NY Councilmen say even water guns should be banned. (seriously)

Newzday.com ^ | 1/05/03 | AP

[BlessingInDisguise]

[b]N.Y. Councilmen say even water guns should be banned[/b]

January 5, 2003, 5:31 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) _ Two city councilmen said Sunday that last week's fatal police shooting of a teenager who was holding a pellet gun highlights the importance of their proposed bill to ban the sale and possession of toy guns.

Current city law permits the sale of only brightly colored toy guns constructed of transparent material.

At a City Hall news conference, Councilman David Weprin, a Queens Democrat, brandished his daughter's water pistol, which he had painted black, to demonstrate that even obviously fake guns should be outlawed.

"As you can see, when spray painted black, this brightly colored blue water gun looks like a real gun," Weprin said.

Councilman Albert Vann, a Brooklyn Democrat, said toy guns should be banned because they are increasingly being used to commit real crimes.

"More adults who are criminal-minded are using toy guns in the commission of crime because they know that if caught the penalty is less severe," Vann said.

Seventeen-year-old Allen Newsome was shot and killed Thursday by a detective who came upon him holding what turned out to be a pellet gun up to the head of the officer's partner, according to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Lt. Eric Adams of the group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, who joined Vann and Weprin at the news conference, said police officers don't have enough time to judge whether a gun is real or fake.

"You have four to five seconds to make a determination to save your life, your partner's life ... and you don't have the opportunity to feel a toy gun, to look at a toy gun, to see if it squirts water," Adams said.

A hearing on the bill, introduced in October, is scheduled for Feb. 6 before the council's consumer affairs committee. Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

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[BlessingInDisguise]

bump

[pubmom]

So it's who's fault idiot criminals are being killed when they point guns that appear real at police officers and innocent citizens?

[lentulusgracchus]

It's official......they're brain-dead.

[SAMS]

Hey here's an idea...if you don't want to get shot, DON'T point a gun, toy or otherwise at the head of an armed policeman!

[Sacajaweau]

If anyone knows of someone who has been maimed or killed by a toy gun, let me know.

The scene of Martha Stewart and her cabbage cutting episode was more frightening and therefore knives should be outlawed. And, I'd finally get my dream of ripping my meat with my teeth and still be "proper".

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[tracer]

I cannot help but wonder what would happen to someone who abruptly nailed these two "public servants" with a harmless water pistol loaded with NYC's award-winning drinking water at the next City Council meeting. Heck, you could sneak one in past the metal detectors.

Exercising one's First Amendment rights, you know 8~)....

[Dionysius]

They could load them from the spigots in their brains!

[CJ Wolf]

I know a few people that could kill someone with a toy gun, but they can do it with pretty much anything else too.

[pgyanke]

...the councilman went on to suggest that chocolate should also be outlawed in the city. He said, "In the movie, 'The Chase', Charlie Sheen successfully kidnapped a lady with a candy bar to her back. The stunned police officers were helpless to stop him."

[WaveThatFlag]

Seventeen-year-old Allen Newsome was shot and killed Thursday by a detective who came upon him holding what turned out to be a pellet gun up to the head of the officer's partner, according to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

I'd like to get a look at that "pellet gun" that a 17 year-old man was holding to an officer's head. Is "pellet gun" another term for "bb gun?" If so, bb guns are often made for adults and made to look a hell of a lot like the real thing. Most water guns, on the other hand, are made for children, are child-sized, and would be nearly impossible to mistake for a real gun. Even when painted black.

[gundog]

BLOWT

[BlessingInDisguise]

The lesson is don't hold anything that resembles a gun to a cop's head.

[BlessingInDisguise]

bttt

[Just another Joe]

Why not let the law abiding citizenry go armed?
That way when a toy gun is pointed at them they have ways of retaliating and stopping the spread of those 'dangerous' toy gun criminals.

[Ditto]

I'd like to get a look at that "pellet gun" that a 17 year-old man was holding to an officer's head.

A CO2 pellet gun held directly to a person's head is not a toy. It would be a potentially lethal weapon.

[BlessingInDisguise]

Yep. Perhaps after the water guns, next they will ban knives and sharp rocks?

[dtel]

Yep. Perhaps after the water guns, next they will ban knives and sharp rocks?

Nah, large dogs are next on the agenda.