Tuesday, January 05, 2016

California's New Laws Series: Toy Guns

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Toy Guns in California Must Be Bright, Easily Distinguishable (SB 199, De Leon): The law requires replica guns to be distinguished from real weapons by painting the entire exterior in bright colors or having florescent strips on their salient parts. Toy guns such as Airsoft and BB guns are not currently in California’s definition of imitation weapons.

I mentioned to a friend about how I was planning on taking my eight-year-old grandson out shooting with me (and that 500 rounds is the least I will probably shoot), and the response was, "That's child endangerment."  Then, after careful consideration, asked, "Why do you have so much ammunition? Is it necessary?"

Uh, yes.

When I was growing up I was younger than my grandson, I believe, the first time I got a chance to fire Dad's .22 rifle.  The generation before me had gun safety classes in the public school, and kids would arrive on campus with their rifle in the gun rack of their truck, and a story about the hunting kill from the night before.  A part of the reason we have a younger generation shooting up schools is not because of the presence of guns, but because we are not spending the time teaching kids the importance of gun safety, and how to use a gun as a tool.

The liberal left would rather teach the kids how to have sex in sex education classes, than to expose them to firearms.

My grandchildren received Nerf guns from Santa a couple weeks ago, and they were shooting each other with them.  I told them to never point a gun at another person like that, especially a family member, and then set up targets for them.  "No shooting each other is allowed in my house," I told them.  My son was confused.  "Gun safety training," I said, "begins with the toys."

It is healthy for children to have toy guns.  The new law is believed to be required because here in California we have a knee-jerk anti-gun society, and the legislators are afraid that with all of the gun tension out there going on, kids will be shot because it will be believed that their toy guns are the real thing.  I get it, but I don't believe the law is necessary.  If guns were an acceptable part of the culture, and gun safety was a public school topic, the problem with shootings would dwindle down to being only by Muslims with jihad in their heart.

Economically, this law will be very damaging to the toy industry, as well.  As with our gasoline and real firearms, the toy guns coming into California will now have to be specially made differently than other toy guns on the market, and eventually it will become so expensive to manufacture these specialized California toy guns, that the toy makers will do what gun manufacturers are doing, and stop sending them into the State - or if they continue to bring their toys into California, the prices will rise significantly.

Leftists will argue they should make all of their toy guns this way.

Then, they would lose sales.  Private industry is all about producing a product the public will purchase, not what you want to force them to purchase because of some ideological kick you are on.

Will people be willing to leave the State of California over toy gun laws?  Perhaps, but the other laws are surely helping people make that decision about leaving the State a little easier.

I wonder how long will it be before the gangs and criminal element begin making their guns look like toy guns to gain a couple seconds advantage in a confrontation?

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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