I was watching CNN this morning, and I saw a story about a young man in Miami who’d lost his life in a confrontation with police.   The troubled young man had at some point in the altercation pointed a BB gun at an officer, at which point the officer was forced to respond with deadly force.

While my heart goes out to the young man who lost his life, I also have to question his motives for carrying any type of gun around, especially one that looks like a real firearm.  My heart goes out to Miami PD as well, and to the officer who was forced to shoot a teenager, only to find out that the gun in his hands wasn’t a real one.  They were on CNN this morning, showing the BB gun in question, and a real gun which the BB gun bore a striking resemblance to.

Daisy manufactures a wide variety of BB guns, including the 617X, which bears a striking resemblance to the Berretta Model 92, a popular military and police issue sidearm.  Based on what I saw on CNN, the 617X is probably what the young man who was shot was holding at the time of his death.  However, there are several guns by various manufacturers that aim to emulate the Beretta 92.   The chief of police in Miami also noted in a CNN interview that a large number of airsoft pistols that are made to look like a Glock pistol were proving to be a problem as well. 

As a child, I grew up around firearms, so my view is a bit different from most people of my generation.  My father was a police officer with a local sheriff’s department during my formative years, and he also served as his department’s firearms instructor.  My brother and I often went with him to help out when it was time for everyone to do their yearly firearms qualification.  Some of my fondest memories growing up were with my father and the officers on his department, spending the day shooting targets.  My dad often made a point of putting me on the line with officers to qualify alongside them to illustrate that even a child could match or even exceed the training norms expected.  Never mind that I had a bit of an advantage, since I had a basically unlimited supply of ammunition to practice with any time I felt the need.  I was probably one of the only children in the United States qualified with a police issue hand gun and combat shotgun.

Federal law requires that toy guns that bear a resemblance to a real firearm must have their either muzzle painted or molded out in a blaze orange color, to prevent law enforcement officials mistaking a toy gun for a real one.  Unfortunately, criminals often take these ‘toy’ guns and paint over the part that has to be blaze orange, giving them a ‘gun’ to threaten ‘soft’ targets with for armed robbery and muggings.  An added bonus for them is that if they are caught, they’ll face less stringent penalties because their gun wasn’t ‘real’.

After seeing the report on CNN, I emailed my dad for his thoughts on the shooting in Miami, and this is what he had to say:

“A number of these "pellet guns" are intentionally made to look like a real firearm.  I'm sure it is a marketing ploy to increase sales, with no concern to possible consequences. 
 
Putting a non-lethal gun in the hands of a young boy (or girl) is an invitation to disaster in any encounter with police, as evidenced by the recent event in Florida.  Police Officers have only a split second to react when any gun is pointed at them and to hesitate is to put ones self in grave danger.
 
Had one of these weapons had ever been pointed at me when I was a police officer, there would have been six rounds in the ten ring - immediately!"

He went on to say, "Police Officers are taught to react and shoot for body mass, they can't afford to delay, and they can't assume a young person isn't a danger to them - all you have to do is watch the news to realize some of our young people are perfectly capable of, and do, use deadly force on a daily basis.
 
There can be no justification for designing these "toys" to look like the real thing, except the justification of profit!  Manufacturers must accept responsibility and look beyond corporate profit and look to personal accountability. I will be surprised if there isn't a civil lawsuit against the manufacturer instead of against the police in the above matter.
 
Also, don't tell me that by complying to the federal requirement of putting blaze orange on the "toy" is enough to absolve manufacturers of any culpability - come on people, any kid with a buck in his pocket can buy a can of spray paint and paint over any thing - just look at the graffiti we see on walls, cars, trains, etc.
 
It would not be difficult to make these air guns look totally different from real weapons -  wake up Mr. Manufacturer, be responsible!!”

Imagine that…I actually agree with something my dad has to say for a change!

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