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BELIEVE IT;NJ looks ro BAN AIRSOFT guns
Josey1
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Toy gun a 'lethal' weapon03/08/02By KEVIN SHEAStaff WriterThey are part pellet gun and part toy, marketed under the name Air Model pistols but more commonly known as "Airsoft" guns.Police, however, worry that it's just a matter of time before they become known as deadly weapons -- deadly to the young owners who have begun carrying them.Three Airsofts were seized by Hamilton police Tuesday night after a resident called because he believed some rowdy teenagers actually were shooting at each other.The guns, apparently made for target and other sport shooting, are manufactured to look exactly like real weapons. Glocks, Berettas, even M-16 machine guns and Uzi submachine guns are replicated as Airsoft guns.They fire 6-millimeter plastic balls that resemble BBs, and only a bright orange section at the front of the barrel -- like those required on squirt guns and cap guns -- identifies them as fake.Hamilton Police Detective Capt. Kevin Pollard said youngsters are easily covering the orange with black plastic tape or paint to complete the authentication, as was done to the three guns seized Tuesday.Pollard said officers have been confiscating Airsoft guns from young people at a frightening pace recently.He and other police officers believe the Airsoft's apparent surge in popularity will only lead to one thing: the funeral of a young person.Carrying an Airsoft gun puts someone lethally closer to the `Cop Shoots Kid With Fake Gun' headline, Pollard said."These weapons are so lifelike, an officer is going to react based on his training," he said. "One of these kids is going to get shot, killed. Period."Parents have got to know that these things are out there."Airsofts are not illegal to buy or shoot, depending on the circumstances, because they do not fire metal projectiles like a BB or pellet guns, according to state law. But like any imitation gun, if one is used to imply a real gun -- during a crime, for instance -- possession is a felony.A shop in the Columbus Farmer's Market in Springfield Township called Outdoor Haven sells five Airsoft models over the counter and with no questions asked, for about $35 each, provided the buyer shows identification proving he or she is 17 or older.On the online auction site eBay, it is legal to sell Airsofts. Yesterday, a search for them yielded nearly 1,000 up for bid. Trenton police spokesman Sgt. Jim Dellaira said the eventuality of a police officer shooting someone with an Airsoft is likely."You see a gun coming out of a waistband, it's a gun. You don't wait to see the orange tip," Dellaira said. "Whether the shooting's justified (by authorities) or not, they're just as dead."-- -- --But Dellaira sees a greater risk of death to someone carrying an Airsoft on the street, where "lesser-trained" people carry real guns."Suppose it's not a cop. Suppose it's a store owner or a taxi cab driver or a criminal. Some kid's going to get knocked out of his socks if he tries to use it like a real gun.""They look real, and people have every right to act as if they're real -- if (someone with an Airsoft) is acting stupid with it," Dellaira said.Bryan Miller, executive director of Ceasefire New Jersey, admitted yesterday he was unaware of Airsofts' resemblance to real guns."It sounds scary," he said. After hearing descriptions of them, plus law enforcement's concerns, he said he is going to investigate further and possibly work to ban them.Hector Medina, the owner of Outdoor Haven, which sells many more paintball guns than Airsofts, said he sees no ethical or moral problem selling Airsoft guns. He's just providing the supply to meet the buying public's demand."I run an honest shop here," Medina said.As far as their possible danger, Medina said that is up to the person holding the gun, not him."There's always the 5 percent rule," he said, "the 5 percent of people who are going to misuse it and make the other 95 percent look bad." A baseball bat, wielded a certain way, also could be considered an illegal weapon and could cause someone to be shot, Medina said.Pollard rejects the baseball bat argument and believes Airsofts should be banned from sale because of the effort to make them look so real."From 10 or 15 feet away, I'm not going to mistake a bat sticking out of a kid's pants as a gun," Pollard said."These thing are clearly, obviously manufactured to look authentic. I don't know what possible purpose they have as real weapons, and they should not be allowed to be in the hands of youngsters."Pollard said the teens on Tuesday night were 14 and 15 years old. Police also have taken Airsoft guns from an 11-year-old.-- -- --At Hamilton police headquarters on Wednesday, Pollard and some colleagues laid two real guns, a Glock and Beretta, next to two of the Airsoft replicas seized by police.During the demonstration by police, Detective Sgt. Joe Mastropolo and Lt. Chuck Stanley both mixed up the real and fake guns at one point.Sgt. Larry Oswald said he can't put the message any simpler: "Someone is going to get killed."Literature accompanying an Airsoft Glock bought by a Times reporter urged that the gun be used safely, but nowhere in the paperwork or box was the manufacturer's address or telephone number. The model was made in Taiwan.Pollard said police are taking guns from juveniles and calling the kids' parents. So far, no parent has complained or asked for the guns' return. "Any parent who would ask for it back is out of their mind," Pollard said.The National Rifle Association has no opinion on Airsoft guns, a spokesman said, because Airsofts are not real firearms. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, in Connecticut, did not return a telephone call seeking comment on Airsofts."These new so-called toys seem like a further extension of the gun culture in New Jersey," said Miller of Ceasefire. "We agree with law enforcement's concerns, and parents should not purchase these so-called toys. Frankly, we believe that perhaps a ban on these items is warranted." http://www.nj.com/mercer/times/index.ssf?/mercer/times/03-08-JBQR1AIB.html
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