sarc)
Max penalty is $500 / 6 months, not death!
So the problem here is not the lethal stupidity, brutality, and incompetence of Deputy Erick Gelhaus, the problem is toy guns.
I hope the family sues Petaluma into oblivion.
Easy for me to differentiate. The one on the right is the toy.
I know that gun. The photographer purposely shot that low and with a wider than normal lens to make it look to be the same size as the real one.
The airsoft gun is 1/2 to 3/5 scale.
Same principle as when you hold out your fish in front of the camera to make it look bigger.
Complicit press.
No one with any experience would ever mistake that for the real thing, not to mention the LEOscum that shot the kid was a firearms "instructor". Even if it WAS a real firearm, there is no way in hell anyone with a smidgeon of sense would shoot someone JUST BECAUSE THEY HAPPENED TO POSSESS A FIREARM, a Constitutional Right!
Bloody hell! I own several replica handguns, used for many firearms training and familiarity excercises. They are physically incapable of firing any type of projectile (fake innards including no real barrel or firing pin) and these pieces of bollocks for brains claim that they are also somehow illegal? Time to upgrade to all-steel doors and bars on the windows then -and no bloody way am I going to admit to possessing any practice knives, chair or table legs, or bear pepper spray, either!
They may wish to consider what constitutes a “firearm”. It isn’t air.
Can we have a side-by-side depiction of real cops vs the trigger-happy idiots. I bet they look just as similar.
That is a good catch. I have done the same thing trying to make a fish look bigger.
I’m glad those cops weren’t around on the High Plains 65 years ago! I had a nice wooden rifle a local rancher made for me. If it had been painted black it might have passed for a Thompson or a PPSh Russian machine gun. I might be dead now!
And again; how have we come to a point where you can be shot simply for possessing a firearm? And the police department is not only not immediately firing the mental midget, but attempting to claim it was somehow justified? What, is this bloke married to the police chief's daughter or something? Bloody hell!
I try not to even cross into it's airspace.
Because the kid left the dog at home?
It is idiotic to get an air gun that looks like a real military weapon unless you are looking to get yourself shot.
They trotted this sideshow out because they know they are in trouble.
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