Knimrod
01-20-2006, 11:19 PM
Despite protests, Rockland legislators OK toy gun ban
By SARAH NETTER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
January 20, 2006
Residents, politicians and law enforcement officials differ on the effectiveness of the Rockland Legislature's newly adopted ban on imitation and toy guns that look like real firearms.
"While the law is well-intentioned, it really doesn't solve anything," New City resident Paul Murray said at the public hearing Tuesday night prior to the Legislature's vote. "I don't think it's going to have the effect that you want."
The law, which was approved 15-1, makes it illegal in Rockland County to sell, offer to sell, give away or possess a replica, toy or imitation of a gun that substantially duplicates the look of a real firearm.
Toy guns with markings designating them as such, including a brightly colored exterior, are permitted.
Legislator David Fried, D-Spring Valley, who held up a gun replica in front of the Legislature to illustrate how realistic they can appear, said regulating what toy guns are permissible will help police distinguish between real and fake firearms.
"We have children that bring these to school," said Fried of the imitation gun in his hands. "I think this legislation does provide police with a buffer."
Marc Diana, a Nanuet resident and National Rifle Association recruiter, disagreed.
He said the law could teach criminals how to alter their real guns to look like toys in hopes of getting police to let their guards down.
"What's to stop a perp ... from painting the barrel of a gun bright orange?" he asked Tuesday. "Are you prepared for the first police officer that gets killed?"
Diana, also a representative of the United Sportsman Association of Rockland, added yesterday that the law was unlikely to hamper the determination of anyone wanting to pretend their fake gun is real.
"The kids will do it no matter what," he said.
At Tuesday's meeting Diana referenced the case of a 15-year-old Florida boy who was fatally shot in the head by police last week after pointing a pellet gun that resembled a firearm at a deputy.
County Sheriff James Kralik agreed that there was nothing to prevent a criminal from disguising a real gun to look like a toy, but that was not the law's purpose.
"There's no fail-safe," he said. "This law is really geared toward the children, the parents and the manufacturers of toy guns."
Westchester and Putnam counties do not have a similar law.
Robert VanCura, chief of the South Nyack/Grand View Police Department, told the Legislature that his officers recently fielded a call from a woman who saw two boys playing with a gun in a park near her home.
The gun, he said, later turned out to be a replica closely resembling a 9 mm.
"It's an issue that comes up all the time," he added.
Rockland District Attorney Michael Bongiorno said the law would make it harder for people bent on mischief to get hold of a toy or imitation gun that looks like the real thing in short order.
"Does it solve every problem?" he asked. "No."
Link to story (http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060120/NEWS03/601200395/1019)
By SARAH NETTER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
January 20, 2006
Residents, politicians and law enforcement officials differ on the effectiveness of the Rockland Legislature's newly adopted ban on imitation and toy guns that look like real firearms.
"While the law is well-intentioned, it really doesn't solve anything," New City resident Paul Murray said at the public hearing Tuesday night prior to the Legislature's vote. "I don't think it's going to have the effect that you want."
The law, which was approved 15-1, makes it illegal in Rockland County to sell, offer to sell, give away or possess a replica, toy or imitation of a gun that substantially duplicates the look of a real firearm.
Toy guns with markings designating them as such, including a brightly colored exterior, are permitted.
Legislator David Fried, D-Spring Valley, who held up a gun replica in front of the Legislature to illustrate how realistic they can appear, said regulating what toy guns are permissible will help police distinguish between real and fake firearms.
"We have children that bring these to school," said Fried of the imitation gun in his hands. "I think this legislation does provide police with a buffer."
Marc Diana, a Nanuet resident and National Rifle Association recruiter, disagreed.
He said the law could teach criminals how to alter their real guns to look like toys in hopes of getting police to let their guards down.
"What's to stop a perp ... from painting the barrel of a gun bright orange?" he asked Tuesday. "Are you prepared for the first police officer that gets killed?"
Diana, also a representative of the United Sportsman Association of Rockland, added yesterday that the law was unlikely to hamper the determination of anyone wanting to pretend their fake gun is real.
"The kids will do it no matter what," he said.
At Tuesday's meeting Diana referenced the case of a 15-year-old Florida boy who was fatally shot in the head by police last week after pointing a pellet gun that resembled a firearm at a deputy.
County Sheriff James Kralik agreed that there was nothing to prevent a criminal from disguising a real gun to look like a toy, but that was not the law's purpose.
"There's no fail-safe," he said. "This law is really geared toward the children, the parents and the manufacturers of toy guns."
Westchester and Putnam counties do not have a similar law.
Robert VanCura, chief of the South Nyack/Grand View Police Department, told the Legislature that his officers recently fielded a call from a woman who saw two boys playing with a gun in a park near her home.
The gun, he said, later turned out to be a replica closely resembling a 9 mm.
"It's an issue that comes up all the time," he added.
Rockland District Attorney Michael Bongiorno said the law would make it harder for people bent on mischief to get hold of a toy or imitation gun that looks like the real thing in short order.
"Does it solve every problem?" he asked. "No."
Link to story (http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060120/NEWS03/601200395/1019)